In this Scholar Writing Project, students write an argument about the ways in which humans interact with animals through a study of zoos and circuses. They learn to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Zoos, Circuses, Arguments, Conservation, Entertainment, Education.
Zoos and circuses are controversial places. Some people love them. Other people think they are cruel to animals. Still other people have mixed feelings. In this learning module, you are going to create an argument about zoos. You can take a ‘for’, ‘against’ or ‘mixed’ judgment response. However, whatever position you take, you should demonstrate you are aware of the range of views that are different from yours.
Focus Questions
In this learning module, we will focus on the following questions:
Are zoos and circuses cruel to animals?
Do the conservation and educational purposes of zoos justify their existence?
How do I write an argument to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence about whether zoos are for animal or humans?
Comment: Share one of your experiences of a visit to a zoo or circus, or of watching or reading something about animals in captivity. What do you remember most? Comment on another student's comment. Write @name first, inserting the student's name so they know you are commenting on their comment.
Using a range of websites about zoos, students focus on the summarizing reading strategy to support their own research and writing about zoos. They also read and analyze the structure and language features of an argument about circuses. Then, they write an argument about the advantages and disadvantages of zoos, reviewing their peers’ arguments and revising their own argument for publication. Extension activities are also included using the picture book, Zoo by Anthony Browne.
Main CCSS Focus
W.7.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
Learning Intention: To share your experiences and opinions about zoos in an online discussion.
Firstly, complete the survey. This survey focuses on your opinions of zoos. Then add your comment about zoos to Community.
Comment: What are your thoughts about zoos? Do you love them? Do you think they are cruel to animals? Or do you have mixed feelings? Post your opinions. Comment on the comments of 2-3 other students, debating points raised in their comments. You can also include images and web links that support your ideas with your comments.
This activity is to explore students’ background knowledge, experiences and opinions about zoos. To scaffold the comments in Community, use the survey that elicits students' opinions about zoos. This survey will prompt their thinking about zoos, enable them to extend their thinking, articulate their current position on zoos, and foreground some of the issues they will read about in the next activity. Their responses might be influenced by what they have read and viewed, and/or actual visits to zoos and circuses. The survey may also be repeated at the end of the module to see whether students’ opinions have changed.
Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.
To encourage students to add comments to the class discussion in Community, add teacher comments to stimulate thinking and to keep the online discussion focused. If needed, extra Community Updates may be added to build on students' comments more. Encourage students to post images and web links as well as comments in the updates; this may engage students more in the discussion.
CCSS Focus
SL.7.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.7.1c: Pose questions that elicit elaboration and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant observations and ideas that bring the discussion back on topic as needed.
W.7.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to interact and collaborate with others.
Learning Intention: To summarize arguments in favor of zoos and include supporting evidence.
Read the following websites about zoos and summarize the information each one presents in a comparison matrix. Summarizing is a reading strategy in which you identify the main ideas or say what is important in a text in your own words. It involves taking a larger selection of text and reducing it to its main points. A summary includes facts and does not include your personal opinions or judgments.
Work with a partner to discuss the main ideas and to find multimodal evidence in the text. Start by reading the title, headings and sub-headings, and predict what you think the website is about. Then look at the visuals and their captions and add points to your comparison matrix to summarize the information. Refer to evidence in the text as well as the visuals and audio.
Supporting Zoos: The following websites are in favor of zoos. You can find your own websites too, including a website of a zoo near you.Refer to evidence in the text as well as the visuals and audio.
St Louis Zoo. (2013). Lemur Triplets Induce Aahs at Saint Louis Zoo
BBC Nature. (2011). Happy Orangutans Live Longer in Zoos
The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. (2013). Tasmanian Devils Welcomed at San Diego Zoo
Presenting Varied Viewpoints
New York Times. Zoos: News about Zoos, including Commentary and Archival Articles
Comment: Make a claim to support the thesis, ‘Zoos are a good thing’, and give some evidence to support the claim. Comment on one or two other students’ posts.
| Website 1 | Website 2 | Website 3 | |
| Key words/phrases | |||
| Main idea about zoos | |||
| Another idea about zoos | |||
| Another idea about zoos | |||
| Evidence: words/phrases that support main ideas | |||
| Evidence: visuals that support main ideas | |||
| Summary statement |
In this activity students are immersed in online texts which support zoos. Their focus is using a summarizing reading strategy in order to identify arguments and evidence in support of zoos. The comparison matrix is used so students may record information from their research. It also helps to scaffold their summaries of the main ideas and to prompt them to find multimodal evidence for these ideas. 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.
