Highlighting Time
Paragraph 1: Introduction
-Attention Getter (ORANGE)
-Background Information
-Thesis (YELLOW)
Paragraph 2-4: Body Paragraphs
-Topic Sentence
-Introduce Reason
-Reason (YELLOW)
-Analyze Reason (GREEN)
-Transition (PINK)
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
-Restate Thesis (YELLOW)/Summarize Body
Paragraphs
-Appeal to Reader/Relate to Life (BLUE)
When Is It Okay to Kill?
Objective: Students will organize the following reasons into supporting Stand
Your Ground Laws and refuting Stand Your Ground Laws list with their partner.
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Vigilantism
Racial bias and/or racial profiling
Protection-loved ones and self defense
2nd Amendment right and/or Castle Doctrine
Equal fight
Deters criminals
Trained cops
Cops are not always around
Emotional reaction and/or mistakes
Right to a fair trial and/or hearsay
Encourages violence
Justified homicide
Deadly force
Basic rights
Law leaves too much open to interpretation
Differences between states
Abuse of power
When Is It Okay to Kill?
Objective: Students will organize the following reasons into supporting Stand
Your Ground Laws and refuting Stand Your Ground Laws list with their partner.
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Protection-loved ones and self defense
2nd Amendment right and/or Castle Doctrine
Equal fight
Deters criminals
Cops are not always around
Justified homicide
Deadly force
Basic rights
Law leaves too much open to interpretation
Differences between states
Abuse of power
Emotional reaction and/or mistakes
Right to a fair trial and/or hearsay
Encourages violence
Trained cops
Vigilantism
Racial bias and/or racial profiling
Support
Support
Support
Support
Support
BOTH
BOTH
BOTH
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
When Is It Okay to Kill?
Put your reasons in order of importance!
Mark them on your rough draft.
Reason 1 (Strong)
Reason 2 (Weak)
Reason 3 (Medium)
When Is It Okay to Kill?
Write your thesis statement (claim +
reasons):
Stand Your Ground laws should exist
because…
Stand Your Ground laws should not exist
because …
When Is It Okay to Kill?
Objective: Students will write a thesis statement (claim + reasons = thesis) for
the opposite side of the argument from what their essay will focus on.
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Protection-loved ones and self defense
2nd Amendment right and/or Castle Doctrine
Equal fight
Deters criminals
Cops are not always around
Justified homicide
Deadly force
Basic rights
Law leaves too much open to interpretation
Differences between states
Abuse of power
Emotional reaction and/or mistakes
Right to a fair trial and/or hearsay
Encourages violence
Trained cops
Vigilantism
Racial bias and/or racial profiling
Support
Support
Support
Support
Support
BOTH
BOTH
BOTH
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Refute
Attention Getter
Rhetorical Question
When is it okay to kill?
*Use Imagery
Imagine being seventeen years old again and never being able to see your
eighteenth birthday. Your life cut short because you chose to wear a hoodie and
to walk to the local 7-11 to get a bag of Skittles and an Arizona tea one heinous
night. Your last words are not to anyone you love, but to the person that
murdered you and took your life before even reaching adulthood. There would
be a trial, but your murderer is able to walk free and live a full life that was taken
from you. Your name, you ask? Trayvon Martin, but, in reality, we all could be
Trayvon Martin because…
Use Generalizations
The average American has the right to protect themselves when they feel
threatened under the second amendment…
Announcement
Teens beware, you can be killed for carrying skittles and an Arizona iced tea…
*State a Fact
According to The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, every year in the
U.S., an average of more than 100,000 people are shot.
Try to use more than one, if you can!
Background Information
Should answer some and/or all of these questions
about Stand Your Ground laws in general and
the rights of citizens:
Castle Doctrine-protect home if life is in jeopardy
WHAT are Stand Your Ground laws?
WHEN can your use Stand Your Ground laws?
WHERE are Stand Your Ground laws? WHY would
you use Stand Your Ground laws?
HOW are Stand Your Ground laws used?
WHO can use Stand Your Ground laws?
When Is It Okay to Kill?
• Read aloud your introduction to your partner
and correct any errors that you find as you
read.
• Switch papers and correct your partners
introduction for spelling, grammar, or word
choice errors.
