LESSON PLANNING TEMPLATE
Date:
October 22, 2004
Unit:
Social Studies – Middle School – Sixth Grade
Lesson Title: Support a Position: Components of Persuasive Essay (follows a lesson on Using a
Core Democratic Value to Support a Position)
OBJECTIVES:
Social Studies
Strand VI. Public Disclosure & Decision Making-Standard 3: All students will compose coherent
written essays that express a position on a public issue and justify the position with reasoned
arguments.
Upper Elementary: Compose essays expressing decisions on a local, state, or national policy
issue.
English Language Arts
GLCE-R.IT.06.01—Analyze elements and style of informational genre (e.g., essays).
W.GN.06.02—Write an essay (e.g., persuasive) for authentic audiences that include organizational
patterns that support key ideas.
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
Teach students to take a position on a particular issue focusing on presenting data to support
their position using the format of a persuasive essay.
Evaluate information-Proficient thinkers express opinions, raise questions, and make
judgments based on evidence.
Build and extend on previous day’s lesson of using a core democratic value to support their
position using same scenario.
Materials:
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Overhead Projector
Overheads of a variety of charts, graphs, tables
Teacher written scenario—Mandatory after-school programs
Overheads & student copies of scenario
Instructional Procedure:

Activate Prior Knowledge—10 minutes
Present a variety of charts, graphs, and tables. Review headings, keys, legends, axis labels .
. . Discuss relationships between data and trends

Gain Student’s Attention:
Controversial issue related to interest of students
Mandatory after-school programs for middle school students
“One local school district is proposing that Middle School students be required to participate in
at least one after-school program to raise student achievement.”
This sample lesson was developed in conjunction with teachers at Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Michigan Department of Education Office of School Improvement
MI-MAP 5:5 Making Teaching Decisions
Page 1
INSERT B (cont.)

Stimulus (Offer New Information): Scenario –
Tell students that they will be receiving data from a public opinion survey that was conducted
by a parent advocacy council that asked parents, students, and teacher groups, “Should
middle school students be required to participate in an after-school program to raise student
achievement and decrease student discipline issues?”

Guided Practice (Model, Coach)
Part A of Data Section:
Before revealing data to students:
1.
Have the students individually record one question a proficient thinker would have asked
the person that surveyed them, assuming the role of a parent, a student, and a teacher.
(three questions)
2.
Have the student predict whether the three groups surveyed were for or against the new
policy.
3.
Reveal data for this section only and discuss data and student questions.
Part B of Data Section:
Before revealing data to students:
1.
Ask each student to predict and record one other piece of data that would be important
for the parent advocacy council to collect and present data on before a proficient thinking
could take a position on the issue.
2.
Reveal data for this section and facilitate a discussion.
3.
Have the students generate statements or questions that are not answered by the data.

Learner Performance (Instructor steps back)
In small groups of four, present student with handouts of scenario with data compiled by a
parent advocacy council.
Assign Task: Report out to Class

Have the students generate statements that are supported by data.

Have students generate questions that are not answered by the data.
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Feedback
Classify the group’s work into statements: Agree and Disagree.
Assessment:
Write a letter to a parent, teacher, or fellow student persuading them to agree or disagree in the
event that they are interviewed. Each letter must:

be in proper format;

include data to support the position; and

include a Core Democratic Value to support their position.
Extension: (Generalized, Apply elsewhere, Reflect)
Identify current policies within the school that students agree or disagree with or would like to see
revised. Have them identify possible data sources and Core Democratic Values that they could use
to support their position.
PROFICIENT THINKERS: Adapted from the following resources: NWRL
Strategies That Work, Harvey & Goudis
Michigan Department of Education Office of School Improvement
MI-MAP 5:5 Making Teaching Decisions
Page 2
INSERT B (cont.)
Mandatory After-School Programs for
Middle School Students
PART A
One local school district is proposing that its middle school students be required to
participate in at least one after-school program. Read the information below about this
issue.
A public opinion survey was conducted that asked the following groups, “Should middle
school students be required to participate in an after-school program.”
DATA SECTION
Students
25%
75%
… Agree with mandatory after-school program.
… Disagree with mandatory after-school program.
Michigan Department of Education Office of School Improvement
MI-MAP 5:5 Making Teaching Decisions
Page 3
INSERT B (cont.)
Parents
40%
60%
Teachers
50%
50%
… Agree with mandatory after-school program.
… Disagree with mandatory after-school program.
PART B
The parent advocacy council compiled the following data:
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
Three out of five voters are willing to increase their taxes to pay for after-school
programs.
On school days between 3:00-6:00 p.m., the occurrence of juvenile violent
crimes triples.
Michigan Department of Education Office of School Improvement
MI-MAP 5:5 Making Teaching Decisions
Page 4
INSERT B (cont.)

Of the students who spend no time in out-of-school activities:
49% are more likely to use drugs; and
39% are more likely to become teen parents.
One middle school has had their mandatory after-school policy in place for three years.
The following information has been compiled for its students.
Average GPA
Percentage of missing homework assignments
Percentage of retentions
Number of arrests for juvenile delinquency during the
school year
Year 1
2.2
25%
10%
Year 2
2.8
18%
5%
Year 3
2.6
9%
2%
50
20
10
TASK I
Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between the
percentage of missing homework assignments and the number of years in the
mandatory after-school program?
A.
As the number of years in the program increase, the percentage of missing assignments
decreases.
B.
As the number of years in the program increased, the percentage of missing
assignments increases.
C.
As the number of years in the program increases, the percentage of missing
homework assignments decreases by at least 10% each year.
D.
The number of years in the program has no effect on the percentage of missing
homework assignments.
TASK II
Should the Middle School’s programs begin a mandatory after-school program? Write a
letter to your superintendent expressing your opinions.
Michigan Department of Education Office of School Improvement
MI-MAP 5:5 Making Teaching Decisions
Page 5