Evaluating Persuasive Arguments

Lesson Overview

Subject: English Language Arts
Year Group: Year 11
Unit: Voices of Identity: Du Bois vs. Washington (Lesson 3 of 5)
Lesson Duration: 60 minutes
Class Size: 10 students
Curriculum Area: AQA English Language – Paper 2 (Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives)

• Assessment Objectives: AO1 (Identify and interpret explicit and implicit information), AO2 (Explain how writers use language to achieve effects), and AO3 (Compare ideas and perspectives across texts).

This lesson helps students analyse and evaluate the arguments of W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, focusing on persuasive techniques and counterclaims.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify the key arguments presented by Du Bois and Washington.
2. Evaluate the persuasiveness of each argument, considering historical and social contexts.
3. Understand counterclaims and their role in argumentation.
4. Construct counterarguments in response to a given perspective.

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Lesson Structure

Starter Activity (10 minutes) – Quickwrite Reflection

• Objective: Activate prior learning by getting students to form an initial opinion on Du Bois and Washington.
• Task:
  • Show two thought-provoking quotations (one from Du Bois, one from Washington) on the board.
  • Students silently reflect and respond in their notebooks:
    • Which argument do you find more convincing? Why?
  • Encourage justification using examples from the texts they’ve studied in previous lessons.
• Share & Discuss: Ask a few students to summarise their thoughts (1-minute responses).

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Mini-Lesson (15 minutes) – Understanding Counterclaims

• Objective: Ensure students grasp the concept of a counterclaim and see how Du Bois and Washington challenge each other’s views.
• Instruction: Teacher provides clear explanations:
  • A counterclaim is a response that challenges an argument by presenting an alternative viewpoint.
  • Writers use counterclaims to strengthen their own arguments by anticipating opposition and refuting it.
• Guided Analysis:
  • In pairs, students examine an excerpt from Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk and Washington’s Atlanta Compromise Speech.
  • Underline each thinker’s counterarguments against the other’s ideas.
  • Whole-class discussion:
    • What strategies do they use? (e.g. logic, emotional appeal, historical reference).
    • Which counterclaim feels stronger? Why?

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Main Activity (25 minutes) – 'Hot Seat' Debate

• Objective: Encourage critical thinking by having students defend, challenge, and refine arguments in a discussion.
• Instructions:
  1. Set the classroom into an inner and outer circle (if possible) or assign roles within a small group.
  2. Choose 2 students to represent Du Bois and Washington.
  3. Peers ask them challenging questions about their perspectives.
  4. The ‘Hot Seat’ participants must defend by constructing counterclaims live.
  5. Rotate students to allow multiple voices to participate.
• Debrief Discussion:
  • What strategies worked best in countering arguments?
  • Did anyone change their perspective after hearing others?

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Plenary (10 minutes) – Exit Ticket: Challenge Du Bois

• Objective: Apply understanding by generating an authentic counterclaim.
• Task: On a notecard (or digital platform), each student writes:
  • A counterclaim Du Bois might use against Washington’s argument about vocational training being the key to racial uplift.
• Teacher Collects & Reviews: Use responses to gauge conceptual understanding of counterclaims and plan for the next lesson.

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Assessment for Learning (AfL) Strategies

• Formative Assessment:

  • Observation of student engagement during the ‘Hot Seat’ debate.
  • Reviewing quickwrites to identify depth of analysis.
  • Exit tickets to assess understanding of counterclaims.

• Differentiation:

  • For higher-ability students: Encourage them to use more sophisticated language or rhetorical techniques in their counterclaims.
  • For lower-ability students: Provide structured sentence starters for constructing counterclaims (e.g. “One flaw in Washington’s argument is… because…”).

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Teacher Reflection and Next Steps

• What worked well? (Engagement, quality of discussion).
• What needs adjustment? (More scaffolding for counterclaims? Additional historical context?).
• Use student responses to inform Lesson 4 (focusing on synthesis and comparing viewpoints in a written essay).

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Resources & Materials

• Excerpts from The Souls of Black Folk and The Atlanta Compromise Speech.
• Paper or digital notebooks for quickwrites and exit tickets.
• Prepared sentence starters for differentiation support.

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Wow Factor & Engagement Strategies

• Historical Role-Play: Encourage students to channel the historical figures in how they respond.
• Live Persuasive Challenge: Students must ‘win over’ classmates with their arguments in the debate.
• Authentic Application: Make connections to modern debates about education and opportunity.

This lesson will inspire deep critical thinking while honing persuasive writing skills—essential for GCSE success! 🚀