• Give them one content suggestion to help
them improve their introduction, especially
to help it flow.
Body Paragraph(s)—3
Topic Sentence: Topic + Reason
Stand Your Ground laws should exist throughout the United States because
innocent people have a right to protect themselves from harm.
Reason: Explain/Define the reason
In today’s society, crime has and continues to increase. These increases leave the
average American vulnerable to becoming a victim of violent crime or even worse,
dead.
Example: State the topic and how it ties in with the thesis
Innocent Americans don’t have to become a crime statistic victim if the laws were on
their side, protecting the innocent instead of the criminals that are committing these
horrible crimes.
Analyze Reason: Why is this important to SYG? How does it affect citizens?
Think about it, if you are being attacked, are you going to allow the person to attack
you without trying to fight back or get away? Of course not, you would do whatever it
takes for you or your loved one’s survival. Having Stand Your Ground laws, an
innocent person would be able to protect themselves against a violent criminal that is
threatening their life without fear of being labeled a murderer. Laws appear to be
helping and protecting the criminal, when they should be helping and protecting the
innocent Americans that are left defenseless without the protection of Stand Your
Ground laws.
Transition: Summarize your reason and lead into the next reason
Not only should Stand Your Ground laws exist so innocent people can protect
themselves against criminals, but they should also exist because it is a basic right.
Body Paragraph
Stand Your Ground laws should exist throughout the United States
because innocent people have a right to protect themselves from harm.
In today’s society, crime has increased three fold since 1960 according
to the Bureau of Justice statistics. These increases leave the average
American vulnerable to becoming a victim of violent crime or even
worse, dead. Innocent Americans don’t have to become a crime statistic
victim if the laws were on their side, protecting the innocent instead of
the criminals that are committing these heinous crimes. While owning a
gun does not increase nor decrease crime rates according to the
magazine Real Clear Science, it does prevent you or a loved one from
falling victim to a criminal attack. Think about it, if you are being
attacked, are you going to allow the person to attack you without trying
to fight back or get away? Of course not, you would do whatever it
takes for you or your loved one’s survival. Having Stand Your Ground
laws, an innocent person would be able to protect themselves against a
violent criminal that is threatening their life without fear of being
incarcerated or labeled a murderer in the justice system. Laws appear
to be helping and protecting the criminal, when they should be helping
and protecting the innocent Americans that are left defenseless without
the protection of Stand Your Ground laws. Not only should Stand Your
Ground laws exist so innocent people can protect themselves against
criminals, but they should also exist because it is a basic right.
Body Paragraph(s) GATE—3
Topic Sentence: Topic + Reason
Stand Your Ground laws should exist throughout the United States because
innocent people have a right to protect themselves from harm.
Reason: Define the reason or Explain the reason as an issue (statistic)
In today’s society, crime has increased three fold since 1960 according to the
Bureau of Justice statistics. These increases leave the average American vulnerable to
becoming a victim of violent crime or even worse, dead.
Example: Give a real life or general example (statistic)
Innocent Americans don’t have to become a crime statistic victim if the laws were on their
side, protecting the innocent instead of the criminals that are committing these heinous
crimes. While owning a gun does not increase nor decrease crime rates according
to the magazine Real Clear Science, it does prevent you or a loved one from falling
victim to a criminal attack.
Analyze Reason: Why is this important to SYG? How does it affect citizens?
Think about it, if you are being attacked, are you going to allow the person to attack you
without trying to fight back or get away? Of course not, you would do whatever it takes for
you or your loved one’s survival. Having Stand Your Ground laws, an innocent person
would be able to protect themselves against a violent criminal that is threatening their life
without fear of being incarcerated or labeled a murderer in the justice system. Laws
appear to be helping and protecting the criminal, when they should be helping and
protecting the innocent Americans that are left defenseless without the protection of
Stand Your Ground laws.
Transition: Summarize your reason and lead into the next reason
Not only should Stand Your Ground laws exist so innocent people can protect themselves
against criminals, but they should also exist because it is a basic right.
Transitions
Transition
-Summarize your current reason
-Lead into your next reason
Not only should Stand Your Ground
laws exist so innocent people can
protect themselves against criminals,
but they should also exist because it
is your right to bear arms.
