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Teaching and learning purpose To enable students to develop a shared understanding of key concepts relating to argument by jointly exploring examples of:
- ways in which argument relates to their own lives
- ways in which people in the wider community use argument.
Teaching and learning 1. Outline the learning purposes for this task and then model for the class how to record ideas around the concept of arguing (using the charts below). Use your own personal example and observations for the model. Chart A: Relating argument to your personal life
| Who do you argue with?
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What about?
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What are some of the points you argue about?
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Chart B: Relating argument to school
| In what other aspects of school are you expected to be able to use argument?
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What are some of the issues you may argue about?
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What form could these arguments take?
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Chart C: Relating argument to the wider world
| Who uses argument consistently in their daily lives (e.g. for work)?
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What are some examples of the issues they argue about?
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2. Ask all students to complete chart A individually. Then, in small groups, these students can share and compare their personal charts, drawing out and recording commonalities on a joint chart. Ask each group to complete charts B and C as a group. 3. ESOL: Ask students who are new learners of English to write about and/or discuss their ideas for filling in charts in their first language initially. Encourage learners who share a first language to discuss their ideas. Use
differentiated levels of support (Word 25KB)
. 4. Have each group present their three charts to the whole class. Key Competency: Thinking 5. Making connections: As a class, discuss the common issues that cause arguments, and draw out the importance of being able to argue a point successfully in our social, academic, and professional lives. In particular, help students to see the importance of argument in other learning areas, such as social sciences or health, and to notice how the concept of argument links to the key competencies of thinking and relating to others. 6. Then, with the whole class, discuss the ideas presented in the resource
An Argument Is Not.. (Word 21KB)
As a class, begin to develop criteria for arguing effectively. Include ideas for arguing in an academic or professional context. Record these ideas and display them on a chart for reference and for further development.
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Consider your students’ backgrounds and their knowledge and assumptions about effective argument. How well are students making connections to their own lives and learning experiences? What are the language challenges for these students? What kinds of vocabulary and sentence structures do they need support with? Do the students understand some of the differences between formal and informal contexts for argument, in particular, the difference between written and oral forms?
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