Getting Active: Crafting a Community Service/Social Action Plan Unit

Intended for 11th or 12th Graders

Written by Christy OMeara
Unit Goals: This unit is intended to follow a genre study unit which included texts
concerning activism. Students, in that previous unit, studied and composed texts
within the genres of poetry, biography, and editorials, about specific sub-topics
within activism (anti-war activism, the African American Civil Rights Movement, and
the LGBT rights movement, respectively). With that prior knowledge on both
activism and writing, students will begin to consider and craft argument about the
importance of activist movements. Students will participate in dialogic activities in
order to learn about the elements of argument, and also to begin to develop an
understanding of social issues that are important to them. Ultimately, in this unit,
students will craft an argument concerning an activist cause which is important to
them. They will write a proposal justifying their focus on their chosen social issue
and defending their plan to address or work towards correcting it. This final
assessment is intended to have students show what they have learned about
argument and to demonstrate what issues they consider important and how they
will respond to them.
Unit Assessment: As mentioned previously, students will be expected, by the end
of the unit, to craft a proposal arguing that their selected social issue is one worthy
of addressing. Additionally, the proposal must justify their own community
service/social action plan as an appropriate way to respond to their selected issue.
These proposals will not be structurally different from a typical argumentative
essay, so students will be expected to submit writing which fits the form of an
argumentative essay. Students will be expected to present claims that are
supported by evidence, and both the evidence and claims should be explained by
warrants. Additionally, these claims are intended to work together as the students
stance. The students stance is their overall conclusion about their plan of action,
based upon the claims, evidence, and warrants. Hence, students will be expected to
create and use these argumentative elements correctly within their proposals. This
will be demonstrated by them accurately and effectively making claims within their
writing, as well as using valid and relevant evidence and warrants.
Common Core State Standards: The units activities and final assessment is
intended to help students meet the following Common Core State Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.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.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types
are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.5
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying
a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and
audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3
up to and including grades 11-12 here.)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared
writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.

Unit Sequencing: Students will first begin by considering different texts regarding
activism that they have read previously, and begin to learn about the elements of
argument that way (form). However, since the subject matter of these lessons in
form will be focused on activism and the motivations for it, content will not be far
behind either. As students learn about claims, evidence, warrants through dialogic
activities students will also learn about what sorts of community service and social
action are worth doing, as well as what social issues and problems are worth
addressing. Eventually, the content of the unit assessment students developing
their own unique plans of social action will become the primary focus of discussion
and activities, as the elements are already taught. However, the elements would
not be discarded; they would likely provide an important framework for much of the
conversation and lessons on activism.
Argumentative Writing Assessment
Prompt: Over the course of the last unit, we have read and written texts about
three different salient forms of activism in order to study genre, to become more
knowledgeable about activist movements, and to express ourselves. You are aware
now of how writing can be activism, but perhaps you are wondering what other
kinds of activism you could do, within our own community. Perhaps you are
interested in getting involved with an issue that matters to you, and getting active
in ways beyond the written word. Perhaps you do not feel this way at all, but you
can see the value in activism, and how anyone can fight for a cause that matters to
them.
In this mini-unit, you are to develop a plan of how you can engage in social action in
response to a cause that matters to you. Then, create a proposal outlining and
defending your own plan, in which you will be taking social action in your
community. In order to do this, you need to explain and show why your plan is
necessary. That is, you need to explain and show how your selected social issue is a
problem that warrants attention. Also, you need to explain and show how your plan
of action will be a solution to the problem. The next unit following this will be largely
devoted to supporting you and your peers as you implement your plans and reflect
on your actions. Due to this large amount of class time that will be dedicated to
facilitating your plan, the audience for your proposal will be the principal of this
school. Convince him/her that your chosen issue is worth addressing, and that your
plan, which will be the primary focus of our work in the next unit, will be a genuine
solution.
Argumentative Elements and Explanation: The following elements will be
required parts of students proposals. Here is a description of each element that will
play a role, within the context of this assessment:
In your proposal, you will make claims regarding the existence and severity
of the social problem you wish to address. Additionally, you will make claims