Working in pairs will enable students to share the workload and promote collaboration and discussion, which in turn will deepen their understanding of their reading.
To provide extra support to students, post the following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer’s Toolkit 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.
CCSS Focus
RL.7.2: Determine two or more central ideas in a text and provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.7.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
Learning Intention: To summarize arguments opposing zoos and include supporting evidence.
Work with a partner to discuss the main ideas and to find multimodal evidence in the text. Start by reading the title, headings and sub-headings, and predict what you think the website is about. Then look at the visuals and their captions and add points to your comparison matrix to summarize the information. Refer to evidence in the text as well as the visuals and audio.
Opposing Zoos: The following websites oppose zoos. You can find your own websites too.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Animal Rights Uncompromised:Zoos
Los Angeles Times. (2012). Ban Petting Zoos:E.Coli Outbreak Raises Questions
Mother Nature Network. (2010). China Urges Ban on Animals Performances in Zoos
Presenting Varied Viewpoints
New York Times. Zoos: News about Zoos, including Commentary and Archival Articles
Wired Science. (2013). Zoo Photos Capture Caged Animals' Melancholy
| Website 1 | Website 2 | Website 3 | |
| Keywords | |||
| Main idea about zoos | |||
| Another idea about zoos | |||
| Another idea about zoos | |||
| Evidence: words/phrases that support main ideas | |||
| Evidence: visuals that support main ideas | |||
| Summary statement |
Comment: Make a claim to support the thesis ‘Zoos are not a good thing’, and give some evidence to support the claim. Comment on one or two other students’ posts.
This activity further builds students’ skills to summarize information and find multimodal evidence for claims that oppose zoos. 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.
CCSS Focus
RL.7.2: Determine two or more central ideas in a text and provide an objective summary of the text.
RL.7.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
Learning Intention: To start my writing project and to use the rubric to identify what is important to include.
Project Name: Are zoos for humans or animals?
Description: Write an argument text in which you take a position about zoos, in support of zoos, opposed to zoos, or an ambivalent position. You must also show you understand and are aware of positions that are different from yours.
Check the Work Request in your Notifications. Click on this link to open the “Untitled Work” in Creator. Then, change the title, and begin a first draft. Go to About This Work => Project => Description for further project information.
For what you need to do in order to write a good argumentative text, go to Feedback => Reviews => Rubric. Keep the Rubric open and refer to it as you write.
When you are ready to submit, click “Submit Draft” below the work. This is the version of your work that will be sent to others for review.
Comment: Do you have any questions about how Scholar works? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
Assigning the project to the students at this stage is important to set clear expectations, and also so students understand how the activities on the structure and language features of an argument 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 have gathered from the reading and summarizing activities. Students should also refer to the rubric as a guide as 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 may be useful to add to Community:
Project Rubric
CCSS Focus
W.7.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.7.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
W.7.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
Learning Intention: To identify the structure of an argument and the function of each part.
Now that you have received your Work Request to write an argument, this activity will support you to understand the structure of an argument text. An argument is a text that presents a point of view. It tries to persuade or convince others who may not yet have an opinion on a particular topic, or people who have an opposing point of view. Arguments are an important part of political debates, controversies about social issues, and scientific discussions - to name just a few of the places where arguments play an important role.
Look at Circuses Should Be Banned and complete the Structure of Arguments Chart, identifying the parts of an argument using the definitions. You may find more than one example.
Why Circuses Should Be Banned
Even though circuses entertain people all over the world, they should certainly be banned. The cruel treatment of animals when they are trained and perform, the unnatural behaviors, and safety issues for animals and humans, are all reasons why circuses must be banned.
Firstly, circuses should be banned because of their cruelty to animals. As circus animals have to perform tricks, they undergo extensive training. Trainers use whips, tight collars, bull hooks, electric prods and muzzles in order to train the animals and make them perform. In addition, many of the training methods such as punishment, isolation, removal of teeth and claws, and beatings are illegal under the laws of many countries. On the issue of cruelty, circuses must definitely be banned.
Similarly, the tricks that circus animals have to perform and their living conditions are not experienced by animals in their natural environment. For example, circus animals are penned in small cages so they have limited room to move. As a result, they do not experience what it would be like if they were living in their natural habitats. Animals, particularly large animals such as elephants, lions and tigers, need a lot of space to move around, not be chained up or only able to move a few steps in their cage. An elephant in the wild may travel up to 40 kilometers a day and lives in a social group. Chimpanzees and baboons also live in large, social groups in the wild. They do not perform tricks such as riding a motorbike or wearing human clothes in the wild. In short, the tricks that circus animals are forced to do in order to entertain people are unnatural behaviors.
