This learning module focuses on argumentative writing through the topic of giving. It explores giving and its effects at personal, community and global levels, and also develops students' research skills.
Argument, Giving, Analysis, Personal, Global, Community, Research.
In this module, you will be researching giving and random acts of kindness. You'll also be learning about how to write an argument, and how to improve your writing through peer feedback.
Focus Questions
In this learning module, we will focus on the following questions:
What is giving and what are random acts of kindness?
Who gains and who loses through giving and random acts of kindness?
How can I write an argument about giving?
How do I write a paragraph in an argument about giving?
Watch some YouTube clips about giving. Think about what kind of giving is included:
Comment: In Community, post your reactions to what you saw. What would you have done in these ‘giving’ situations? What sorts of giving did you see? Also comment on the posts of 3-4 other students, building on their ideas, and adding more to their observations. Start your response to another student's comment with @Name.
This learning module focuses on argumentative writing through the topic of ‘giving’. This initial activity aims to:
Giving links to altruism, service learning, kindness, volunteering, and the work of Martin Seligman in Positive Psychology, and Stephen Post on giving and compassion. More information is also available at 5 Ways Giving is Good for You and the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation website. Some of the readings here are too academic for grade 8 students so the teacher could add some of the ideas and terminology (altruism, philanthropy, materialism, gratitude, recipients) through comments in Community. Students could add them to an Interesting Words file to develop their spelling and vocabulary.
The videoclips provide material that all students watch and can refer to. In Comment, they post their responses and reflections, identifying whether the acts of giving are to self, other individuals, communities, or the environment. Encourage discussion in the classroom and online. While students complete the updates in Community, the teacher can offer individualized support to students who need it.
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.
Learning Intention: To read and comprehend a media text about giving, and how the author uses evidence to support claims.
Survey: Read Random Acts Of Kindness Can Make Kids More Popular and complete the survey.
Reading: Random Acts Of Kindness Can Make Kids More Popular
This survey provides information on students’ reading comprehension and how evidence is used in a text to support claims. It also provides more information about giving and its relevance for students. They will be able to draw on the information in this text for their own research.
Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.
CCSS Focus
W.8.1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
SL.8.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Learning Intention: To research and find evidence to support you argument on giving.
Watch some video clips and read some research about giving at the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation website or in an advertisement from Thailand. You may also wish to do more research on the Free Hugs website or by watching Juan Mann on free hugs4aids. Websites on zoos and the World Wildlife website can point to some wildlife giving projects or find some environmental giving projects. Social media can also provide opportunities for giving: check out the story about a student who set up a Twitter account to counter cyberbullying. There are also great examples of giving at a blog entitled, A Year of Random Kindness: A Social Experiment.
The evidence about giving could be:
Record some notes on your research to refer to when you write your argument later.
Comment: Post one piece of evidence that supports the thesis that it is better to give than receive and one piece of evidence to support the thesis that it is better to receive than give. The evidence can be a quote or example from your research. Then comment on at least one other student's comment. Remember to ‘give’ to your peers by acknowledging their comments, building on them and, if possible, posing questions.
The aim of the activity is to expand students’ understanding of giving. In it, students contribute knowledge to their learning community by finding and posting their own links to clips or images that capture a form of giving. Some students will be able to find their own clips while others could be encouraged to use clips from the Random Acts of Kindness website.
CCSS Focus
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.
Learning Intention: To evaluate acts of giving from a range of perspectives
Based on all the information you have read on websites and in the posts by your peers in Community, evaluate the impact of giving from a range of perspectives. Consider the giver, the recipient, parent, teacher, government, lawmaker, forest ranger, community leader, health administrator, animals or any other perspective you can think of. Consider small acts of giving to self and others as well as more community and environmental acts of giving, and even national and global acts of giving. Two examples have been done for you.
| Act of Giving | Impact on Giver | Impact on Recipient (include a range of perspectives) | Analysis |
| Birthday Gift |
|
|
Both the giver and the receiver gain, but more gains for the giver |
| Cleaning up litter |
|
|
Both the giver and the receivers gain; the impact of giving is widespread |
Comment: After analyzing giving in detail, what do you believe is one strong reason to support your thesis for or against giving. Comment on the posts of 3-4 other students, stating why you agree or disagree with them. Make your you have a reason and evidence to support your arguments.
In this activity students evaluate the information they have researched form a range of perspectives. This will deepen their understanding of giving and acts of kindness and support them to draw conclusions that they can include in their arguments.
