As a precursor to writing a rough draft, students learn that you can’t ignore evidence for the other side of an argument. Students learn how to use complex sentences to minimize or emphasize evidence when they argue. This lesson may not take an entire class period, so you may want to combine it with your own sentence-writing exercises or with another lesson.
The student will:
OPTION A: POWER POINT
WORK THROUGH the “Emphasize/Minimize” Power Point presentation.
DISTRIBUTE one “Emphasize/Minimize” worksheet to each student.
EXPLAIN the directions for the two worksheet activities. (Students should be familiar after working through the Power Point quiz.)
GIVE students time to complete the worksheet activities.
REVIEW answers with the class.
OPTION B: WORKSHEET ONLY
ANTICIPATE by asking students to consider the following two sentences:
Ask students which one seems to emphasize that Ruby robbed the bank (the second one), and which one seems to emphasize that she didn’t take very much money (the first one).
DISTRIBUTE one “Emphasize/Minimize” worksheet to each student.
WORK THROUGH sets 1 through 5 together with the class.
EXPLAIN the directions for the activity on the second side of the worksheet.
GIVE students time to complete the worksheet activity.
REVIEW answers with the class.