Innovative and Engaging ELL Strategies for Argumentative Writing Success

Emily DodsonMasters of ESL Education-UT KnoxvilleESL Teacher for Buncombe County SchoolsAsheville, North Carolina

Today’s Agenda

1. Review Common Core Standards and shifts in ELA Standards

2. Top 6 Strategies for teaching Argument Writing to ELLs

3. Scaffolding and Teaching to Lower-level ELLs

4. Argumentative Resources for Teachers

How comfortable do you feel teaching argumentative writing to ELLs?

Directions:

1. Look at the Blob tree.

2. Identify where you would be located in relation to your comfort level teaching argumentative writing to ELLs.

3. Do a quick write on your guided notes in response.

4. Share you location and reasons with a neighbor.

Key Instructional Shifts of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

1.Building content-knowledge Reading an through content-rich, non-fiction and informational texts

2.Writing grounded in evidence from text

3.Regular practice with complex text and its vocabulary

CCSS ELA Shifts from Persuasion to Argument

Persuasion

▪ Relies on emotion and feelings to support a thesis

▪ Purpose to Sway the audience into doing or believing something

Argument

▪ Relies more on facts and information

▪ More centered on logical appeals that ask reader to think critically

CC SS ELA Writing Focus

1) Strong integration of reading and writing

2) Uses mentor texts that are “rich and worthy.”

3) Writing to learn- Uses writing as a tool for learning and just as a product of understanding.

Turn and Talk

▪ What kinds of challenges do the ELA -Common Core State Standards pose for ELLs?

▪ How has your school your ESL department handled this shift?

1. Make a classroom shift to reading more informational texts than before

1. When reading informational texts with ELLs, model and think aloud so students can see your reading and writing strategies and connections

2. Use anticipation guides, graphic organizers, and activities to scaffold ELLs ability to identify writer’s craft, patterns in the text

3. Don’t exclude narrative and literary texts completely, but build upon background knowledge by first using these then having students compare and contrast literary with informational

2. Build background by helping students identify ways in which they already use argument everyday

1. Remind students of argumentative skills they already use in their everyday lives.

2. Build background by help students identify ways in which they already use persuasion and argument

Some examples:

▪ How do you prove you are innocent if you are accused of stealing an iPhone at school?

▪ How do students convince their parents they must have new shoes?

▪ What methods do you use to negotiate your curfew or chores?

▪ How do you persuade a friend to go to a movie you want to see?

3. Close reading and dissecting of Mentor Texts

1. Teach and use reading strategies to help students dissect and analyze model/mentor texts

2. Read arguments at the appropriate lexile and pertinent issues (Think Newspaper Editorial section)

3. Use former ELL student work samples, so ELLs see realistic models

4. Have students use graphic organizers to identify claims, argument, pros/cons, evidence and point of view of author

**In his book, Write Like This: Teaching Real-World Writing through Modeling & Mentor Texts, Gallagher contends If students are to grow as writers, they need to read and study good writing, and they need to emulate good writing.

Looking at Model Texts: ELL Student Samples

1. Model and show ELLs how to identify parts of an argument in an ESL student paper:

2. After showing reading and practicing pointing out parts of an argument, have students work in pairs or groups to identify these parts on their own:

▪ Claim

▪ Thesis statement

▪ Reasons

▪ Supporting evidence and research to support reasons

▪ Counterargument

▪ Conclusion statement

4. Have students write about high interest topics that relate to their lives

1) Students will write more, better and be more motivated if they are writing on topics pertinent to their lives

2) Brainstorm lists of struggles and problems your students face in their everyday lives at school, home, after school

3) Give students plenty of time to explore and consider the topic they will write about.

4) Use this resource-NY Times blogs “301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing” for current ideas topics and high interest for students http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/301-prompts-for-argumentative-writing/?_r=0 **Studies have also found that student-driven topic selection related to

personal interest and background knowledge results in better writing products (Baker& Boonkit, 2004).

5. Let data drive reasons, claims and argument reasons

1) Instead of students coming up with reasons while writing paper outline

2) Have students do research where their analyze articles and data to find supported reasons

3) Students should read and find data and evidence to inform and build their arguments and claims (Ferlazzo & Hull-Sypnieski)

6. Targeted Academic Vocabulary Instruction

1. ELL Instructors should spend sufficient time to developing higher-level academic to help students construct and understand arguments

2. This is crucial. Students must know and understand the academic vocabulary necessary to identify parts of an argument as well as write an argumentative essay themselves.

3. Daily vocabulary instruction, practice, repetition is imperative

Vocabulary Development of Key Argumentative Terms

Sample List 1-lower level

▪ Problem

▪ cause

▪ Effect

▪ Solution

▪ evidence

▪ reason

Sample List 2-higher level

▪ convince▪ counterargument▪ Refutation▪ Rebuttal▪ Refute▪ logic▪ ethos▪ Pathos▪ appeal

Quick Write/Turn & Talk

▪ Review these strategies. Which strategies are you already employing in your classroom? How?

