Lesson 4: Developing a Thesis Statement and Introduction Paragraph ____________________________________________________________________________ Subject: Fundamentals of Writing (Periods 4 and 8) Unit: Nonfiction

Literary Analysis Grade: 10th Grade Time Frame: 1 class period (approximately 45 minutes) Rationale With the majority of the unit coming to a close, students should be able to identify literary techniques and determine how the author created purpose, theme, and style within their nonfiction book. In preparation of the final assessment for this unit, I will be teaching students how formulate an original thesis statement that addresses the authors use of purpose, theme, and style. We will then practice writing an introduction paragraph for the final analysis. Students need to know this material in order to create a well-written, structured analysis that uses supporting evidence from nonfiction literature. Students must receive a passing score on this analysis in order to meet state standards and pass the course. Standards to be addressed from Iowa Core RI.11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. RI.11-12.3: Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas or events interact and develop over the course of the text. RI.11-12.6: Determine an authors point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text. W.11-12.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. W.11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. Essential Questions 1. How do I effectively write an original thesis statement that addresses purpose, theme and style used by the author (not a 3-point thesis statement)? 2. What are the various styles of thesis statements? Learning Objectives Students will be able to: 1. Write an original, non-3-point thesis statement in preparation of the final analysis 2. Draw evidence from nonfiction text to support main ideas and details regarding authors purpose, theme, and style 3. Evaluate textual evidence to support claims in thesis statement.

Objectives to be addressed from WDM Community School District: 1. Analyze authors use of literary devices in conveying purpose and theme in a literary text. 2. Apply the writing process to communicate ideas in a literary analysis. 3. Use standard expectations of content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions in writing. Technology/Resources Microsoft PowerPoint presentation: Writing a Thesis Statement Elmo and overhead projector Paper (for in-class activity) Writing utensil Sequencing Hook: The purpose of this lesson is to prepare students to write a well-structured, thorough literary analysis. Today we will discuss how to write an original thesis statement that addresses main points and supporting details. I will begin the lesson with a question-and-answer strategy. Prompt: How many of you have written a thesis statement before? and What can you tell me about thesis statements? This will draw on prior knowledge and will be a quick, formative assessment tool. I Do It/We Do It: For the first part of todays lesson, I will go through a brief presentation that addresses main points and tips for writing a strong, original thesis statement. I will stress the importance of staying away from the standard 3-point thesis in writing the literary analysis. For the majority of the presentation, I will read through examples of introduction paragraphs and thesis statements written by former students. We will have time to discuss each introduction paragraph. I will ask students to determine the thesis statement in each example and explain what characteristics indicate that it is a thesis statement. We will finish the presentation with tips for writing strong, concise introduction paragraphs. You Do It Alone: Students will spend the remainder of the period developing a strong thesis statement and writing an introduction paragraph. Students are allowed use these while writing their essay, which will increase incentive and motivation to complete the task. I will way around the room to evaluate students progress. I want to read through their samples and provide advice/comments on each. This lesson is the last lesson before we write the analysis in class. Therefore, it is very important to check in and make sure students are on the right track. Once students complete this task, they may work on their essay outline (this was provided prior to this lesson and is used as an organizational tool for main ideas for the essay). Students may keep this writing activity to use for their essays.

Assessment Objectives 1. Objectives one through three will be assessed using the in-class activity. I will also work oneon-one with each student to check their progress and evaluate their introduction paragraph rough drafts.

Assessment Tools 1. Assessment of prior knowledge through question-and-answer discussion 2. In-class assignment 3. Individual conferences/check point assessment