Unit Overview
In this unit you will review the
structure and key features of an argumentative essay. You will then write an argumentative
text. Then, you will
continue learning about Greek and Latin roots and affixes. You will also review
figures of speech. Finally, you will finish reading the novel From
the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L.
Konigsburg.
· I can write arguments to support claims
with clear reasons and relevant evidence. W.6.1
· I can conduct short research projects to
answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when
appropriate. W.6.7
· I can draw evidence from literary or
informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. W.6.9
· I can develop and strengthen writing as
needed by revising and editing. W.6.5.
Argument Writing Review
Argumentative writing expresses a writer's point of
view-his or her thoughts, feelings, or beliefs about a topic. The writer first establishes a claim, the main idea, and then supports this claim
by presenting reasons for it, as well relevant evidence, such as facts and
details, to explain and support each reason.
Key Features of Argumentative
Writing:
· an introduction that gets readers interested in the topic and
presents a claim
· paragraphs that provide logically
ordered reasons supported by evidence
· linking words, phrases, and clauses
that clearly connect the claim to reasons, and reasons to evidence
· a conclusion that restates the claim and leaves readers with
something to think about
Like an
informational essay, an argumentative essay is divided into three sections, the
introduction, body, and conclusion.
|
INTRODUCTION Introduces
the topic and clearly states your claim |
A strong introduction grabs the
readers’ attention and makes them want to read more. It should: · Begin with an attention-grabbing
statement or question. · Introduce the topic by telling what your essay is in
response to and offering an initial thought or reaction. · Explain the issue you will be writing about. · State your claim clearly so that readers understand
your point of view. |
|
BODY Supports
your claim with reasons and evidence |
Each paragraph or section of the body
should develop one reason that supports your claim. Remember to: · Present your reasons in a logical
order, such as by order of importance. Start or end with the reason that
seems strongest. · Support your reasons with evidence by
including facts and details from the passages you have been given to
read about the topics. · Connect ideas with linking words,
phrases, and clauses to help them flow together smoothly- including
introductory phrases for direct quotes and evidence. |
|
CONCLUSION Restates
your claim and tells why it matters |
A strong conclusion leaves readers
with a good understanding of your point of view. You should: · Briefly restate your claim and
summarize your reasons. · End with a strong statement that
leaves your readers with something to think about. |
Remember the steps of writing:
Step 1: Unpack Your Assignment
Step 2: Find Evidence
Step 3: Organize Your Evidence
Step 4: Draft Your Essay
Step 5: Revise and Edit for
Conventions
In the previous unit, you read an example of an argumentative
essay. Now it’s your turn to write an argumentative essay.
Step 1: Unpack Your
Assignment
Prompt: Write a multi-paragraph response in which you make and support a
claim about whether or not kids should be allowed to use their cell phones in
school. Your response must be based on ideas and Information that can be found
in the passages.
To prepare to write your essay, you
will read the following sources:
Cellphones
in schools: Does safety outweigh distraction?
More
schools are allowing phones, so teachers use them for education
Step 2: Find Evidence
During this step you will reread the
sources above in order to identify important details about the effects of
social media in order to form your own claim. Use questions 1-7 to help you.
Step 3: Organize Your
Evidence
For this assignment, you are going to
use the following graphic organizer:
Either print out a copy here or create your own on a separate sheet of paper.
Step 4: Draft Your Essay
Remember, in the drafting stage
of writing, you form all of your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. These
paragraphs must be organized in a logical way, or readers might not understand
what you are trying to communicate. In the argumentative essay, you will have
an introduction, body, and conclusion. Remember the following example from the
previous unit:
|
INTRODUCTION attention
grabbing statement or question Introduce
the topic Explain
the issue State claim |
Do
you like to play video games? If so,
you're like a large portion of American teenagers who also play. Unfortunately, playing video games is negatively
affecting your health. Players'
have experienced inadequate sleep, pain in their wrist or neck, and obesity.
