Building Arguments

Overview

This lesson is the tenth in a 12-lesson unit on “Power and Resilience in Texts”. Students will craft and refine a position on how power and resilience should be used, using evidence from the two Hughes texts studied earlier in the unit and notes from their research.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• make a clear position about power and resilience in a text and in the real world
• select and explain evidence from Hughes texts to support their viewpoint
• compare their opinion with peers using respectful discussion
• write a structured argument paragraph using sentence starters and a graphic organiser

Success criteria

Students can:

• state a position in one sentence and justify it with at least two pieces of evidence
• connect evidence to their claim using at least two reasoning links (“This shows… because…”)
• use evaluative language to judge actions and the impact on others (e.g. fair/unfair, responsible/harmful)
• use paragraph structure correctly: topic sentence → evidence → explanation → link back to claim

Curriculum links

• AC9E7LE02: form an opinion about characters, settings and events in texts, identify agreement/differences with others’ opinions, and justify a response
• AC9E7LE01: identify and explore ideas, points of view, characters and events in literary texts using historical, social and/or cultural contexts
• AC9E7LA02: recognise language used to evaluate texts and how evaluations can be substantiated by reference to the text and other sources
• AC9E7LY05: use comprehension strategies (questioning, inferring, summarising, monitoring) to analyse and summarise information and ideas

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Activation: “Agree/Disagree” prompt. Teacher writes a statement on the board: “Power should be used to protect others, not control them.” Students do a quick write: agree/disagree and one reason.

2. 5–12 min · Rehearse claim + evidence. Teacher models using a mini graphic organiser (Claim → Evidence → Explanation → Impact). Students highlight one relevant moment from the Hughes text notes (or class anchor excerpt) and identify what power/resilience is shown.

3. 12–22 min · Graphic organiser build (guided). Teacher circulates with targeted prompts. Students complete their organiser for their main position, including:

• Claim (one sentence)
• Two evidence points from Hughes (quote or paraphrase)
• One research link (a fact/example from notes)
• Explanation sentences that show how evidence supports the claim
• Impact on characters/communities

4. 22–30 min · Evidence quality check (“Does it prove the claim?”). Teacher displays a checklist and demonstrates one example upgrade. Students use the checklist to self-monitor and revise: underline the claim, circle evidence, and add one “because” sentence where the link is missing.

5. 30–38 min · Peer support: “Turn & justify”. Students work in pairs (or triads if needed). Partner A reads their claim aloud; Partner B responds with either:

• “I agree because…” or
• “I disagree because…” and both must point to evidence from the paragraph (Hughes or research). Teacher provides sentence starters on the board to support respectful disagreement.

6. 38–48 min · Write argument paragraph (independent). Teacher sets expectations for one complete paragraph. Students write:

• Topic sentence (position)
• Evidence 1 + explanation
• Evidence 2 + explanation
• Closing link to resilience/power “should” statement Students are encouraged to use evaluative language and at least two reasoning links.

7. 48–50 min · Exit ticket: “My strongest proof”. Students submit one sentence answering: “Which piece of evidence best supports my position, and why?” Teacher collects to inform next lesson drafting.

Resources

• Students’ notes: Hughes text moments and research summary
• Printed or displayed graphic organiser template (Claim/Evidence/Explanation/Impact)
• Sentence starter strip (claim, linking, evaluation, disagreement)
• Highlighters or sticky notes for evidence/claim identification
• Teacher anchor paragraph (modelled example)
• Checklist for evidence-to-claim connection
• Exit ticket slips or paper

Assessment

• Formative during circulation: check that students have a clear claim and at least two evidence points linked by explanation
• Peer discussion: listen for agreement/differences with justification referencing evidence
• Exit ticket: evaluate strongest-proof reasoning and whether links are logical and text-based

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters and word banks for evaluation (fair/unfair, responsible/harmful, trustworthy, resilient, courageous, impact on community).
• Offer two versions of the organiser: a “complete” template with sentence frames for students needing more structure, and a “blank” template for students ready for more independence.
• For students requiring support, supply a shortlist of 3–4 pre-selected Hughes moments to choose from, each tagged to power/resilience categories.
• For EAL learners: allow paraphrase of evidence before requiring direct quotations; model how to convert notes into explanation (“This shows… because…”).
• Extension for fast finishers: revise their paragraph to include a counterpoint (one sentence acknowledging a different view, then rebutting with evidence).
• Christmas Island context: invite culturally relevant examples in the research link (community rules, responsibility, fairness, support during hardship) while keeping the evidence grounded in students’ notes.