LP+hillchan


 * MDE Grade 9 Language Arts **


 * Objective**: Introduction to Persuasive Writing

News Article (anchor text) Text Analysis Writing Task Group Discussion

• effective communication • characteristics of effective writing - engaging, clear, and focused - ideas and content are extensively developed and supported by concepts,examples, and details where appropriate -compare/contrast -cause/effect -fact/opinion //**Persuasive Essay**// -addresses an interesting and controversial subject -takes a position/thesis based on fact, opinion, or policy -consistently supports stand -uses effective lead and closing argument -anticipates reader bias -provides relavent information -supports with facts, examples, stories, expert quotes, graphics -refutes alternative perspectives -avoids use of logical fallacies (i.e. appeal to emotion, false analogy)
 * Big Ideas/Themes**
 * //Organizational Patterns//**

//__Reading__// R.5.2.b Identify the topic or main idea of text R.5.2.c Restate facts and details of text R.5.2.d Distinguish between fact and opinion in informational text R.5.3.a Summarize informational or narrative selections
 * MDE ELP Standards **

//__Writing__// W.2.2.a Capitalize and punctuate correctly to clarify and enhance meaning (such as capitalizing titles, using possessives, commas in a series, apostrophes and contractions, and abbreviations) W.2.4.a Use punctuation and capitalization to enhance meaning and express complex thoughts to produce complex sentences without sentence fragments or run-on sentences W.3.3.a Select words from an expanded personal vocabulary to accurately communicate ideas clearly and concisely across the curriculum W.6.2.a Write brief responses to selected literature with factual understanding of the text using simple sentences //__Speaking__// S.4.2.b Participate in classroom discussions S.4.3.b Participate actively in content area discussions with peers and teachers S.4.4.a Exchange, support, and discuss opinions and individual perspectives with peers on a variety of topics dealing with content area information or issues

//__Listening__// L.2.4.b Respond to messages by asking questions, challenging statements or offering examples that affirm the message L.3.4.b Listen attentively to more complex stories/information on new topics across content areas in order to identify the main points and supporting details L.4.4.a Take accurate notes based on classroom instruction; clarify questions regarding information with peers or teacher; and/or clarify from text or other references


 * Warm-up/Motivation**: Read the news article in pairs and discuss the issue described. Students will then have 5-10 minutes to write in their daily journals about their response to the article. (What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? What are some further questions you have?)


 * Presentation**: Ask for comments about the issue. Diagram pros and cons/questions/areas for further research on the board as supplied by students.

__**Anchor** **Text:**__

**Cash incentives seen as helping nation's health**
By Nicholas Timmins, Public Policy Editor (Financial Times) April 11, 2009

__Financial incentives__ from the taxpayer for people to quit smoking, lose weight or eat better may be an important means of improving the population's health, leading academics have claimed.

Their verdict comes as advisers to the Department of Health are promoting such schemes and as private health insurers are offering discounts to subscribers who go to the gym, eat more fruit and take other steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

In Dundee, smokers are being offered __£__12.50 a week by the NHS if carbon monoxide testing shows they have quit. In Essex, pregnant women can claim a £20 food voucher from the NHS after stopping smoking for one week, £40 after four weeks and another £40 at the end of a year if they have still quit.

Brighton offers children £15 for quitting smoking for 28 days, while overweight patients in Kent are also being offered incentives for losing weight. In the US and other countries incentives have been offered for weight loss, complying with diabetes treatment, or regularly testing negative for sexually transmitted diseases.

Such schemes are controversial with the public and professionals, say Theresa Marteau and Richard Ashcroft, professors of health psychology and bioethics at King's College and Queen Mary universities in London.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, they say the programmes are attacked as "a form of bribery" and "rewarding people for unhealthy behaviour", while others believe they undermine the doctor-patient relationship and remove patients' __autonomy__.

But they say evidence is emerging that some programmes may work, although research is needed to establish "the conditions under which change is achieved, and  for whom ", and to identify unintended consequences.

"Using payments may be more powerful than providing information, and less restrictive than legislation [which attempts to ban or punish activities]," they say. "Ultimately, if incentives prove to be effective in  only a few contexts, they may still offer an important means to improve health."

Julian Le Grand, chairman of Health England, said the difficulty with prevention programmes was that the costs of unhealthy lifestyles could be far off in the future, while the pleasures from them were felt now. Policies were needed that provided some of the benefits of changing lifestyle in the present, he said.

-Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f29d891e-2630-11de-be57-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

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//Grammatical features/potential difficult areas// -Complex sentences, especiallly adverb clauses -Tense/voice -Modals //Phrase analysis// //Vocabulary//
 * __Text Analysis__: **
 * leading academics have claimed: present perfect
 * This verdict comes as advisors: use of adverb clause to express time (problematic adverb, could also be "while")
 * as private health insurers: see above
 * can claim: modal verb use
 * have still quit: present perfect; means to have remained in the state of quitting; the "have" gives a clue to the present perfect, but since "quit" is an irregular verb students may not realize it is in the past simple form, so the whole phrase could be a bit confusing
 * Writing in the British Medical Journal, they say: "-ing" form (present participle) here used like an adverbial phrase; not the main verb of the sentence (main verb: say)
 * they say: pronoun use refers to previous paragraph
 * doctor-patient relationship: dash pertains to "relationship //between// doctors and patients"
 * some programmes may work, although research is needed: complex sentence
 * and for whom: relative clause, less common pronoun (used to show transitivity; one way to test for who vs. whom= hould substitute for she vs. her)
 * prove to be effective: collocation (noun + prove + to be effective/ineffective)
 * Financial incentive: payment for an action; payment becomes the motivation to perform the action ([|Dictionary.com])
 * £: currency symbol for British pound ([|Wikipedia])
 * autonomy: independence or freedom, self-sufficiency ([|Dictionary.com])

Jump to MDE ELP Standards

This is where students can practice writing in proper form without worry about a bad grade because journal grading will be based on clarity of ideas and completeness, rather than grammar. The basic journaling structure (informal, first person) will have been introduced at the beginning of the semester. [For a writing sample that can be given grammatical corrective feedback, the weekly journal that relates to the big theme- i.e. persuasive writing, (or, in weeks with no paper topic, students could pick their favorite journal) could be re-written using academic 3rd person and turned in for a grade. This would be a good place to do corrective feedback, since students would have time to specifically edit it themselves. For this task, students would have the weekend to correct it, then peer edit on Monday, before submitting a final copy for grading.]
 * __Writing Production Task (Journaling) Analysis__: **
 * Use of 1st person voice: appropriate for journal writing, but not for formal essays
 * Use of conditionals: this could be very important for opinion/argument structure
 * Modals: important for consequences (Incentives could lead to/Incentives should be offered)
 * Simple future tense: used to express predictions
 * Conditional sentence use: 1st level conditional= If + present simple/(then) + will

Jump to MDE ELP Standards

__**Group Discussion Analysis:**__ Oral corrective feedback- most likely recast. Look for potential repeated mistakes to review at a later time.

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