Rest assured, if you don't play excessively, you should not experience these
effects. However, the hard-core gamers out there are in for another story. |
|
BODY Reason that your claim is correct Evidence
in the form of facts and details from the passages that support your reason Linking
words, phrases, and clauses- including introductory phrases for quotes and evidence |
According
to research,
players' have experienced pain in their
wrists, neck, or elbow. According
to source 1, most of these pains
are caused by sitting in one position for multiple hours and by repeating the
same movements. Gamers who take long breaks and engage in other
activities are less likely to experience pain. Sometimes this pain doesn't
affect those gamers after they stop playing. Ways to prevent this from even
happening is to portion-size the amount of time that you play your video
games. Source 2 explains that not enough
players' actually get any physical exercise besides tapping a controller or
clicking a mouse. If you add physical exercise along with gaming,
there will be less tension on your joints. Secondly, some
players do not get enough sleep. Many players who do not have
bedtimes (or don't follow them) tend to go to sleep after midnight. At first,
this is all fun and games until you start feeling the side effects. Exhaustion, depression, obesity, and poor school
performance are risks from inefficient sleep (source 2). Playing games until 1 a.m. without
moving or stopping will change your body in the long term. Ways to prevent
this is to set a bed-time and follow it. Putting a limit on video games is
the first step to a healthier lifestyle. Finally, we come to the last major effect
on our bodies- obesity. Obesity is linked with
excessive gaming. Source 1 explains that "People
may choose video games over physical activity". Like I wrote
above, gamers who don't move for hours on end are not getting any exercise.
Obesity from video gaming can be prevented by adding some physical exercise,
along with your gaming. Take a walk, clean the house, or play with your pets
or siblings or friends. Of course, obesity is not only caused by excessive
gaming, but playing games is one factor. For those of you who aren't
physically active, I suggest adding exercising into your daily routine (and
less gaming). |
|
CONCLUSION Restate claim Something
to think about/Why it matters |
In
conclusion,
I think it's clear that video games have a
significant effect on physical health. Excessive gaming can cause
pain, lack of sleep, and obesity which can lead to more health problems. As
for physical exercise, some games like Wil fit plus or Wil fit resort turns
physical activity into games like yoga. Although video games CAN have a
positive effect on us, it will not necessarily work for everyone. To
summarize, limiting the time that you play
video games will benefit your health in more ways than one. |
Step 5: Revise and Edit
for Conventions
Remember, revising
is the writing stage where you look for ways to improve
the focus, structure, ideas, and language. When revising, you will reread
your essay to make sure all of the details fit under the topic of the
paragraphs they are in; you will make sure to use a mix of long and short
sentences; and you will be sure to include transitions to connect your
ideas.
Editing your writing involves checking for correct grammar,
spelling, punctuations, and capitalization.
Go ahead and revise and edit your
essay using the following questions to guide you:
Revise:
Do I state my topic clearly?
Do I include enough facts, details,
and examples to support my ideas?
Are all my details clearly related to
the topic?
Did I include transitions and
introductory phrases for quotes and evidence?
|
Transitions |
|
|
Connection |
Words and
Phrases |
|
Addition |
additionally, also, as
well as, besides, furthermore, in addition, moreover |
|
Cause and Effect |
cause and as a result,
because, consequently, due to, in order that, since |
|
Comparison |
in the same way, likewise,
similarly |
|
Contrast |
although, but, even so,
however, nevertheless, still, yet |
|
Introductory Phrases for Quotes and
Evidence |
As stated in the text, According to the text, Based on the text, The author states, |
HINT: Print out a copy of your essay
and use the editing marks to edit your paper. Even better, ask someone else to
edit your paper with you.
Go ahead and edit your essay using the
following questions to guide you:
Edit:
Are all of the words that begin a
sentence capitalized?
Do I end every sentence with
punctuation?
Did I spell everything correctly?
Did I indent every paragraph?
Word Study
· I can use common, grade
appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a
word.
English
words come from many languages, including Greek and Latin.
A
root is a word part that usually can’t stand alone as a word. Sometimes
one root is added to another root to make a word. Affixes are word parts such
as prefixes and suffixes that are added to roots to make words. Knowing what affixes
and roots mean can help you figure out the meanings of words. As you learn
Greek and Latin roots and affixes, your vocabulary will grow.
