This lesson can be done without access to technology.
Objectives
Students will learn how to use research to make persuasive arguments on both sides of their issues.
The class will learn about using facts garnered during research to back up opinions. Working in groups, students will compare their research notes on the issues. Students will present to the class basic information and two views on their issues. The class will identify examples of persuasive facts presented during the informal debates on the issues.
Focusing Question
How can you use research to make a persuasive argument?
Mini Lesson
Preparing for Informal Debates (5 min.)
Introduce the focusing question that guides this lesson. Connect this question to the previous lesson.
Explain to students that each group will give an overview of their issue and facts from their research that support both sides of the debate.
Explain to students that each presentation should be less than five minutes long.
Provide students with an example of a debate for a current issue, such as the Patriot Act, or one of the issues they are not researching.
Distribute one index card to each student. Ask students to work with their research groups to compare their notes and prepare for informal group debates on the issues. Instruct students to write a few facts on the index card to use as speaking notes for their debate.
Explain to students that the goal of the informal debates is to assess their understanding of the issues and their ability to take notes. It is also an opportunity for students to find out what supporting ideas and facts their classmates were able to find.
Today we are going to use the research you have been collecting to have a small debate on each issue. You have been reading news articles and collecting facts on your issues. I am sure you have a lot of good facts that support both sides of your issues.
You will get together with your group and decide who will give an overview of the issue, who will present facts that support the “for” position, and who will present facts that support the “against” position. Use your definition of the issue along with the notes that you took on your index cards to prepare for the debate.
Let’s look at an example of what your debate might be like. I will be presenting a debate on the Patriot Act. I am going to look back to the definition of the issue that I developed in Step 2.
The Patriot Act is a law that allows the FBI to look at the books people take out of the library and listen to their phone conversations so that they can stop another terrorist attack. Some people support the Patriot Act because they think it will make us safer from terrorism. Other people think it takes away too much of our privacy.
Now I need to find some facts that support the “for” side of the issue. I will use my notes that I took from news articles to find some good facts. Here is a good fact that supports the Patriot Act. President Bush said, “Some politicians in Washington act as if the threat to America will also expire on that schedule” during a radio address in mid April 2004.
Now I need to find some facts that support the “against” side of the Patriot Act issue. Sometimes an opinion poll can be a good piece of supporting evidence. I read about an opinion poll in a news article about the Patriot Act. A Gallup Poll from June 2005 says that 30 percent of Americans believe the Patriot Act “goes too far” in taking away our freedom.
With your group, take a few minutes to look through your index cards and prepare for an informal debate on your issue. Try to find two or three facts that support each side of the issue.
Student Activity
Informal Debates (35 min.)
Students should meet with their groups briefly to discuss their individual roles in the debates. Students should decide who will give an overview of the issue, who will present facts supporting the “for” position, and who will provide facts supporting the “against” position. Instruct students to compile some of the facts on an index card.
Encourage students to use the research they have already written on index cards as a guide for their informal debates.
Students should present their informal debates to the class. Remind students that they can use their definition of the issue as an overview.
After each group completes its informal debate, instruct them to use computers to complete the Opinion Poll for the program, located on Step 3 of the Constitution Today website. Students will be able to use the data from all students participating in the program for their letters and group presentations.
Instruct students who have difficulty understanding the task to use the their notes from previous lessons. Students can use the definition of their issue as an overview.
Instruct students who have difficulty identifying how facts support one side or the other to ask another student in their group to help them. Ask the student to read the fact to another group member and ask them to describe how it makes him or her feel about the issue. Ask the student to write down “for” or “against” at the bottom right hand corner of the index card as a reminder.
Tell students who have difficulty speaking in front of the class that it is okay to read directly from their index cards if they are nervous. Ask group members to give them encouragement.
For students who have taken poor notes, use this opportunity to identify what they are doing incorrectly and guide them to make adjustments to their note-taking strategies.
Lesson Summary
How can you use research to make a persuasive argument? (5 min.)
Revisit the focusing question.
Ask students to identify good examples of persuasive facts and opinions they heard other groups share. Guide students to differentiate between opinions and facts.
Instruct students to generate additional questions about their issues.
Explain to students that in order to conduct good research they must continually develop research questions and figure out how to answer them.
Homework Activity: Ask students to continue to take notes on their issue. Distribute Issue Timeline Handouts: 3.2a, 3.2b, 3.2c, 3.2d, 3.2e, 3.2f, 3.2g, and 3.2h, depending on the issues students are researching. Explain to students that they will read an issue timeline for their issue, which will provide additional facts and statistics to help them make a persuasive argument. Instruct students to take notes on the issue timeline, writing down key facts or statistics that they may have been missing in their informal debate.
We have heard a lot of good facts that support both sides of each issue. Which facts and arguments do you think were convincing? Why? Sample Responses: The group that gave the debate on subway searches had some good facts. I like the fact they used that said 66 percent of New Yorkers think the searches are a good thing. This fact stayed in my head because I thought more people were against it, but the poll said that more people think the searches are a good thing.
Now that you have debated both sides of the issue using some factual support, what other questions do you have about your issue? Sample Responses: Now that I have some poll responses from people across the country about Evolution, I want to know what people think about Intelligent Design. How many people think that Intelligent Design should be taught in public schools?
It is important to continue to look back to your research questions to make sure that the information you are taking notes on is meaningful to your issue. As you learn more about your issue, you should develop more research questions and find the answers to them in your research.
Assessment
Use the information that students present in the informal debates to assess students’ research notes and their ability to create persuasive arguments.
