Middle School Argument Curriculum

 

A Middle-School Curriculum on Argumentation

            In this article in Social Education, Chauncey Monte-Sano (University of Michigan) and Ryan Hughes (University of North Carolina/Greensboro) describe a three-year curriculum they developed – Read. Inquire. Write. – designed to develop the skills of argumentation. Their goal was to scaffold learning for English learners and students reading below grade level so that by eighth grade, students would understand how to construct and critique an argument and formulate a counterargument. Read. Write. Inquire. has five one-week investigations spread through each year, with students asked to respond to a realistic scenario in each module:

            • Sixth grade: Interpreting arguments – Students learn to write a claim, cite specific and relevant evidence, and explain their reasoning on why the evidence is reliable and supports their claim. In one of the modules, students view a PBS documentary on the water supply in Mexico City and are asked to grapple with the question: Why is access to water unequal in and around Mexico City? Sixth graders study causation and write a fully developed argument but don’t necessarily look at alternative perspectives.

            • Seventh grade: Critiquing an argument – Students analyze another person’s argument and rebut it by questioning its claim, evidence, and reasoning. In one module, students read primary source documents on democracy in ancient Greece and are asked to critique an essay submitted to a fictional essay content on the strengths of Athenian democracy. They focus on the essential question, Was democracy in ancient Athens a good form of government? and write to the essay judges with their comments on the fictional essay.

            • Eighth grade: Developing counterarguments – Students write an argument and then formulate a counterargument that takes into account possible rebuttals and counterclaims vis-à-vis their claims, evidence, and reasoning. In one module, eighth graders study Reconstruction, focusing on the question, Did the promise of freedom come true for African Americans after the Civil War? Students write a letter to a museum suggesting how to tell the story of Reconstruction and respond to someone with a competing interpretation – triumph versus tragedy. 

            By implementing this curriculum and fostering a culture of inquiry across sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, conclude Monte-Sano and Hughes, “middle school teachers can prepare students to write complex arguments and critically engage with historical and social issues, enabling them to become informed and active participants in shaping the world around them.” 

 

“Read. Inquire. Write.: A Scaffolded Progression to Support Diverse Learners’ Social Studies Argument Writing in Middle School” by Chauncey Monte-Sano and Ryan Hughes in 

Social Education, September 2024 (Vol. 88, #4, pp. 234-240); the authors can be reached at cmontesa@umich.edu and rehughe2@uncg.edu.