During
the course of this class, you will be learning Greek and Latin roots, prefixes,
and suffixes- each unit a new one will be added to the chart below.
duct is a root that means
“lead.” For example: conduct. Conduct means “to lead the
performance of (musicians or singers).”
|
Suffix |
Root |
Meaning |
Examples |
Additional Information |
|
|
en- em- |
|
|
to
cause to be/to put into or onto/ to go into or onto |
encounter,
enable, employ, embark, encircle |
|
|
fore- |
|
|
before/
earlier |
foreword,
forearm |
|
|
de- |
|
|
reduce
down/ away from |
defeat,
deform, decrease |
|
|
trans- |
|
|
across/
change/ through |
transformation,
transportation, transfer |
|
|
anti- |
|
|
opposite/
against |
antibiotic,
antifreeze |
|
|
di- dia- |
|
|
two/
through/ across |
digraph,
dialogue, diagonal |
|
|
ex- |
|
|
out
of/ away from |
extract,
exhale, extend |
|
|
auto- |
|
|
self |
autograph,
automatic |
|
|
in- (il-, im-, ir-) |
|
|
not |
inability,
impatient, irregular, illegal |
il- used before roots beginning with l
illegible im- used before roots beginning with b,
m, p immature, imbalance, impatient ir- used before roots beginning with r
irregular |
|
in- (il-, im-, ir-) |
|
|
in/
on/ toward |
infer,
illustrate, improve, irrigate |
same
prefix usage is applied as above |
|
bio- |
|
|
life |
biography,
biology |
|
|
mini- |
|
|
small |
miniature,
minimum |
from
the Latin word miniature… modern generations shortened miniature to mini |
|
micro- |
|
|
small/
minute |
microbiology,
microscope |
|
|
uni- |
|
|
one/
single |
unicorn,
unicycle, uniform |
|
|
|
-en |
|
made
of/ to make |
wooden,
dampen, tighten |
|
|
|
-dom |
|
condition
of |
boredom,
freedom, kingdom |
usually
a noun |
|
|
-ity |
|
state
of/ quality of |
prosperity,
equality |
usually
a noun |
|
|
-al -ial |
|
related
to/ characterized by |
colonial,
dental, betrayal |
usually
an adjective |
|
|
-ion -ation -sion -tion |
|
act
of/ state of/ result of |
tension,
attention, elevation, union |
the
real suffix is -ion putting s or t in front of -ion
is simply determined by the spelling of the root; usually a noun |
|
|
-ish |
|
relating
to/ characteristic |
childish,
foolish |
usually
an adjective |
|
|
-ent -ant |
|
an
action/ condition |
student,
immigrant, contestant |
often
a noun; the suffix -ant often indicates a person noun |
|
|
-ent -ant |
|
causing
a specific action |
obedient,
absorbent, abundant, elegant |
often
an adjective; -ent and -ant sound alike because of the schwa; -ent is used more often |
|
|
-hood |
|
the
state/ the condition/ the quality |
boyhood,
likelihood |
usually
a noun |
|
|
|
aud |
hear |
audience,
audible, audio |
|
|
|
|
therm |
heat |
thermometer,
thermal |
|
|
|
|
aqua |
water |
aquarium,
aquamarine |
|
|
|
|
act |
put
in motion/ process of doing |
action,
react, transact |
|
|
|
|
mit |
to
send |
emit,
transmit |
|
|
|
|
duct duc |
lead |
induce,
conduct |
|
Language Lesson: Relationships Between Words REVIEW
· I can use the relationship between
particular words (e.g., cause/effect, part/whole, item/category) to better
understand each of the words. L6.5b
An analogy shows the relationship between two pairs of words.
Here is an example:
|
fast is to slow as up is to down |
To
understand this analogy, think about the relationship between fast and slow.
Up and down are related in the same way. The words in each pair
are antonyms.
There
are different types of analogies. As you study the chart below, think about the
relationship between the pairs of words.
|
Type of
Analogy |
Example |
|
synonyms |
small is to miniature as fast
is to speedy |
|
antonyms |
young is to old as smooth is
to rough |
|
cause/effect |
tired is to sleep as hungry
is to eat |
|
part/whole |
finger is to hand as petal is
to daisy |
|
item/category |
carrot is to vegetable as cherry
is to fruit |
Let’s Practice
Independent Reading
· I can read and comprehend literature
independently and proficiently. RL6.10
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil
E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg: Reading Assignment -
Chapter 10