Transition Words
• Comparing
-also, another, like, moreover, too, and just as,
likewise, similarly
• Contrasting
-although, however, instead, on the other hand,
yet, but, in spite of, nevertheless, still
• Cause/Effect Relationship
-as a result, because, consequently, for, for this
reason, since, so, so that, therefore
• Order of Importance
-first, last, mainly, more important, to begin with
Body Paragraph-Acknowledge Other Side
Topic Sentence: Topic + argument of the other side
Now, some might argue that Stand Your Ground laws should
not exist.
Reason: Give two examples that the other side argues
They believe that it will lead to an increase in violence
throughout the United States and that trained cops should be
the ones to protect the citizens.
Example and Analysis: Downplay 2 arguments and counter them
What they don’t understand is nobody wants to have blood on
their hands and to be responsible for another person’s death
unless it was absolutely necessary. What if it was your life or
your child’s life in question, wouldn’t you want to fight to
survive and be protected under the law in doing so? Sure, you
could wait for a trained officer to arrive, but how long do you
really have when someone is trying to kill you or your loved
one?
Transition: Go back to your side
Stand your ground laws are essential in protecting the innocent
when they feel there is nothing else they can do to survive.
Conclusion
Restate Topic and Thesis
• Stand Your Ground laws should/should not exist for all states in
the United States because…
Appeal to Reader/Relate to Life
• Answer the original question: When is it okay to kill?
• Describe future issues with having/not having SYG
• Describe what kind of society and people SYG would produce
Support-Stand Your Ground laws
should exist because…PROTECTION
Refute-Stand Your Ground laws
should not exist because…VIOLENCE
Second Amendment rights
Mistakes made by the “untrained”
Officers aren’t getting to crimes fast
enough
Represents a license to kill
Law abiding citizens need to defend
themselves
Encourages violence
Peer Editing Practice
1. Switch your paper with a partner in your group.
2. Read it quietly and make corrections to make it
better including:
-Grammatical
(make the correction legible)
-Ideas/Details
(use → suggestion)
-Ways to improve
(use + suggestion)
-Things that don’t make sense
(use ???)
Peer Editing Practice
1. Switch your paper with a different partner
in your group.
2. Read the paper out loud and add in:
-Words corrections
-Punctuation corrections
-Sentence structure corrections
Highlighting Essay Elements
Paragraph 1: Introduction
-Attention Getter (ORANGE)
-Background Information
-Thesis (YELLOW)
Paragraph 2-5: Body Paragraphs/Counter
-Topic Sentence (Reason)
-Reason
-Example (1-2)
-Analyze Reason (GREEN)
-Transition (YELLOW)
Paragraph 6: Conclusion
-Restate Thesis (YELLOW)
-Restate Question
-Appeal to Reader/Relate to Life (BLUE)
Determining Essay Level (Circle)
Paragraph 1: Introduction
- Attention Getter (ORANGE)
- Background Information
-Thesis (YELLOW)
Paragraph 2-5: Body Paragraphs
-Topic Sentence (Reason)
-Reason
-Example (1-2)
-Analyze Reason (GREEN)
-Transition (YELLOW)
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
-Restate Thesis (YELLOW)
-Restate Question
-Appeal to Reader/Life (BLUE)
H
H
H
H
M
M
M
M
L
L
L
L
H M L
H M L
H M L
Determining Essay Grade Range
A-B
An essay in this category is effective, demonstrating
reasonably consistent mastery, although it will have
occasional errors.
B-C
An essay in this category is competent, demonstrating
adequate mastery, although it will have errors.
C
An essay in this category is inadequate, but
demonstrates developing mastery, and essay elements
are not clear.
D
An essay in this category is seriously limited,
demonstrating little mastery, and essay elements are
missing.
Essay Vocabulary
Paragraph 1: Introduction
-Attention Getter
-Background Information
-Claim/Thesis/Central Idea
Paragraph 2-5: Body Paragraphs/Counter Argument
-Topic Sentence
-Reason
-Example
-Analyze Reason/Example
-Transition
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
-Restate Claim/Thesis/Central Idea and Summarize
-Appeal to Reader/Relate to Life