A. Analyze a Model – W.7.1 (20 minutes)

• Review appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can identify the parts of a model argument essay and explain the purpose of each.”

• Distribute and display the Model Argument Essay: “Strength from the Past.” Read the model aloud as students follow along, reading silently.
• Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

“What is this essay about?” (how works from the Harlem Renaissance show the theme of looking back on the past to provide strength and hope for the future)

“What sentence in the piece best expresses this main idea?” (“Of the works we’ve studied so far, however, the painting African Phantasy: Awakening, the poem ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers,’ and songs like ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ most clearly demonstrate the theme of finding strength and hope by looking back to the past.”)

• Point out that the writer uses evidence to support his claim, which helps the reader trust the writer and understand his claim. The evidence explains how each of the works develop the theme of how looking back to the past can provide strength and hope in the present. Emphasize that the essays they write, like the model, will be grounded in evidence from the text. Refocus students on the Model Argument Essay.
• Reread aloud the first paragraph as students follow along, reading silently.
• Turn and Talk:

“What is the gist of this paragraph?” (It provides a brief overview about the Harlem Renaissance and clearly states a main claim for the rest of the essay, that the work the writer chose best demonstrate the theme that looking back to the past can provide strength and hope in the present.)

• Cold-call students to share out. As students share, capture their response next to the first paragraph on the displayed model. Refer to Model Argument Essay: “Strength from the Past” (example for teacher reference) as necessary.
• Invite students to work in pairs to determine the gist for each of the remaining paragraphs, supporting and clarifying as needed.
• Gists:
• Paragraph 1: African Phantasy: Awakening, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” most clearly demonstrate the theme of finding strength and hope by looking back to the past
• Paragraph 2: African Phantasy: Awakening: two people in front are surrounded by ancient images and dressed like they are from the past
• Paragraph 3: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”: figurative language to describe the “Ancient, dusky rivers” (12) and is structured to describe every river and event from the past as if the speaker were a part of them
• Paragraph 4: “Lift Every Voice and Sing”: encourages everyone to “sing a song full of faith” that comes from the “dark past” (7) and figurative language: the speakers have arrived at “the place for which our fathers sighed” (16) and remain “true to our native land.” (33)
• Paragraph 5: theme is presented differently in each piece, but it shines through strongly in all three works
• After several minutes, refocus the whole group and use total participation techniques to select students to share the gist of each paragraph with the whole group.
• Display a Painted Essay® template and direct students to retrieve this resource from Module 2. Have students Turn and Talk to a predesignated partner that they will consult for the remainder of the lesson:

“Describe how this template is organized and explain the name and purpose of each part of the template.” (Students share the purpose of each section, naming the colors and their correspondence to each part of the essay.)

• Display the Model Argument Essay: "Strength from the Past." Distribute colored pencils and guide students in using these and their Painted Essay® template with their partners to color code their Model Essay: "Strength from the Past" using the following directions:
• Read the first paragraph aloud as students follow along, pausing to color-code each part of the paragraph.
• Read the context in the first paragraph, stopping at “Many of the works of the Harlem Renaissance showed how important the past is for understanding ourselves.”
• Ask students to Turn and Talk:

“What is the purpose of the sentences I just read? What color should they be?” (The purpose of the sentence is to provide background information on the themes and works of the Harlem Renaissance. They should be red.)

• Read the main claim of the first paragraph, “Of the works we’ve studied so far, however, the painting African Phantasy: Awakening and the poems ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ and ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ most clearly demonstrate the theme of finding strength and hope by looking back to the past.”

“What is the purpose of this sentence and what colors should it be?” (The purpose of this sentence is to state an opinion about which works most clearly demonstrate the theme. It provides the main idea that you want the reader to take away. It should be colored green, yellow, and blue.) Explain that the focus statement of this piece is a bit tricky and they will color-code it together.