CCSS Focus
W.8.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Learning Intention: To start my writing project and to use the Rubric to identify what is important to include.
Project Name: It is Better to Give than Receive
Description: "It is better to give than to receive". Write an argument about whether you agree or disagree with this statement. You must provide evidence to support your claims and 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 argument, 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 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:
To provide extra support to students as they research their topics, post the Reading and Summarizing Overt Instruction Update from the Writer’s Toolkit: Reading Strategies for Writing in the New Media to Community. Alternatively, individualized or small group support may be provided through structured mini-lessons.
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.
Learning Intention: To understand how to structure a paragraph in an argument.
Look at the following paragraph from Random Acts of Kindness Make Kids More Popular (Note that media articles often use one sentence per paragraph but that these can be combined into a larger paragraph).
The acts of kindness were simple. The children gave mom a hug when she was stressed out, shared their lunches, or vacuumed the floor. After four weeks, the researchers tested the kids and compared the results with tests they'd taken before. All the children had more positive emotions, and were slightly happier. But the children who performed acts of kindness were much more likely to be accepting of their peers, naming more classmates as children they'd like to spend time with. "I do think we're on to something," Schonert-Reichl tells Shots. The children were at an age when bullying can be more extreme, she says, and children become more self-conscious. So an increase in peer acceptance could benefit in the classroom and in social life.
Look at the analysis of the structure of this paragraph.
Analysis of the Structure of a Paragraph in an Argument Feature Example Purpose/Effects Topic Sentence The acts of kindness were simple. Tells the reader what the paragraph will be mainly about. Fact/Example The children gave mom a hug when she was stressed out, shared their lunches, or vacuumed the floor. Explains the topic sentence, using factual examples. Detail After four weeks, the researchers tested the kids and compared the results with tests they'd taken before. Elaborates or explains the topic further by adding more factual information. Evidence All the children had more positive emotions, and were slightly happier. Provides evidence from the research to suppoprt the author's claim that acts of kindness make children more positive. Evidence But the children who performed acts of kindness were much more likely to be accepting of their peers, naming more classmates as children they'd like to spend time with. Provides more evidence from the research to suppoprt the author's claim that acts of kindness make children more accepting. Evidence - Reasons (Direct and Indirect Quote) "I do think we're on to something," Schonert-Reichl tells Shots. The children were at an age when bullying can be more extreme, she says, and children become more self-conscious. Uses a direct quote (actual words of researcher) and indirect quote (her words are restated) to provide reasons for why acts of kindness are importance. Concluding Sentence So an increase in peer acceptance could benefit in the classroom and in social life. Draws a conclusion about the overall benefits of acts of kindness.
Now look at the following paragraph and analyze it.
Being part of the experiment made kindness intentional. The children had to plan their acts of kindness, and remember to do them. Similar experiments in adults have shown that being actively kind increases happiness, and happier people then become more likely to help others. Parents don't have to have a Ph.D. to encourage these sorts of simple acts of kindness in children – or in themselves."I think of ways to start the New Year, and people making resolutions," says Schonert-Reichl, a former middle school teacher and mother of two boys." Can I do an act of kindness for someone every day?" Harried parents would feel better, she says, and their children would, too. "They start helping, and they start feeling this is nice." Seeing themselves as the kind of person who helps others could be an identity that then stays with them for the rest of their lives.
Paragraph Analysis Chart
Comment: What is one thing you have you learned about writing a paragraph in an argument? Comment on another student's comment, especially if you learned the same or similar things.
In this activity, students learn about how to structure a paragraph in an argument. Both paragraphs in this activity make claims that support the main thesis of the text, Random Acts of Kindness Make Kids More Popular. This is intentional so that students see the connections between the two paragraphs that are used. It is important to model the task initially so that students can refer to it as they complete their own analysis of another paragraph.
Paragraphs from other texts may also be used as models and students may be asked to analyze these to embed their understandings. In order to develop students understanding further, students could be asked to analyze a counter-claim.
Once students have completed this activity, they should use their learning to revise any paragraphs they have written in their arguments in Creator. For increased accountability, the completed Paragraph Analysis Charts may be submitted through "Your Submissions". Alternatively, students may refer to them when they write their arguments.
To provide extra 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.
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.
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.8.1e: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
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 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.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.
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 two - three other people’s published arguments. Write a comment about the most interesting thing you learned from reading them. This might be ideas you hadn’t thought of or interesting evidence. Also comment about one thing you have learned about writing arguments. Mention the creator and title of the work, and make a link to that page so the person reading your comment can jump to the page quickly.
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 performe.
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.