Furthermore, circuses are unsafe for both humans and animals. Some animals have psychological suffering because of the cruel training and unnatural living conditions. They have become violent towards their trainers or audiences, resulting in physical injuries and even death for humans. For example, animals have been stunned or shot when they have become violent and/or later ‘put down’. The lives of humans and animals should not be sacrificed for circus entertainment.
On the other hand, some people might say that circuses are educational and they also provide jobs at a time when many people are unemployed. However, the jobs are not well paid and the performances of animals are unnatural, so they do not teach people anything about the natural behaviors of animals.
To sum up, there are many reasons to ban circuses such as cruelty to animals, they are not educational and they may be unsafe. Circuses are a thing of the past and they should undoubtedly stay in the past.
| Feature | Examples | Definition |
| Thesis | A short overarching statement that introduces the argument or main claim, stating the thing you want to convince your reader | |
| Claim | Statements that say that something is true; claims support the thesis.The paragraphs that follow should focus on these claims – perhaps one paragraph per claim | |
| Counter-claim | An opposing statement or argument | |
| Preview | An outline of the main claims that will be covered in the work, without giving all the details | |
| Paragraph Point Sentence | First sentence of each paragraph, stating the claim; it is followed by supporting evidence | |
| Evidence: Facts and Concrete Details | Information that is claimed to be true or something that is real or actually happened | |
| Evidence: Statistics | Number facts that help to describe more than one thing | |
| Evidence: Quotation | Words that someone has said or written, taken from a book, speech, interview, poem, play, the internet, etc | |
| Evidence: Example | One of a number of things, or a part of something, that helps to illustrate an idea or concept | |
| Opinion | A person’s perspective | |
| Conclusion | Summarizes the claims and counter-claims | |
| Concluding Statement | Comments about the importance of the topic, or poses a question, looks to the future, or includes a call to action or a personal or widely-held opinion about the topic |
Comment: In earlier Updates you read information about zoos. Now that you understand the structure of argument texts, what is one claim and one counter-claim that you will include in your argument about zoos. Comment on at least one other student's comment.
This activity supports students to explore an argument in a text about circuses to learn more about the structure of an argument. This text serves as a model of arguments for students to refer to when they write their own arguments about zoos.
The structure of an argument helps to achieve its purpose by:
To provide extra support to students, post the following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer’s Toolkit to Community if students need to focus on this aspect of writing at this time. Alternatively, individualized or small group support may be provided through structured mini-lessons.
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.
The text on Why Circuses Should Be Banned may also be posted in Shares.
CCSS Focus
W.7.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.7.1a: Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
W.7.1b: Support claims with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
W.7.1e: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
Learning Intention: To demonstrate your understanding of the structure and language features of argument.
Complete the survey: Circuses Argument: Structure and Language Features
Refer to the text, Why Circuses Should Be Banned, as you complete the survey.
Comment: You can read more about Elephants to Retire from the Ringling Brothers Stage by 2018. Do you agree? Provide a reason for your viewpoint. Then comment on the comments of other students.
Students refer to the text, Circuses Should Be Banned, as they complete the survey. Emphasize to students that the topic of circuses is used to create a model of a text that they can use when they write their own texts about zoos.
This survey will provide baseline data on whether students have understood the basic concepts of argument: thesis, claim and evidence, and its language features.
Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.
CCSS
W.7.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.7.1a: Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
W.7.1b: Support claims with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
W.7.1c: Use words, phrases and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claims, reasons, and evidence.
W.7.1d: Establish and maintain a formal style.
W.7.1e: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
Learning Intention: To identify the structure of an argument in a blog.
Blogs often present written arguments on controversial topics. Find a blog post on a controversial issue. As you read it, identify its thesis, claims, evidence and any counter-claims.
Examples of blogs that present arguments:
Layton, S. (2012) Homework Debate: Pros, Cons, .....and I Still Don't Like It
Murphy, J. (2012). The Pros and Cons of Being on a Competitive Youth Sports Team
Teens Health. (2012) Why Exercise is Wise
Fox, C. National Geographic Kids. Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap
The Guardian. (2013). No More Denial: Time to Act on Climate Change
The Guardian Environment Blog. (2013). Meet the World's Best New Environment Bloggers (includes 10 bloggers)
Encyclopedia Britannica Advocacy for Animals. (2008). The Pros and Cons of Fish Farming
Comment: What is the thesis of the blog you have found? Write it down in one sentence in the comment box and note (thesis) in brackets at the end of the sentence. Do not add your comment yet. What is one claim that the author makes? Next, in the same comment box write down a claim made by the author, and note (claim) in brackets at the end of the sentence. What evidence do they use to support that claim? Finally, in the same comment box, write down a piece of evidence provided by the author in support of their claim, and note (evidence) in brackets at the end of the sentence. Include the link to the blog post you are discussing. Now add your comment to the class discussion. Comment on the comments of other students.
