We're gettin' all political up in Ms. P's class this week. We're starting persuasive essays. The only problem is EVERYONE keeps catching the flu.
But that is a(whole)nother tale. I've spent my last few days brainstorming what hot topics will get them talking. What do they care about enough to generate an essay that's chock full of their personality? What will make them spirited enough to cause spontaneous researching?
Here are the 12 topics they can choose from with mentor essays for them to peruse:
1) Are standardized tests valuable?
2) Should adults be able to ban books from school libraries?
3) Should those charged with animal cruelty face harsher penalties than they do presently? (a current local debate)
4) Should the United States continue to fully fund NASA?
5) Is spanking an appropriate punishment for children?
6) Should fast food restaurants have to post nutritional information for their meals on the menu?
7) Is graffiti art? Should graffiti artists be harshly penalized?
8) Some cities have proposed bans on sagging pants. Is this fair?
9) Does having a Facebook account negatively or positively affect your academic life?
10) How should Major League Baseball deal with steroid use, particularly with respect to the Hall of Fame?
11) Do adults praise and encourage your generation too much? Does this affect your ability to accept criticism?
12) Does texting affect your academic life? How?
Just in case, I posted this on the board....
"The views stated in these essays do not necessarily reflect the the views of Ms. P or our school district."
A girl has to cover all her bases.
Now it's your turn to answer the questions:
1) Which one of these 12 issues is most interesting to you?
2) Which one of these do you care the least about?
3 bonus points:
Fav= 8) Some cities have proposed bans on sagging pants. Is this fair?-- i've seen so many middle school asses in the past 2 years, i think it should be law.
5) Is spanking an appropriate punishment for children?-- not that i dont care about this. i just think it's a yay or nay type of thing, and probably wouldnt generate any new discussion. then again, you're kids seem much more willing to try than mine.
Great topics. Where did you find the mentor essays? Are they essays written by previous students??
@erin - Primarily from teenink.com. If you want, I'll send you my collection on these topics.
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