The activity was pretty simple: work in small groups and report out to the class evaluating claims to decide whether or not they could make strong argument strong essays. The choices were a little confusing, though: "too obvious" if few would disagree, "not defensible" if few would argue in favor, and "controversial" for that just right claim, but that's why we were working together.
The task was harder for some than others, but most had to give it some thought. Then there was that one kid who wanted to argue every issue, no matter how outrageous. Of course she knew she was tilting at windmills when she raised her hand to say that perhaps all middle school students in the US should indeed work full time in addition to their studies, and she understood full well the difficulties in arguing that only citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 should be allowed to vote, but she was grasping for a challenge and I couldn't fault her for that.
And when it came time for the independent assessment, she aced it in under five minutes. Looking around at the rest of her classmates working intently, she whispered, "What should I do now?"
"Why don't you start drafting your argument that only families with small children should be allowed in amusement parks?" I asked her. "Or would you rather argue that children of all ages should be able to drive?"
"I think I'll read my book," she laughed.
The task was harder for some than others, but most had to give it some thought. Then there was that one kid who wanted to argue every issue, no matter how outrageous. Of course she knew she was tilting at windmills when she raised her hand to say that perhaps all middle school students in the US should indeed work full time in addition to their studies, and she understood full well the difficulties in arguing that only citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 should be allowed to vote, but she was grasping for a challenge and I couldn't fault her for that.
And when it came time for the independent assessment, she aced it in under five minutes. Looking around at the rest of her classmates working intently, she whispered, "What should I do now?"
"Why don't you start drafting your argument that only families with small children should be allowed in amusement parks?" I asked her. "Or would you rather argue that children of all ages should be able to drive?"
"I think I'll read my book," she laughed.
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