• Clarify the language that students will use to name the parts of an argument essay. Explain that in an argument essay, the focus statement is referred to as the “main claim.” Help students understand that like a focus statement in an informative essay, the main claim tells what the piece will be about. 
• Guide students in understanding the main claim by asking the following questions:

“Think back to the gist statements you wrote for each paragraph. What are the three points the author is making? (Point 1: “The painting African Phantasy: Awakening clearly demonstrates the theme of finding strength and hope by looking back to the past.” Point 2: “The poem ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ clearly demonstrates the theme of finding strength and hope by looking back to the past.” Point 3: “‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ clearly demonstrates the theme of finding strength and hope by looking back to the past.”)

“How does the main claim preview these three points?” (by mentioning the title of each work in the main claim)

• Explain that although the essays they have been writing have always had two points, an essay can have any number of points as long as those points support the main claim. Since the points always combine to support the main claim, when we have more than two points, we continue the pattern of coloring them yellow and blue, which together make green. Prompt students to think of the upcoming paragraphs in the essay. Ask students:

“The next three Proof Paragraphs will develop the three points. All support the main claim. What colors should we color code each of the points that support the claim?" (Students will color the first point yellow, the second blue, and the third a darker yellow.) Ensure that students understand that the main claim states the opinion about which works most clearly demonstrate the theme, and that each Proof Paragraph gives evidence for how each work demonstrates the theme. For example, in the model, the first paragraph gives evidence about how African Phantasy: Awakening shows the theme of finding strength and hope in the past. The second paragraph gives evidence about how “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” demonstrates this same theme. And the third paragraph gives evidence of how “Lift Every Voice and Sing” demonstrates this theme.

• Guide students in coloring the main claim green and the title of each work yellow and blue. Refer to the Model Argument Essay: “Strength from the Past” (example for teacher reference) as necessary. Instruct students to color Point 3 a darker shade of yellow by adding an additional layer of the same color to distinguish it from Point 1.
• Read Proof Paragraph 1.
• Ask students to Turn and Talk:

“What is the function of this paragraph in the essay?” (To show how African Phantasy: Awakening demonstrates the theme of finding strength and hope in the past.) “What color should it be?” (yellow) “Why?” (Because it supports the yellow point that African Phantasy: Awakening demonstrates the theme clearly.)

• Read Proof Paragraph 2.
• Ask students to Turn and Talk:

“What is the function of this paragraph in the essay?” (To show how “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” demonstrates the theme of finding strength and hope in the past.) “What color should it be?” (blue) “Why?” (Because it supports the blue point that “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” demonstrates the theme clearly.)

• Read Proof Paragraph 3.
• Ask students to Turn and Talk:

“What is the function of this paragraph in the essay?” (To show how “Lift Every Voice and Sing” demonstrates the theme of finding strength and hope in the past.) “What color should it be?” (dark yellow) “Why?” (Because it supports the dark yellow point that “Lift Every Voice and Sing” demonstrates the theme clearly.)

• Read the conclusion of the model essay.
• Ask:

“What is the role of the conclusion in an argument essay?” (Students should mention that the conclusion should wrap up the piece by restating the main claim and adding some additional thinking about why it is important. For example, in the model, this paragraph restates the claim and reflects on how the theme applies to life in general.)

“What color should you code it? Why” (Green, because it synthesizes the claim, Point 1, Point 2, and Point 3. Students might also mention that the shade of green differs from that used in the main claim in the introduction. This shows that when they run the ideas in the yellow paragraph and the ideas in the blue paragraph through their own mind they come together to make something new—their own thinking on the topic, but still connected to the claim.) If students are ready, deepen this analysis by working together to color-code the sentences that refer to each point in blue and yellow. Refer to the Model Argument Essay: “Strength from the Past” (example for teacher reference) as necessary.

• When students finish analyzing the model, display blank chart paper to co-construct the Criteria of an Effective Argument Essay. Ask students to share out criteria generated during the above exploration of the model. Note that, at this point, students may only identify the general structure and some of the key criteria (main claim, points, evidence, and elaboration.) The class will add to the anchor chart details about the criteria of each paragraph in the following lessons. For guidance, see the Criteria of an Effective Argument Essay (for teacher reference).
• Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.