Bell Ringers
Teaching argumentative writing in middle school ela: part one.
If you teach middle school, you know that teenagers have a lot of opinions! Luckily, you can use that to your advantage when teaching students how to write an argumentative essay. The key is to help students learn to craft well-written arguments with evidence (not just arguing for the sake of it, which middle schoolers can be prone to).
While learning to craft argumentative essays will help students in school, being able to craft and defend an argument is also an important skill for the real world. Writing an argumentative essay or having a debate requires critical thinking skills and the ability to take a stance and back it up.
What is Argumentative Writing?
In order for students to understand how to write an argumentative essay, they need to understand what argumentative writing is.
Argumentative essays usually require that students do some investigation or research on a topic and then choose a clear stance. When writing, students will spend the body of the essay explaining points and providing evidence that supports their stance. A counterargument is also typically given as a way to counteract how “nay-sayers” would disagree with the writer. At the end of the essay, students will restate their argument and summarize their evidence.
How to Introduce Argumentative Writing: The Debate
Now that we know what to expect from argumentative writing, we can get into how to write an argumentative essay. You’ll want to start by introducing argumentative writing, which I liked to do through debates. Just like in an essay, to successfully debate a topic, students must do some investigation, choose a stance, and then argue their point in a meaningful way. Holding a class debate is a great place to start when introducing argumentative writing. Debating a topic verbally can actually be used as a brainstorming session before students ever even put pen to paper. For students new to argumentative writing, this takes some of the pressure off of jumping right into the writing process and helps them generate ideas.
There are a few ways you can use debates. For instance, you can choose a topic you’d like students to debate or let them choose a topic they’re already passionate about.
I liked to give students a few minutes to think through the topic and prep on their own, and then I partner them up. They can either debate the topic with their partner, or they can work together with their partner to debate another pair.
Depending on your class size, you could also split the class in half and make it a whole group debate. As long as students are researching or investigating in some way, choosing a stance, and finding reasons to back up their position, there is no wrong way to hold a debate in your class – and you can try out a few different formats to see what works best.
After the debates, it’s a great idea to debrief. This is a good time to bring in some key vocabulary and reinforce how to write an argumentative essay. For example, you can look over some of the evidence presented and ask students to rate the “strength” of the argument. You can also brainstorm a counterargument together.
How to Introduce Argumentative Writing: The Flash Draft
After students debate, they move on to the flash draft. A flash draft is essentially a giant brain dump. Students do not have to worry about spelling, grammar, organization, or even structure. They will simply be taking their thoughts from the debate and getting them down on paper.
One benefit to the flash draft is it removes the barrier of intimidation for a lot of students. For many kids, the actual work of starting to write can be daunting. A flash draft removes that intimidation of perfection and just requires something to be on the page. Again, the flash draft portion can be completely tailored to best suit your students and classroom. You can set a timer for a specific amount of time, you can provide students with an outline or guiding questions, or you can give them sentence stems to start.
If you have access to technology in your classroom, you can even let students verbalize their flash draft and use transcription technology to get it on paper.
Expanding Knowledge of Argumentative Writing
By now, you might be wondering when you’ll actually dive deeper into how to write an argumentative essay. That will start with a mini-lesson. These mini-lessons should cover the key parts of argumentative essays, like how to take a stance, ways to support your position, how to transition between thoughts, and even how to craft a counterargument.
You could have a mini-lesson before each flash draft to focus on a particular skill, or you can hold the mini-lesson after the flash draft and let students focus on that skill during revisions. During mini-lessons, I highly suggest using mentor texts, guided examples, or other reference materials. When it comes to writing, many students need to see the process in action, so modeling and having a place for them to reference will be super key to their success.
Argumentative Writing Unit for Middle School
Want support putting together your argumentative essay unit? My done-for-you Argumentative Writing Unit scaffolds how to write an argumentative essay for you and your students.
The unit includes 23 full lesson plans, slide presentations, notebook pages for students, teacher keys and examples, student references pages, and more for a well-rounded unit.
Plus, this unit goes through the exact process I talked about in the blog, using debate, flash drafts, and mini-lessons to scaffold students through the writing process.
