Convince Me! - Argumentative Writing for Middle Grades Learners (FLEX schedule)

This is a FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE class with NO live meetings. It is similar to the live class but is meant for learners to engage with the teacher, classmates, and class content during a 4-week flexible schedule period using the Outschool Classroom. This class is designed for learners who cannot participate in the scheduled live classes or learners who may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the live version of the class.

A note about course interactions:
All class discussions will take place in the Outschool Classroom. And, pre-recorded instructional videos, activities, handouts, and assignments will all be available in the Outschool Classroom. Each weekly lesson will include the following: (1) a recorded video with screen sharing and teacher commentary to discuss the process of writing an argumentative essay, (2) a discussion component in which learners will engage with each other and with the teacher, (3) handouts with additional resources, including a graphic organizer, a sample essay, editing guides, and (4) an assignment to complete before moving to the next lesson. Learners will interact with each other and with the teacher through guided weekly discussions. The teacher will also provide assignment feedback to learners and respond to questions or concerns.

Middle school students love to argue! This class will harness that desire to argue by giving learners the writing skills to develop a well-thought-out, argumentative essay. Learners will examine how to build an argument, while developing an understanding of how to write a claim, how to provide clear reasoning, and how to support the claim with solid evidence. We will progress from a freestyle debate of high-interest topics in the discussion forum in the first class to completing a polished argumentative essay by the end of the last week of class. Class topics will be relevant to learners, and class activities will be varied. This class is appropriate for middle grades learners who want to learn how to write a solid argumentative essay.

Week one: informally debate high-interest topics, read and compare argumentative texts, brainstorm writing topic ideas

Week two: understand the structure of an argumentative essay

Week three: distinguish fact from opinion, identify credible sources, begin argument essay draft

Week four: engage in a writer’s workshop to revise and edit argument essay draft, share final, revised argument essays