Lesson 3 – Writing Your Thesis
GETTING YOURSELF READY
Materials:
Prompt List
Handout for Notes (see attached)
Four posters/chart papers (see PPT for guide): 1. Example thesis, 2. Example brainstorm, 3. Blanks the
teacher will fill in, 4. VIP
(You could also put the examples on the board, but the VIP must be permanent – students will use it
often! Put some time into it.)
GETTING YOUR STUDENTS READY
Agenda with times:
Getting Ready: 5 min
Learning about the Thesis – 15 min
Practicing Thesis Together – 15 min
Practicing Thesis Alone – 10 min
Closure: 5 min
*Do Now: Think of a time when you were in an argument with someone. What did you do to try to win that argument? Write your answer on your
whiteboard. On my signal, hold up your whiteboard.
Head your paper. Today’s topic: “Thesis”
Objective: Today you will be able to…
Proving Behavior: By…
Develop an original thesis in the BTC writing format…
Writing three thesis statements with three strong supports each.
Purpose: We are doing this because… writing a thesis statement is the first step creating our end-of-unit essays. The thesis will provide the road map to
your essay, so your reader knows what to expect.
TEACHING (may be less or more than six steps)
Step 1
Purpose of a
thesis statement
Step 2
Thesis form
Step 3
Part Two: The
Claim
Say: A thesis statement tells the reader what topic author is considering, what his/her argument is about that topic, and why he/she
believes that his/her argument is true.
See: PPT Slide 1
* Do: Write the definition in your own words or draw a representation of the definition on your handout.
Say: A thesis is one sentence with three parts.
See: Hold up a 1 on one hand and a three on the other.
* Do: Show me and tell me: How many sentences is the thesis? (Choral response and hand signal: 1!)
Show me and tell me: How many parts are there in the thesis? (Choral response and hand signal: 3!)
Say: We’re going to talk about part two first. The second part of the thesis statement is the CLAIM. The claim is the opinion or
argument that the author states. They answer a question, but the question is never stated in the essay.
See: Show PPT Slide 2: “When considering what fruit to have for a snack, grapes are always a better choice than oranges, because
they are sweeter, bite-sized, and you don’t have to peel them.”
Circle the claim (PPT Slide 3), and do a think aloud, ensuring to point out that you can identify the claim because it is a statement of
opinion, not fact. (This lesson assumes students can already differentiate between opinion and fact.) Something like, “This part of
the sentence must be the claim, because it’s an opinion. Not all people believe that grapes are better than oranges. It seems like it
could answer the question ‘What fruit makes the best snack, grapes or oranges?’” As we remember, that’s a two-response question
(connect to earlier lesson briefly).
Step 4
Writing a Claim
* Do: Look at EXAMPLE 1-5 on your handout. Circle the claim in this sentence. (Circulate to ensure all students understand. If they
don’t, try another example.)
Say: Now we’re going to try writing a claim of our own in response to a question, using our brainstorms from yesterday. A claim can
stand on its own as a sentence and use key words from the prompt. It doesn’t really matter what my real opinion is – I’m going to
write the claim that works the best, using info from my brainstorm.
See: I’m going to be answering the question, “Should middle schools be allowed to sell soda to their students?” So, to make my
claim, I’m going to state my opinion. Look at brainstorm: my cons list is way longer than my pros list. So, I’m going to say that
middle schools should not be allowed to sell soda to students. Because I know I’m not supposed to use “I” in a formal essay, I will
write my opinion to say: “Middle schools should not be allowed to sell soda to students.” Notice that it’s a complete sentence on its
own and uses key words like “middle schools” and “sell soda to students.” (PPT Slide 4)
Step 5
Part Three: The
Support
* Do: Now, you try writing a claim. Look at your brainstorm for the prompt “Should President Obama visit Breakthrough this
summer?”, and choose your claim. Where it says CLAIM, write your response to the question. Teacher: Circulate and have a
sentence frame available to differentiate for struggling students. “President Obama ______________ visit Breakthrough this
summer.”
Say: Next, we’re going to look at the third and final part of a thesis statement – the support. The support will come in sets of three,
and will provide facts to back up the claim. Usually, before the support, you’ll see words about cause, like because/by/through.
See: So, in that thesis we looked at earlier about grapes and oranges (Show PPT slide 5) it looks like this last part is the support,
because it has three facts that support the author’s claim. Grapes are sweeter than oranges – that’s true, because oranges can
sometimes be sour. Grapes are definitely bite-sized. And you don’t have to peel grapes, but you do have to peel oranges to eat
them. It even has the word “because,” so I’ll underline that part.
Step 6
Writing the
support
* Do: Now, look at the EXAMPLES 1-5 on your handout. Underline the support. Make sure you get all three. Teacher: Circulate.
Say: Now we’re going to write the support for our own thesis. So, if my claim is that “Middle schools should not be allowed to sell
soda to students,” I’ll need three reasons why. For that, I’ll need to look at my brainstorm.
See: Think Aloud: Look at the brainstorm, and circle the three best reasons. PPT Slide 6: My three reasons are that soda “can make
students hyper, damage students’ teeth, and make the school messier.” All three of those things are true, not my opinions. Now, I
add the word because! (Write it in.)
Step 7
Part One: The
Occasion
* Do: Now, look at your brainstorm and circle your three best support pieces. Then, fill in the part of your handout that says
SUPPORT. Teacher: Circulate.
Say: OK, now we almost have a complete thesis statement. We have stated our claim and our support for that claim. Now it’s time
to fill in the OCCASION. The occasion sets the stage for the argument, explaining to the reader what the issue is or showing the
reader why he or she should be interested in the argument. It usually starts with a word like Despite/If/While/In/When.
