This learning module focuses on argumentative writing through considering both real world and virtual communication. This initial activity aims to:

• Engage students in the topic through sharing their own experiences of real world and virtual communication.
  
• Develop their confidence to post to the Scholar learning community, interact with others, and express their thoughts in full sentences in blog-like interactions.
• Establish working online in a learning community, building collaborative intelligence, as central to the learning in this module.

Main CCSS Focus

W.8.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

Specific CCSS Focus

SL.8.1: Engage in a range of collaborative discussions on grade 8 topics, issues and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

This activity is a brainstorm of forms of communication in order to open up possibilities for what students might research and write about. It also aims to develop a shared understanding of virtual and real world communication. The shared class definition may also be useful for students to use when they write their own texts.

Ideas for Shared Definitions

• Real world communication may focus on face-to-face, real time and human contact.
• Virtual communication my be online and mediated by technology.

There are quite a few aspects to address in the Comment. This is intentional to promote a rich discussion in which all students can interact. Encourage "real world' discussion in the classroom as a scaffold to writing online comments. If necessary, add a comment to the discussion in which you prompt students to work on a particular part. Alternatively, these can be added as three individual Community Updates. Go to Community Profile => Updates => Create an Update. Write a title for the update and paste the text in the box.

While students complete the updates in Community, the teacher can offer individualized support to any students who need it. Prompt students with ideas if necessary. Consider areas such as robotics in surgery, online dating, virtual and real games, medical health records, webinars, distance learning, access to training for people in remote areas or people with disabilities, emergency simulations (fire, medical, terrorism) etc.

CCSS Focus

SL.8.1: Engage in a range of collaborative discussions on grade 8 topics, issues and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

The aim of the activity is to support students to read, research and identify claims and evidence that they can include in their argumentative texts. Some of the readings may be too challenging for some students, so encourage them to select from the list provided and/or find their own texts.

Students may refer to their completed charts when they write their own texts. However, for accountability, students may also be required to submit them to the teacher through Submissions in Community.

To provide extra support to students, post the following Overt Instruction Updates from The Writer’s Toolkit: Reading Strategies for Writing in the New Media to Community if they need to focus on this aspect of writing at this time. Alternatively, individualized or small group support may be provided through structured mini-lessons.

• Internet Searches and Citing References
• Reading and Summarizing
• Reading and Inferring
• Note Taking
• Vocabulary and Spelling

CCSS Focus

RI.8.1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

W.8.1b: Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

W.8.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.

SL.8.1: Engage in a range of collaborative discussions on grade 8 topics, issues and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Assigning the project to the students at this stage is important to set clear expectations, and also so students understand how the activities that follow will support them.

As students begin to draft their work, encourage them to use the Structure Tool to organize some of the key ideas they gathered from their research about the topic of giving. The Structure Tool supports students to develop an initial structure for their text, including notes based on their background knowledge. As they continue to research and discuss ideas in the Community Updates, they add more notes, refine the elements of their text, and draft new versions, transforming their notes into well written text. This helps them to avoid plagiarism as well. Students should also refer to the rubric as a guide when they write in Creator. If necessary, look through the rubric with students.

For first time users of Scholar, the following Overt Instruction Updates from The Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing in the New Media may be useful to add to Community:

• How to Write in Scholar
• Using the Rubric and Checker
• Planning Using the Structure Tool
• Incorporating Media in Writing

Project Rubric

CCSS Focus

W.8.2: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

W.8.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

W.8.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

In this activity students analyze a paragraph in an argument text. This paragraph can also serve as a model when writing their own argument texts. Using a single paragraph is useful to focus students’ attention on the links among claims, reasoning and evidence.

The initial activity is reading and responding to the ideas presented in the text. This is important to engage students before the close analysis of the structure of the paragraph. If necessary, add a comment to the discussion in which you prompt students to work on the second part of analyzing the paragraph. Alternatively, it can be added as an individual Community Update. Go to Community Profile => Updates => Create an Update. Write a title for the update and paste the text in the box.

If necessary, students may practice the skill by analyzing other paragraphs. For accountability, students may also be required to submit completed charts to the teacher through Submissions in Community.

The text connectives that clarify the relationships among claims, reasons and evidence are identified in this activity. These are explored in more depth in the Overt Instruction Update on Different Kinds of Argument Sentences.

To provide further support to students, post the following Overt Instruction Updates from The Writer’s Toolkit: Strategies for Writing Arguments in the New Media to Community if they need to focus on this aspect of writing at this time. Alternatively, individualized or small group support may be provided through structured mini-lessons.

• Structure of Arguments
• Analyzing Paragraphs in Arguments
• Arguments in Blogs
• Transition Words in Arguments and Informative/Explanatory Texts

CCSS Focus

RI.8.5: Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.

W.8.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

This update covers two stages of the writing process in Scholar: Review and Revision.

The following Overt Instruction Updates from The Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing in the New Media may be useful to add to Community. They may be used with first time users or it may be appropriate to introduce them in a second writing project so students learn about the features of Scholar over time.

• Constructive Feedback: Annotations - this guides students in how to provide specific feedback through Annotations.
• Constructive Feedback: Reviews - this describes types of feedback such as critical, cheerleader and constructive feedback.
• Revision Phase - this focuses on how to use the feedback students receive to improve their writing, and includes writing a self review.

The rubric is included here so that the teacher can reinforce particular aspects of writing that students are expected to include. Students should refer to the rubric as they draft their writing in Creator, and in the peer review and revision phases, and even in the publication phase.

The rubric also contains specific strategies that students can offer to their peers rather than making general comments or focusing on mechanics. In fact the annotations tool is most useful for a spelling and punctuation focus. The rubric focuses on the structure of a text, the development of ideas, including evidence and examples, transitions and style.

Before the students submit their final work, run the Analytics. Check the percentage of text revised between one draft and the next, the number of words currently written and the grade level of the writing. You may wish to ask some students to do more work before they submit.

CCSS Focus

W.8.5: With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

W.8.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

L.8.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing.

L.8.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation and spelling when writing.

Notifications of publication are provided to the creator and all reviewers.

This reflection activity promotes student metacognition about what makes quality writing by reading and reflecting on other students’ writing. Ask students to look over other people’s published works - have them read at least two or three works. Ask them to comment on something interesting they learned from reading other students’ work. 

Refer to Analytics to see how students have performed.

CCSS Focus

W.8.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.