Argument Essay #2: What is essential in a "good" poem?

Day One: 

Model: Brainstorm

" I am going to become a Sarah, the writer, when I sit down at my notebook. Okay, I am thinking about all the poetry we have read and wondering why I think some  are "good" and some fall flat. When I think of "good," I am not thinking about liking as much as I am thinking about the poem being effective or skillful or thoughtful. What makes a poem these things?

I think I will start with a look back on all the poems we've read and make a list of the ones I think are "good." Then, I want to think about what I found "good" about these.

It looks like the ones I think are "good" all have this element of discovery. The poet trusts me to make sense of things.  Yes, I think I will start with this argument for my essay: the element of "discovery." I will use these poems here for support."

Notice: What did you notice? 

brainstorming; organizing ideas; looking for ideas and support for my ideas; preparing for writing tomorrow

Guided Practice: 

Look through the poems you have found effective or good. What is similar about those? Can you identify one or a few features that you can argue make a "good" poem?

Sharing: 

"Stand across from a classmate. Have a conversation about your argument and your support. I will model this first with one of you." Here, I model having a conversation, which is really talking through the "I say" of the paper. Students will say "I argue that what makes a good poem is the quality of ..." and then talk through their support "in the poem ....the speaker expresses...about the subject of..., but how the poet does it is by ...." Here, I just want students to talk through their support and then go home and write it.

Homework: write the I say using notes from previous essay.

Day Two: 

Talk about the objective:
For this argument essay, we want to be a part of a larger conversation of others who have tried to answer this same questions. We are going to read two short essays and summarize them. How do you summarize? Well, well you have to
1. identity the author's claims or main points
2. notice the examples or support for each claim like facts, numbers, experts, research, personal stories (anything the author uses to add credibility or make it more believable -- to convince you)
3. decide on the gist, which is not necessarily in the text but is what you decide is the author's overall point
4. note the author's expertise, title of the article, where the article appeared, why it was written,when

An example of a one-paragraph summary:

In his essay “On the New Literacy,” journalist Clive Thompson , while acknowledging some academic criticism of new media, argues that these media give students opportunities to write more than in previous generations and that students have learned to adapt what they are writing in order to have some tangible effect on what people think and how they act. Arguably, reliance on blogging and posting on Twitter and Facebook can foster some bad habits in writing. However, at least one major study demonstrates that the benefits of using the new media outweigh  the disadvantages . Students write lengthy, complex piece that contribute to creating significant social networks  and collaborations. 

Model

For the first article, talk through the claims, examples, and gist, then model writing the summary. Ask students what they notice? 

• started with the title and author
• added what the article argues
• added the claims and methods for supporting the claims
• used transitions (However, thus)

Guided Practice and Writing

For the second article, students work through identifying the claims, the support, and then the gist. They can then write their summary paragraph. 

Day Three

Objective: Synthesis. What are the two articles saying about this topic of what makes a "good" poem. 

Using I Say, They Say, students need to makes sense of what these two texts are saying about the subject of good poems before stating their thesis. I don't think this lesson needs to have "Teacher as Writer" because most students' essays will not be unique here. All students are using these texts as the "they say."

Grammar Lesson: Today, you can make transitional phrases a focus -- in recent discussions; on one hand; on the other hand; in the words of; in sum

Here is a template that can help. I gave students a hard copy of this template, and they used it for a draft of the "They Say." 

In recent discussions of ____________________, a controversial issue has been whether _____________________________. On the one hand, _________ argues that _______________________________. From this perspective, what makes a poem good is________________________________. On the other hand, however, ____________ argues  that ____________________________________. In the words of ___________________________, this view about a "good" poem is the following: "____________________________." According to this view, ________________________________. In sum, then, the issue is whether ______________________________or ___________________________.

For homework, students can rewrite the summary and argument on another sheet of paper so that they can add or revise the template for what they want to say.

Templates, They Say, I Say -- I did not use nor provide this template (thought it is an option) beacuse I wanted students to see how the two parts (with and without templates) felt similar or different during the writing practice.

 My own view is that ________________________. Though I admit that ________has a point in  that ______________________________________, I still maintain that what is essential in any poem for it to be "good" is _____________________________________. What I mean by this is _________________________________________. Let's look at a few examples. First, let's look at the poem ______________________________by _______________________________. It is about _________________________________________________________. It is good because .....(and here you will make your argument for why this poem is an example of a "good" poem...and then repeat this). 

Although some might object that _____________________. I would reply that ________________________. The issue is important because __________________________________________________________________.

Day Four

Objective: peer reading and conferences about the They Say and I Say; we will not type or take this one through the entire process; in fact, we will not write the introduction, counter argument/refutation, or conclusion for this paper -- just the They Say and I Say

For homework or classs work, sudents re-write the two parts of the essay paying attention to "correct writing," topic specific words, and punctuting conjunctive adverbs, which is the latest grammar topic.

Day Five

Students read the I Say in front of the class; listening to each others arguments, claims, and supports helped students to have their own work validated, challenged with alternative arguments, or inspired for the students who did not imagine what it might sound like to listeners. I allowed students to revise their essays while they listened if they found themselves inspired by particularly strong arguments.