See: In my grapes and oranges thesis (PPT slide 7), the author starts out by saying, “When considering what type of fruit to have for
a snack,” before the claim. This part of the sentence isn’t an opinion or a fact, really. It’s explaining to the reader what the author is
considering when making the argument.
Step 8
Writing the
Occasion
* Do: Look at your handout EXAMPLES 1-5. Draw a squiggly line under the OCCASION. Teacher: Circulate.
Say: Let’s finish up our thesis statements. The OCCASION comes first, but we write it last, because we have to know what the claim
and support are going to be before we can write a really good occasion.
See: Think aloud: So, for my thesis about soda in middle schools, what do I want to do to prepare my readers? There are a couple of
things I can do. The reasons I don’t want middle schools to sell soda is that I think it’s much better for students to be calm, healthy,
and not distracted by sticky spills or a dirty school. So, for me, I want my reader to be thinking about what’s best for middle school
students. I could say, “Since schools should be places for focused learning,” as my occasion. Another idea is to think about my
audience. I know my readers are mostly middle school students – you guys – and I know most of you really like soda, so you might
not like my argument. So, I could say, “Despite the fact that many middle school students love soda,” as my occasion. I like that one
better. So, my whole thesis reads (show PPT slide 8), “Despite the fact that many middle school students love soda, middle schools
should not be allowed to sell soda to students, because soda can make students hyper, damage students’ teeth, and make the
school messier.”
Step 9
Putting it all
together
* Do: Now, go back to your handout and add an occasion to your thesis where it says OCCASION. Teacher: Circulate.
Say: Now, I have a completed thesis.
See: PPT Slide 9
* Do: Using the “Thesis Format” on your handout as a guide, write your completed thesis at the bottom of your handout. Teacher:
circulate.
PRACTICE
*Structured Practice (3-4 additional examples led by teacher with gradually quickening pace, helping students approach automaticity by manipulating,
time, materials, group size)
Time: 5 min
Example 1
Materials: prompt
Say: Now let’s all write a thesis together, using your brainstorm for the question: “What kind of animal makes the best pet?”
on PPT
See: Remember to use the structure on your handout (Put the VIP up, PPT Slide 10.)
Group Size: Whole
Do: First write your Claim. Teacher: Circulate.
class
Then, write the Support. Teacher: Circulate.
Finally, write the occasion. Teacher: Circulate.
*Guided Practice (the proving behavior of the objective monitored by teacher)
Assignment:
Look at your final brainstorm: “What is the most interesting academic
subject in school?” Write a thesis statement using the brainstorm.
Criteria for Mastery:
All students write a thesis statement with all three parts.
Explain Homework: Using your three brainstorms from last night, write three thesis statements, one for each brainstorm. Be sure to bring the
brainstorms AND thesis statements to class tomorrow. (Either pass out a HW slip or make sure each student writes this in a detailed way in their HW
journal.)
*Closure: Meet, Greet, and Freeze! Game
Ask students to circulate, milling around in a designated space, greeting their classmates quietly as they pass. When the teacher says ,“FREEZE,” all
students stop moving and stay silent. The teacher will read a prompt, and then say, “GO.” Students must immediately find the person closest and tell
that student the answer to the prompt.
Example Prompts:
How many parts to a thesis?
How many sentences are there in a thesis?
What are the three parts of a thesis?
Create an occasion for this partial thesis, “Everyone should go to college because college is a place to learn a lot, have fun, and prepare for high-paying
jobs.
Name the claim in this thesis: “Despite his best efforts to appear evil and mean, Severus Snape was a good man, because he remained loyal to
Dumbledore, saved Harry’s life, and spied on the Death Eaters.”
Teacher: Circulate and listen in.
*Active Participation is required by all students at the same time.
Visual Instructional Plan
1. Make a claim!
__________________________________
CLAIM
2. Support your claim!
__________________________________
CLAIM
because/by/through/etc. ________________________, ________________________, ________________________.
SUPPORT #1
SUPPORT #2
SUPPORT #3
3. Add an occasion.
Despite/If/While/In/Etc. ______________________________________, __________________________________
OCCASION
CLAIM
because/by/through/etc. ______________________, ___________________________, ______________________.
SUPPORT #1
SUPPORT #2
SUPPORT #3
Thesis
Definition (in my own words or pictures):
EXAMPLE #1:
In the world of pop entertainment, Beyoncé is more talented than Rihanna, because
Beyoncé has won more Grammies, been in movies, and started her own clothing line.
EXAMPLE #2:
After years of living in Florida with my grandmother, my dad made the right decision
by moving us to Cambridge, getting our own apartment, and finding a better job.
EXAMPLE #3:
Whether or not you know how to cook, it is easy to improve your health through
eating more vegetables, using less salt, and buying less candy.
EXAMPLE #4:
Unless you like simple, childish films, Big Momma’s House is bad movie, because the
plot is predictable, the immature, and too far-fetched.
EXAMPLE #5:
Despite the bad weather, we made our day at the beach fun by singing in the rain,
building drip castles, and surfing.
QUESTION: “Should Breakthrough give less homework?”
CLAIM:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
SUPPORT:
1. ___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
OCCASION:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
THESIS FORMAT
Despite/If/Since/In/When____________________, _________________________
OCCASION
CLAIM
because/by/through/etc. _______________, _______________, ______________.
SUPPORT #1
SUPPORT #2
SUPPORT #3
THESIS:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________