"Teaching argument writing", was informative and gave me a new insights on how to work with ELL students.The whole in itself talks about applying group discussions in small group or as a a class when teaching argument writing, I loved how the book broke down the steps that they incorporated in their classroom to achieve their purpose. I think this is important talk about about the steps and what that might entail.
"When writing an argument students see no need to present evidence or show why it is relevant; they simply express merely opinions"(Hillocks,2010,p.15). This direct quote holds truth behind its entirety. Lets face it, these are the questions students ask themeselves "why am I doing this" , "whats the point", or I don't care". So because our students have a lack of motivation, I did appreciate that Chapter 1, involves introducing argument writing in a more interactive. and fun way. The forensic case, is a great way to grab the attention of your students because not only are they pretending to work in the field but they are also analyzing the picture that was given to them to determine what happen. This is great because it lead to great discussion. Great facilitation in the classroom was conducted with critical questions, and also modification for ELL students. The model that they used for this specific example is called the "Toulmin model" which it helps student to learn and develop arguments from exiting data. SO the process of the Toulmin model was to select a specific crime that needs to be solved. In this case they used the example of Arthur who apparently slipped from the stairs and was found with a glass of wine in his hand. What the students needed to solve whether it was really an accident or was it his wife Queenie who pushed him off. The point of this specific crime is help students learnt the strategies for making arguments. The chapter also discusses on writing arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. "Teaching students to support claims with evidence by first helping them understand how to produce sound criteria for making claims" (Hillocks, 2010, p.41). This is important because the book tell us that if we begin with simple condensed problems, and help our students decided the criteria for making reasonable judgement. The example in the book that was used, is students had to choose based on the information on which mascot would be the most appropriate for the new school that has been built. Once again this was a great attention grabber for students to be intrigued and wanting to learn more. Overall I enjoyed the book and its various examples that were given for educators to apply in their classrooms. I will say that I believe that these examples that were mentioned are best used for grades 6th-8th middle as opposed to high grade levels.
"When writing an argument students see no need to present evidence or show why it is relevant; they simply express merely opinions"(Hillocks,2010,p.15). This direct quote holds truth behind its entirety. Lets face it, these are the questions students ask themeselves "why am I doing this" , "whats the point", or I don't care". So because our students have a lack of motivation, I did appreciate that Chapter 1, involves introducing argument writing in a more interactive. and fun way. The forensic case, is a great way to grab the attention of your students because not only are they pretending to work in the field but they are also analyzing the picture that was given to them to determine what happen. This is great because it lead to great discussion. Great facilitation in the classroom was conducted with critical questions, and also modification for ELL students. The model that they used for this specific example is called the "Toulmin model" which it helps student to learn and develop arguments from exiting data. SO the process of the Toulmin model was to select a specific crime that needs to be solved. In this case they used the example of Arthur who apparently slipped from the stairs and was found with a glass of wine in his hand. What the students needed to solve whether it was really an accident or was it his wife Queenie who pushed him off. The point of this specific crime is help students learnt the strategies for making arguments. The chapter also discusses on writing arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. "Teaching students to support claims with evidence by first helping them understand how to produce sound criteria for making claims" (Hillocks, 2010, p.41). This is important because the book tell us that if we begin with simple condensed problems, and help our students decided the criteria for making reasonable judgement. The example in the book that was used, is students had to choose based on the information on which mascot would be the most appropriate for the new school that has been built. Once again this was a great attention grabber for students to be intrigued and wanting to learn more. Overall I enjoyed the book and its various examples that were given for educators to apply in their classrooms. I will say that I believe that these examples that were mentioned are best used for grades 6th-8th middle as opposed to high grade levels.