honors english > sample lesson plan
the context
I use the following exercise as an invention activity for introductory writing students who are preparing to write an argument analysis. The assignment asks students to choose a public controversy, explain its history, outline the arguments that are made by the different stakeholders in the controversy, and analyze the rhetorical strategies those stakeholders use to make their arguments.
I advise students to choose a controversy about which they do not have strong feelings, because one of the biggest challenges for students with this project is remaining neutral while discussing the issue and its arguments. This creates another challenge for students, because by choosing a topic they don't feel strongly about, students often choose issues they aren't very informed on, which can lead to an oversimplification of the different positions the stakeholders take.
the activity
I ask students to come to class with a controversy they would like to explore for this project. At the beginning of class, the students freewrite for several minutes about their topic. I specifically ask them to brainstorm the different issues related to their controversy and consider the positions different stakeholders would take on those issues. For example, if a student were writing about animal testing, she could freewrite about questions of ethics, animal rights protests, scientific developments, or consumerism. The idea is for students to begin generating areas of focus for their research.
Once students have completed their freewriting exercise, I ask each student to take a sheet of paper and write their topic on the top line. They then pass their paper around to their peers, who write brief comments in response to each student's topic. I advise students to respond honestly and openly about the controversy, explaining their stance on the issue and why they believe as they do. If the students don't have a particular opinion, they can recount the opinions they've heard others express, or they can share resources that might be relevant to the writer (e.g., "I just read an article about animal testing in the campus newspaper last week.") Students write their names after their comments, so that if the writer has a question about a comment, she can ask the student who wrote it down.
Students pass their papers around for about 20-25 minutes, which allows them to get feedback from at least 10 other students in the class. The students then collect their own papers and read the responses of their peers. Once they have done that, I ask them to freewrite for several minutes and consider the following questions: Which responses were expected? Which responses surprised you? How have your peers' responses changed the way you will approach your controversy and research its issues?
As a class, we then discuss the students' responses to the directed freewriting questions. While most students receive some responses from their peers that are expected, nearly all of them are surprised by something another student wrote. Most often, students come to realize the shades of gray associated with their issue. When I used this exercise this semester, one student offered that he had assumed everyone felt the same way about his controversy (how the US should respond to nuclear threats abroad), but he was surprised that people had different opinions about the issue. The activity helps students see how they can focus their research and writing to best represent the complexities of their controversies.
reflection
I developed this activity during the first year I taught composition, and I continue to use it for several reasons. First, it underscores the value of peer response in all stages of the writing process rather than limiting student interaction to peer review. Similarly, it allows students the opportunity to feel that they can contribute their opinions to the development of their fellow writers' ideas. Finally, this exercise is beneficial because it gets students thinking critically about how arguments are made; as they read their peers responses, they can begin to see similarities in the kinds of evidence and arguments used to support a specific cause. And if nothing else, students enjoy seeing the topics and ideas other students are exploring, and the activity fosters further discussion of those issues in class.