Social Justice
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." -Atticus Finch
Racial profiling. Gender discrimination. Poverty. We live in an unjust society. Although we might not experience injustice in our personal lives, we need to look no further than prime time TV or even our local communities to see unfair treatment based on race, gender, or class. The first step to fighting social injustice is to see situations from other people's perspectives. What does it feel like to be part of a marginalized group? Is there anything that can be done to address these social injustices? How can you expand your perspective to use your voice to bring about social justice? How can you use reading and writing as tools for social change?
Enduring Understandings: Theme, Argumentative Writing, and Reading
Essential Questions: Theme, Argumentative Writing, and Reading
Racial profiling. Gender discrimination. Poverty. We live in an unjust society. Although we might not experience injustice in our personal lives, we need to look no further than prime time TV or even our local communities to see unfair treatment based on race, gender, or class. The first step to fighting social injustice is to see situations from other people's perspectives. What does it feel like to be part of a marginalized group? Is there anything that can be done to address these social injustices? How can you expand your perspective to use your voice to bring about social justice? How can you use reading and writing as tools for social change?
Enduring Understandings: Theme, Argumentative Writing, and Reading
- Racism, gender, social class, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation can limit opportunities, divide a community, and deter justice.
- An individual's ability to see other perspectives about social injustice reveals character.
- People have a responsibility to seek social justice.
- Education can serve as a vehicle for social change.
- Writing can persuade people to think and even act differently.
- An effective introduction captures a reader's attention, sets the stage for the essay and includes a thesis statement.
- An effective conclusion restates the thesis statement, wraps up the essay and leaves readers with something to think about.
- Effective persuasive writing includes a concession.
- Good readers set a purpose for reading to aid comprehension.
- Good readers use strategies to monitor their comprehension.
- Analyzing genre and text structure advances reading comprehension and provides insight into the writer's craft.
Essential Questions: Theme, Argumentative Writing, and Reading
- What causes unfairness?
- How does a person's ability to see other perspectives reveal their character?
- How can you be the change?
- What role does education play in promoting social justice?
- a) Can writers persuade others to think and even act differently? b) How do writers persuade others?
- a) What are the different methods for capturing a reader's attention in an introduction? b) How does an introduction set the stage for an essay? c) What is an effective thesis statement?
- a) How does a writer restate a thesis statement? b) How does a writer sum up the essay? c) How does a writer leave readers thinking?
- a) How does offering a concession strengthen a persuasive argument?
- a) How do readers set a purpose for reading? b) What are the different purposes for reading?
- a) Why do readers monitor their comprehension? b) What strategies help readers monitor their comprehension?
- a) How does text structure advance audience comprehension?
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