Lesson 2/Activity 1: Bold Claims and Airtight Supports

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People make claims all the time. Some are global issues, like saving the earth, others are regional and some are very specific. Cartoonists have a unique way of making a claim (Saving the Twinkie Campaign is silly) while making a claim (Saving the earth is a noble thing).

Benchmark:         

11.4.2.2 - Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

Learning Target:

I can show textual examples of an author’s main point in a piece, along with varied applications of the main point.

Essential Questions:

How does a central theme in the piece develop over the course of the text?        

 You will need:         One or Two Days

                        Quoting Skills (Tutorial)

Activity:                Please follow the six (6) steps in order.

STEP 1:

Closely Read Thoreau’s On the Duty of Civil Disobedience linked below.          

        Civil Disobedience

STEP 2:

Identify a Central Theme from the author.

        A Theme is an idea/message that keeps coming up in a text or a series of texts.

STEP 3:

Make a claim based on the central theme you found. Write it in one sentence.

        A claim is a stance taken by the writer on an issue that has more than one side. The trick with writing claims is that it needs to be direct and NOT full of reasons why.

        EX. - Central theme - not conforming to government ideals

 - Claim - Conforming to the wishes of the American government makes our country stronger.

Use the theme and take a side. Avoid the “I believe” or “I think” language. Be direct. Lastly, note that there are no reasons offered. That is what the rest of the essay will do.

STEP 4:

Find and quote at least three (3) excerpts from the text that support your claim.

STEP 5:

Put it all together -

• Write a Claim
• Write at least three (3) supporting paragraphs using the quotes you found
• Proofread
• Revise

STEP 6:

Submit Assignment