Strong argument writing doesn't start with counterclaims and citations. It starts with a single opinion, one grade band at a time. This hub brings together six lessons that climb the same ladder from personal opinion to formal argumentation, using one running example throughout: volcanoes.
Across this workshop, you'll be equipped to teach students to:
Every lesson below includes a built-in interactive activity — click through it right on the page, no printing or account required.
Two lessons that establish the ladder every other lesson in this workshop climbs: what separates an opinion from a claim, and how a single fact becomes three different arguments depending on the grade band.
Four techniques students can spot in any ad or commercial, and the three bigger rhetorical appeals — Ethos, Pathos, and Logos — those techniques are really built from.
The two skills that separate a rough draft from a finished argument: proving a claim with real evidence, and revising your own writing with a critical eye before it's done.
The full turn-key unit for this series — comprehensive rubrics, graphic organizers, and student workbooks that go beyond what's covered in this workshop.
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