Arguing with evidence instead of emotion

Gallery • 7 Photos

Gabe Cannici

Sixth graders presented their arguments to peers and administrators in the Learning Lab. Some students decorated posters while others created Google Slide shows or wrote Letters to the Editor.

Schools should/should not distribute homework to students. Schools/should not allow students to use cell phones in class. Schools/should not require students to wear uniforms. Sixth grade students at Patrick M. Villano School defended one of these claims as part of a recent argument project in Language Arts class.

Students learned how to find credible, reliable and unbiased evidence to support the claim. Teachers demonstrated how to craft a call to action. That’s where the writer persuades the reader to take an immediate action to support the claim. Students followed all the steps to reading, researching and writing an argument, but instead of a traditional report, they chose from alternative assessments. Students could either craft a public service announcement, decorate a poster, create a Google Slideshow, or write a Letter to the Editor of a local newspaper.

To celebrate the project completion, students shared their work with one another in the Learning Lab. Dr. Brian Gatens, School Superintendent, Alice Opperman, Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Technology, and Principal Jessica Espinoza visited the project celebration.