defending your plan of action as a solution to the problem. These claims are the
statements of WHAT your argument is.
These claims, working together, make up your stance. Your stance is the
summation of both claims regarding the existence and importance of your chosen
social problem, and claims supporting your own plan of action as a solution. In other
words, stance = claims about problem + claims about solution.
Evidence, in this proposal, is data which results in your beliefs or ideas that
is, it is the real world stuff which leads to your claims. Data which classifies as
evidence in your proposal does not have to be numbers or material from a
scholarly journal. It could be these things, but it could also comprise of anecdotes,
conversations you have had with other people, your own personal experiences, etc.
If the evidence you present helps paint the picture of your claims regarding WHY
your selected issue is important and necessary to address, and WHY your plan of
action is a solution, then it is legitimate.
Finally, warrants should function in your proposal as the explaining
connection between your evidence and claims. In other words, warrants show
HOW the evidence you present result in your claims. For example, it is not enough
to say that it is necessary to volunteer at a soup kitchen because people are poor
and starving. The warrant here would show HOW peoples poverty and starvation
necessitates your involvement with a soup kitchen. It would show HOW peoples
poverty and starvation is worthy of addressing via a social action plan. It would
show HOW your plan to volunteer at a soup kitchen could alleviate peoples hunger.
In short, evidence pointing to the reality of the social issue you are addressing is not
enough. Warrants show HOW that evidence leads you to the claims you are trying
to argue.

Rubric: Feedback would be based off of this rubric, where I would provide
points and written comments as well.
Feature/Total Points
Guidelines
Teacher Feedback
Argumentative
Proposal must feature
Stance:
Elements/
and correctly use the
40 points
elements claim, evidence,
and warrant. Those
elements must converge
within the proposal in
Claims:
order to make the
students stance, which
should contain claims on
both the problem and the
solution.
Evidence:

Content and
Coherence of
Argument/

10 points possible for

claims, evidence,
warrant, and stance.
All points given when
element is used correctly
in all instances and
present. Less points
given when used
problematically and/or
not present in all
instances- depending on
severity of problematic
use or absence. No points
given when element is
not present at all.
Proposal presents a
compelling and coherent
argument regarding the

Warrants:

In total:

Content:

30 points

Grammar, Sentence
Structure,
Organization, and
Tone/
20 points

social issue the students

wishes to address, as well
as their plan of action.
Proposal also reflects
thoughtfulness and
knowledge on both the
problem and proposed
solution
15 points possible for
both content and
coherence. All points
given for content if
student work
demonstrates
thoughtfulness on the
problem and solution, as
well as the importance of
both. Less points given if
student demonstrates
superficial thought and/or
knowledge on problem
and/or solution. All points
given for coherence is
argument is coherent and
is logically consistent.
Less points given if it is
less coherent or logical
than ideal. No point given
if it is devoid of
coherence and logic.
Proposal contains no
grammar or sentence
structure errors, or if they
do, it does not detract
from the proposals
overall quality or
meaning. The tone of the
proposal is appropriate
for the audience (the
principal)

Coherency:

In total:

Grammar and
Sentence Structure:

Organization and Tone:

10 points possible for
grammar and sentence
structure, and another 10
points possible for
organization and tone. All
points given for grammar
and sentence structure if
there are no errors, or

very minor ones. Less

points given depending
on the severity of errors
present. No points given
if errors present alter the
meaning and quality of
the proposal significantly.
All points given for
organization and tone if
the organization of the
proposal is logical and
transitions are used
effectively and
appropriately. All points
also given if tone is very
appropriate throughout
the course of the
proposal. Less points
given if organization is
not completely logical or
there ineffective or less
appropriate transitions
used. Less points also
given if tone is too causal
or other inappropriate at
points. No points given if
organization is illogical
and transitions are not
used at all effectively (or
not even included). No
points also given if tone
is too causal or other
inappropriate throughout
the entire proposal.
Calendar of Activities and Objectives:
Day
Objective(s)
Day 1
Students will learn about
the argumentative
elements claim and
evidence. Students will
also practice using these
argumentative elements
in order to craft their own
arguments regarding the
purpose and motivation
of activism.

In total:

Activities
Students will get into six
groups (two of which will
be focused on anti-war
activism, two of which on
African American Civil
Rights movement, and
two of which on LGBT
rights movement) and
use the mentor texts from
the previous unit on
writing and activism to
answer the following
question: What is the
argument being made

Day 2

Students will compare

and contrast their own
arguments with other
groups in order to analyze
the differences and
similarities found in their
claims and evidence.
Students will then
combine their claims and
evidence together in
order to create a larger
graphic organizer that
represents the connection
between their claims and
evidence.

