My sophomore high school students were asked to pick a current social issue topic that they could argue/debate. The goal is to research an issue that they want to improve, no matter how controversial it might be. First they researched pros and cons relating to their topics so they could narrow down their argument. They had to find 3 articles that reinforced their argument and 2 articles that opposed their argument. Students used www.sweetsearch.com , www.change.org, and www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate for majority of their research. Please take a look at their individual blogs and read their Graff Templates…short 200-250 word paragraphs that summarize their argument, including a mention of their pros and cons as well as their own personal opinions. They will have a question or two after their Graff template, so please respond with some positive feedback and with constructive criticism because they will turn this research into a 1250 word paper to showcase their argument. Thank you!

They Say I Say Graff Templates

Students were given a 5 oz container of Play-Doh and then instructed to use their creativity to use that one container and only one color to create something that represents them.  It could be (or relate to):

• a sport
• a hobby
• an object that reminds them of someone or something special
• a toy
• a food item
• and so much more

1. The goal is to create something with their hands that represents a part of who they are and/or represents something that they believe in or admire.

2. After completing the Play-Doh creation, students shared their masterpieces with their classmates and explained why they sculpted that object.

3. Then students blogged about the activity in 250 words. The blog entry had to have the following parts:

• An explanation of the item created with Play-Doh, what the item was, and why it’s important to them.
• An image of the object would be helpful to give the audience a visual.
• A summary of some of the other items their classmates created to showcase what other objects they thought were interesting and maybe even unique.
• A brief comparison to how this activity can relate to the writing process.  (What was the assignment, how did you brainstorm, draft, edit, finalize, etc.)  Also, knowing that the classmates would see the objects, how did Rhetorical Situation play into your creation decisions?  (Genre, Audience, Design, Stance, Purpose)