ELA 10: Nov. 23-24

We spent a lot of time this week working on reading editorials and examining the arguments put forth in them.  Students read about the Syrian refugee crisis and the banning of the Confederate flag. In each case, students were given two opposing editorials and asked to identify the bias, summarize the main argument, and judge its validity. For all of the readings, we went back to our unit theme: Is power being abused in this instance? If so, how are people responding?

They did very well with this skill and we will continue working on it Monday and Tuesday this week. If you have any time over the long weekend, try engaging your student in some debate over some current editorials. Here are some links to some different opinion pages for various media outlets:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/
http://www.usatoday.com/staff/2421/the-editorial-board/
http://www.weeklystandard.com/
http://www.cnn.com/opinions
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion.html

I tried to give you a blend of conservative and liberal sources so that your students can continue practicing the skill of looking for bias and judging validity.

When we get back from break, they’ll be practicing writing their own arguments.  

They also need to be finished with their lit circle books the day they return from break. Students will participate in a graded discussion on either Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!