- Read more about: Middle School Writing
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Elementary Assessments
61 Great Argumentative Writing Prompts for Middle School
If you’re seeking argumentative writing prompts for middle school students, you’ve landed in the right place.
These interesting argumentative prompts cover a variety of subjects that even your most reluctant writers will find appealing.
What’s more, they enhance writing skills, encourage students to express their opinions with confidence, and deepen learning experiences.
So why not pencil into your writer’s workshop block this week a few of these engaging argumentative writing prompts for middle school students?
Argumentative Writing Prompts for Middle School
Following you will find a variety of argumentative writing prompts for middle school students that can be used for a variety of writing activities.
1. If you were mayor of a new town, how would you convince people to move there?
2. Argue the benefits of teachers not giving homework.
3. Do you think that violent video games are appropriate for middle school students? State and defend your stance.
4. In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge that teenagers face today?
5. Should students be allowed to use cell phones during class time? Why or why not?
6. Do you think grades should be given or just pass/fail? Explain.
7. Is it fair that celebrities make more money than medical doctors? Why or why not?
8. Is social media harmful to young people? Explain.
9. State the importance of protecting Earth from pollution, and explain why everyone should play a part in helping.
10. In what ways can schools do more to prevent or reduce bullying?
11. Should it be mandatory for students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
12. Are you for or against school uniforms? Defend your position.
13. Should middle school students have a later bedtime than younger students? Explain your thinking.
14. Write an article for the school newspaper arguing the benefits of learning a second language.
15. Explain how technology can actually be detrimental to people’s lives.
16. Why is it necessary for schools to administer standardized tests?
17. How should schools most effectively handle bullying?
18. Explain why it’s essential to eat a healthy diet.
19. Explain the benefits of summer camp.
20. Why do you think some students dislike the cafeteria good? How can this issue be resolved?
21. What are some ways that schools can become better places for all students?
22. Explain why more class time should be given to electives.
23. Why do you think it’s important to set and achieve SMART goals?
24. Explain why eating junk food is bad for one’s mental and physical health.
25. Why should citizens be concerned with endangered animals?
26. Discuss ways that teachers can make lessons more accessible to students.
27. State your opinion on whether middle schoolers watch too much television.
28. Describe why it’s important not to always judge someone based on how they look.
29. Share the importance of learning study skills .
30. Should good grades be a requirement to participate in school sports? Explain.
31. Justify people’s concern for animals’ rights.
32. State the benefits of gum chewing in class.
33. Persuade your parents to listen to your favorite music.
34. What time of day do you think school should start and why?
35. In your opinion, which is the better pet: cat or dog?
36. What’s the thrill of watching funny cat videos on YouTube?
37. Write a letter convincing your family to move to the mountains.
38. Draft a letter persuading your 90-year-old grandparent to register for a social media account.
39. Argue for or against the school year being 100 days.
40. What does your pet really think about you and your family?
41. Explain what makes your first, last, or middle name awesome.
42. When is the best time for students to have a cell phone and why?
43. Share your opinion on the appropriate age for staying home alone.
44. Should certain grade levels in middle school have special privileges? Why or why not?
45. Are school uniforms a good idea?
46. Should P.E. classes be divided by gender? Why or why not?
47. What new electives should the school offer, and why?
48. Should more school assignments be group work or independent work? Why?
49. How can the lunch menu be made more appealing to students?
50. Do middle school students need much supervision? Why or why not?
51. How can cyberbullying be reduced?
52. Is online or in-person learning better? Why?
53. Is the sale of fast food on campus a bad influence on middle schoolers? Why or why not?
54. Should participation in a school sport be required? Explain.
55. What are the benefits and disadvantages of students working to earn money?
56. At what age should students begin learning how to drive? Why do you think this?
57. State the pros or cons of having school year-round.
58. What would make homework a better learning experience for students?
59. How should the school handle bullying?
60. Should there be seat belts on school buses? Why or why not?
61. If one participates in sports, should she be allowed to miss P.E class? Why or why not?
Final Thoughts: Argumentative Writing Prompts for Middle School
Now you have a collection of argumentative writing prompts for middle school.
Consider having students review the elements of argumentative writing before sharing these prompts.
Related: writing prompts for middle school
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