▪ What strategy do would you like to apply in the future? How might you work toward implementing it more?

Read/Quick Write

1. Skim this excerpt on teaching argument writing from “Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs” by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull-Sypniesk

2. After reading the excerpt from “Teaching Argument Writing to ELLs” by Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull-Sypnieski, how might you apply this to your lower proficiency ELLs?

How did I apply this in my class?

1) I first pre-taught the essential vocabulary outlined in this article: problem, solution, evidence, cause, reason

2) I picked a high-interest news article and story about a recent immigrant debate at a local high school that resulted in a student protest

3) We read the article together and used a graphic organizer to identify the problem, cause, reasons, and a possible solution

4) Within the graphic organizer I gave students sentence starters to write their ideas

5) We used sentences from the graphic organizer to write a complete paragraph about this situation and students came up with their own best solution.

6) This served as a building block for the beginning of an argument unit in which their final product was a 6 paragraph argument essay.

(This was a mixed level class)

Great Resources for Informational Writing

▪ Newsela

▪ (Free teacher and student membership)

▪ Leveled text by Lexile

▪ Some Spanish texts available

▪ Some include Quizzes

https://newsela.com/

▪ ReadWorks

▪ Provides research-based units, lessons, and authentic, leveled non-fiction and literary passages

▪ Aligned with the Common Core State Standards and the most effective research-proven instructional practices in reading comprehension

▪ Has Comparison Passages of informational and literary texts

▪ Debate passages

▪ http://www.readworks.org/

More Resources Specific to Argument Writing

Pro-con.org

▪ "Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format."

▪ http://www.procon.org/

SCOPE Magazine: The Language Arts Magazine

▪ Comparison texts

▪ Debate Essays with Scavenger hunt for central idea, claim, supporting evidence and counter argument.

▪ You Write It! Essay Contests

▪ http://scope.scholastic.com/

(must have subscription)

Stanford University –Understanding Language

▪ Offers teaching resources that exemplify high-quality instruction for ELLs across three content areas.▪ Mission-”To heighten awareness of the language and

literacy issues embedded within the new Standards.”▪ The resources will correspond to the widely-adopted

Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics and to the Next Generation Science Standards.▪ Dr. Kenji Hakuta▪ http://ell.stanford.edu/

Stanford University –Understanding Language-ELA Persuasion

PERSUASION ACROSS TIME AND SPACE: ANALYZING AND PRODUCING COMPLEX TEXTS

▪ “The goal of this unit is to provide exemplars illustrating how English Language Arts Common Core Standards in Reading Informational Text and Writing Arguments can be used to deepen and accelerate the learning and instruction of English Language Learners (ELLs).

▪ “It is based on the notion that ELLs develop conceptual and academic understandings as well as the linguistic resources to express them simultaneously, through participation in rigorous activity that is well scaffolded.”

PERSUASION ACROSS TIME AND SPACE: ANALYZING AND PRODUCING COMPLEX TEXTS

▪ Lessons build on one another

▪ For example: In the first lesson students are introduced to the use of persuasion in visual and print advertisements.

▪ Student continue by analyzing famous persuasive speeches such as the Gettysburg Address, and I have a dream

▪ Unit culminates in students when students independently analyze a persuasive speech and write their own persuasive texts

▪ http://ell.stanford.edu/teaching_resources/ela

Questions or comments?

Thanks for your time!

▪ Please e-mail me if you would like a copy of this presentation:

emily.dodson@bcsemail.org

Resources

▪ Adkins, Laura. "Teaching Middle School Students to Write an Argument. "Ohio Resource Center AdLIT In Perspective Magazine. ADlit, May 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2015

▪ Baker, W., & Boonkit, K. (2004). Learning Strategies In Reading And Writing: EAP Contexts. RELC Journal, 299-328.

▪ Dunlap, Kasey. "Both Sides of the Coin: The Challenge of Teaching Argument." Ohio Resource Center AdLIT In Perspective Magazine. ADlit, May-June 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

▪ Ferlazzo, L., & Hull-Sypnieski, K. (2014, April 1). Teaching Argument. Educational Leadership, 46-52.

▪ Gallagher, K. (2011). Write like this: Teaching real-world writing through modeling & mentor texts. Portland, Me.: Stenhouse.

▪ Koffolt, K., & Holt, S. (1997). Using the Writing Process with Non-Native Users of English. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 53-60.

▪ "Preparing America's Students for Success." Home | Common Core State Standards Initiative. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

▪ "Understanding Language | Language, Literacy, and Learning in the Content Areas." Understanding Language | Language, Literacy, and Learning in the Content Areas. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.