Day 3

Students will now learn

about the
argumentative
element warrant, as
they dialogue about how

about the purpose of

activism within your
topics texts? Students
would use a graphic
organizer to record their
claims and evidence for
their claims, as they work
within their group, in
order to determine what
claim is being made by
the texts regarding the
purpose of activism, and
to collect textual
evidence that supports
that claim.
Given that there were two
groups for each form of
activism the previous day
that formed their own
arguments, those two
groups who each worked
on the same form of
activism will get together
and compare/contrast
their claims and
evidence. They will be
prompted to consider
examples of claims which
are the same, and then
consider if different
evidence was used to get
them there. They will also
be prompted to consider
the examples of pieces of
textual evidence which
are the same, but lead
them to differing claims.
Then, once they have
spent time analyzing
these differences through
these questions, they will
create a larger graphic
organizer which combines
all of their evidence and
claims.
Students will participate
in a Think-Pair-Share with
the whole class
discussion (dialogic
activity) where they

the evidence they

unearthed over the last
two days supports their
claim. Students will also
begin to practice creating
warrants, as they will be
expected to create
warrants for the
previously made claims
and evidence.

Day 4

Students will engage in a

debriefing dialogic
discussion about the
last three days spent on
introduction to
argumentative elements,
as well as the process of
creating arguments with
these elements. Students
will also begin to write
about a time they stood
up for something they
believe in, or a time they
should have stood up, but
did not, and will take this
writing assignment home
to complete.

consider the following

question: What are the
ideas that connect the
evidence to your claims?
Students will be asked to
generate rules
regarding how certain
things (ex: death,
poverty, discrimination,
inequality, etc) motivates
activism. Then, in a large
dialogic discussion,
students will present
what they and their
partner thought of, and
will begin to create
connections between
previously made evidence
and claims. They will
eventually move back to
their graphic organizers
to insert warrants in
between their evidence
and claims with
positnotes.
Students will present
their graphic organizers
to the whole class, and
then talk to each other in
a large class dialogic
discussion about the
following questions:
What did you notice
about the arguments you
or others made? What
role did the elements
claim/evidence/warrant
play within the
argument? How do
these elements impact
your argument?
Students will also get an
opportunity to vocalize
any questions or
confusion that they still
have regarding the
argumentative elements
and creating them. As
class concludes, students
will be prompted to write

Day 5

Students will, after having

written about their own
experiences for
homework, will address
questions regarding what
they believe is worth
standing up for. Students
will do this in pairs, but
will eventually share their
findings within a whole
class discussion.

Day 6

Students will post their

thoughts on a class forum
(or blog) website
regarding what they
believe about the three
questions addressed
previously (technology).
Students will also respond
to their peers thoughts
through this forum/blog
and will be expected to
use the questions to

about a time they stood

up for something they
believe in, or a time they
should have stood up, but
did not. This assignment
will be completed for
homework.
Students will come in with
their completed writing
regarding the previous
prompt for homework.
They will get with a
partner in order to
discuss and share their
experiences. Shortly
after, students will
answer the following
questions individually in
writing but then discuss
them with their partner:
What do you think is
worth standing up for?
Why do you think its
worth standing up for?
and How are you going
to show that it is worth
standing up for? After
writing about this and
discussing with a partner,
students will volunteer to
share the content of their
conversations with the
rest of the class. Before
class ends, however,
students will be
introduced to the final
proposal assessment, so
its on their radar.
Students will use
computers in class in
order to post their
thoughts about the three
questions considered the
previous day. Students
will have a limited time to
work on this, in order to
motivate them to stay on
task and not take
advantage of the
technology in negative

prompt moves for

claim/evidence/warrant in
order to do so
(argumentative
moves).

Day 7

Students will craft

responses to questions
they have received from
peers (or me if no peers
have responded).
Students will also revise
their responses to the
original three questions
on Day 5 if necessary,
and do so with the
correspondence while
thinking about feedback
and questions from their
peers (continuing
technology).

Day 8

Students will do research

on the Internet on their
selected issue in order to
get answers on how they
can address it within their
community. Students will
also answer questions in
order to think about and
determine what kind of

ways. Students will then

comment in response,
using the questions to
prompt moves for
claim/evidence/warrant to
prompt conversation with
their classmates
(argumentative
moves). Their responses
would be expected to use
these questions, but they
should be more
thoughtful and specific
than merely
copying/pasting the
questions to prompt
moves.
Students will comment in
response to the questions
they received. They will
also consider what the
questions may indicate in
terms of revision, given
the feedback they
receive from me and their
peers. The primary
questions to scaffold this
process will be: What is
missing from your
answers to the questions,
considering the
questions/feedback you
received? What can you
do to make your writing
more clear and concise so
these questions are
answered? This
responding and revising
will continue to take place
on the forum or blog
(technology)
Students will use the
Internet and technology
in order to determine
ways to address their
selected issue within their
community. This day is
intended to allow
students to individually
assess their options and

solution they can

implement in response to
their selected problem.

