critical thinking and writing (engl 101) > sample lesson plan
the context
One of the primary goals of English 101 at Saint Xavier University is to introduce students to the principles of academic argument, teaching them the rhetorical strategies that writers and speakers use to engage and persuade audiences in a variety of rhetorical contexts. I've found that it takes some time to help students understand that "argument" (at least the way we use the term in my class) is different than two people shouting at each other and that it is actually a much more nuanced term that incorporates all of the components of a rhetorical situation.
This lesson is designed to help students make the leap from their understanding of argument to a more complex notion of the concept, and this is a move we begin to make about three weeks into the semester (after students have completed their first writing project, a personal narrative). The lesson is also focused on helping think about the construction of visual arguments, which is the second project that they will be working toward in the coming weeks.
assigned reading
"So Emo it Hurts" by Emily Lamison, published in Youth Subcultures (course reader)
the lesson
I begin the lesson by handing out blank white paper and crayons. Students are initially surprised--and excited--by the prospect of doing something creative and hands-on in English class. I ask the students to spend about ten minutes creating a visual representation of the main argument of the article they read for class, trying to summarize the argument through the use of color, images, and layout on the page.
Once the students have completed their drawings, they move into small groups to discuss their images. I ask the students to explain to their group not only the argument they were trying to represent, but also the choices they made in terms of color, images, and layout in order to best illustrate the article's argument. Through this process, the students will discover that they had different notions of what the primary argument of the article is, so while they will be discussing the visual choices they made in the process, they will also be discussing the content of the article itself.
After about 20 minutes of small-group discussion, I invite each group to discuss the main issues or questions they raised during their conversation, and as students share their drawings with the entire class, I am able to help students refine, complicate, and expand their understanding of 1) the argument of the article itself, and 2) the ways in which arguments can be effectively represented in a visual manner.
reflections
Whenever I use this in-class activity, I am struck by how well students respond to it. They often comment on how fun it is to do something different in class, and I've found that we all enjoy the opportunity to respond to a reading assignment in a way that engages their critical thinking and creativity. The activity also serves to motivate students who may not be the best written communicators, but who are visual thinkers and more responsive to visual texts.
The activity also serves to help students see the ways in which an argument can be presented through visual design as effectively (if not more so) than written text, which helps students bridge to the next project of the course, a visual argument.