1619 Project Lesson Plan

Identifying Arguments

Kind of Activity:

Collaborative Writing

Objective:

Students will identify the multiple and varied arguments that appear in the text so far.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1

Structure:

To start this activity, have students chat in small groups about thesis statements in general. Instruct students to develop a concise answer to the following questions: How do you know when you’ve found one? Why are they important? What do arguments tell us? Then, have a brief conversation as a class about these questions.

Then, instruct students to work in pairs to choose 3 or 4 essays to focus on. For each essay, students should summarize or...