Day 9

Students will post their

answers to the three
questions concerning
solutions on the class
forum or blog. Then,
students will respond
their peers proposed
solutions by offering
feedback and asking
argumentative moves
questions. Students will
begin to draft their
proposal for social action
in class with peer
feedback in mind, and

try to decide which on is

the best. In other words,
the primary focus in not
creating a coherent
argument, but on
examining multiple
options and making a
decision. They will be
able to refer to their
previous answers and
writing in order consider
how they can create a
plan of social action.
Additionally, to assist in
the creation of their
planned solution for the
proposal, students will
need to answer these
three questions: What is
a solution to the
problem? Why is this a
solution? and How can
you show that it is?
These questions are
intended to be a scaffold
into their development of
claims/evidence/warrant
for their plan of action as
a proposed solution.
Students who have time
can begin to answer
these questions during
class time, but they can
be answered before Day
9 for homework.
Students will use the
computers again during
class to post their
proposed solution via
their answers to the three
questions from Day 8.
Students will also respond
to their peers posts
regarding the solution to
their selected problem.
Additionally, students will
use questions to prompt
argumentative moves
in their feedback to each
other. Students will revise

complete it later for

homework.

Day 10

Students will peer review

their rough draft
proposals, using the
rubric I will be using to
assess them as a guide
for revision. They will also
identify the
argumentative elements
within their paper.
Students will turn in these
peer reviewed and
element-marked
proposals to me at the
end of class, so to help
them visualize where
each piece is, along with
it helping me evaluate
the papers myself, and
see where they are using
each element. Students
will also write a reverse
outline for their own
proposals prior to the
beginning of the

their planned solutions in

response to their peers. I
am doubtful anyone will
have to start out again
square one (as Day 8 is
focused mostly on having
students assess multiple
options and finding which
one they think will work
best), but if anyone does,
I could conference with
each of those students
individually in order to
alleviate concerns that
they have about their
plan, or to help them
change their plans in
ways that reduce or
eliminate whatever issues
they were having or
envisioning. Students
would begin to take what
they have written for the
problem and solution and
start to write a rough
draft proposal.
Peer review day with
partners. Students will
use the rubric to evaluate
their partners proposal.
In addition to the
evaluation of the
proposals with the rubric,
students will highlight
where their stance,
claims, evidence, and
warrants are in their
proposal in different
colors, working their
partner in order to figure
out where these elements
are. Students will also
create a reverse outline
of their paper currently,
by looking at each
paragraph and writing
down what it is in each
and seeing whether or
not if they align. Then,
students will turn in the

Day 11

Day 12

workshop, so they can

visualize not just the
parts, but where they are.
Students will get
feedback on their
proposals from the
teacher in order to learn
about what problems
showed up the most in
their writing and begin to
create solutions, while
considering peer and
teacher feedback.
Students will also engage
in a
grammar/mechanics
and
organization/sequencing
workshop on the most
common errors within
these topics I noticed
when evaluating their
papers.

Students will turn in their

revised proposals to me.

peer reviewed, markedup drafts, along with their

reverse outlines, to me.
Students will work on and
read through the
Revision Recap which
would feature information
and activities about the
most common
grammar/mechanics
errors, along with
organizational problems,
found in the proposals, so
to lead into a workshop
on them within class. This
day is intended to be
more focused on
grammar and
organization problems,
but more work can be
done on argumentative
elements and coherence,
if necessary, during class.
(Credit goes to Kati
Macaluso for the title and
idea of Revision Recap)
Students will give their
revised proposal to me.
This will essentially be
the final assessment.
However, I would proceed
to have dialogues with
each individual student in
order to offer suggestions
and feedback on their
plans, and/or to ensure
that they are convinced in
their proposed plan of
action. This unit would be
in between the
activism/genre study unit
and another unit on
community where
students actually
implement their plans of
social action. Therefore, it
is necessary to ensure
students are confident in
their plans and have
proper support.