This activity reinforces students' understanding of the structure of argument texts by exploring online texts such as blogs. These blogs provide real world examples of arguments for students to refer to when they write their own arguments about zoos.
CCSS Focus
W.7.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
W.7.1a: Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
W.7.1b: Support claims with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
Learning Intention: To demonstrate your understanding of how sentences can link and expand on ideas.
Complete the survey: Circuses Argument: Linking and Expanding Ideas
Refer to Why Circuses Should Be Banned as you complete the survey.
This survey focuses on using complex sentences to link and expand on ideas, and to write more persuasively. It focuses on the text, Circuses Should Be Banned, which students should refer to as they complete the survey.
Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.
Based on the survey results, post the following Overt Instruction Updates from The Writer’s Toolkit: Strategies for Writing Arguments in the New Media to Community if students need to focus on this aspect of writing at this time. Alternatively, individualized or small group support may be provided through structured mini-lessons.
CCSS Focus
W.7.1c: Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence.
W.7.1d: Establish and maintain a formal style.
L.7.1b: Choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.
Learning Intention: To understand how images can present a point of view and how they can complement and/or challenge the written text.
Read Anthony Browne’s book, Zoo, published by Sunburst, 2002. This is a narrative, not an argument. However, it expresses a point of view about zoos in way that is quite different from argument texts. With a partner, discuss:
Comment: What do you think the author and illustrator, Anthony Browne, thinks about zoos? How can you tell from the language he uses? What telltale signs are there from the images he uses? Draw on some of the ideas of your discussion in your comments.
This activity is an extension activity and is optional in the learning module. Its purpose is to increase students’ understanding of argument texts by studying a narrative. The issue of zoos is raised in a quite different way by argument texts and narrative texts. Reading Zoo after looking at argument texts, is a way to highlight the differences between these two types of texts, despite similarities in the authors’ purposes. It is also a way to deepen students’ understanding of the issues involved in the topic about which they will be writing.
This is a very sophisticated picture book which presents strong arguments against zoos through the narrative of a family’s outing to the zoo and images of animals in zoos.
Browne, A. (2002). Zoo. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Sunburst).
CCSS Focus
Anchor Standards: [Students] need to know how to combine elements of different kinds of writing—for example, to use narrative strategies within argument and explanation within narrative— to produce complex and nuanced writing.
Learning Intention: To give feedback on other students’ works and then revise my own.
Check your Notifications for Feedback Requests: You have received a Feedback Request. Click on this link to take you to the work you have been assigned to review. Go to Feedback => Reviews => Review Work. Rate the work on each criterion and explain why you gave the work that rating. Make in-text comments at Feedback => Annotations. Make an overall recommendation at Feedback => Recommendation.
Submit your feedback once it is finished at About This Work => Project => Status. You will not be able to submit your review until all requirements set by you teacher have been met. These may include a Review, Annotations, and/or a Publication Recommendation.
For more information, see Reviewing a Work and Submitting a Review and Annotations.
The next stage of the writing process is to revise your own work.
Check your Notifications for a Revision Request: You have received a Revision Request. Click on this link to take you to the most recent version of your work. Then go to Feedback => Reviews => Results to see the reviews and Feedback => Annotations to see in-text comments. Once you have incorporated all of the feedback (Reviews/Annotations) from your peers, click “Submit Revision” below the work.
You can also write a self-review, explaining how you have taken on board the feedback you received.
For more information, see The Revision Phase.
Comment: Do you have any more questions about Scholar at this stage? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
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 Teaching 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.
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.7.5: 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.7.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
L.7.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing.
L.7.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation and spelling when writing.
Learning Intention: To identify what is successful writing.
Check Notifications to see if your work has been published and whether works that you provided feedback on have been selected for publication.
Published works may be viewed on your and any collaborators' individual profiles in Community.
Comment: Read 2 or 3 other students’ zoo arguments. What are some interesting claims and evidence you have learned from reading other students’ arguments? These might be claims you hadn’t thought of, or interesting evidence such as facts that you didn’t know. Also comment about one thing you have learned about writing arguments.
Notifications of publication are provided to the creator and all reviewers.
The reflection activity promotes student metacognition about what makes quality writing by reading and reflecting on other students’ published works. Ask students to look over other students’ arguments – say two or three. 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.7.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others.