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Superman Lesson


Goals for today’s class: Introduce the concept of the Evolving Thesis; complicating evidence, articulating the significance of a claim, and work on mapping an evolving thesis in a text.
Means for accomplishing those goals: Examine images of Superman and ask students to track the evolving thesis through that text.
Readings for today: Writing Analytically from Ch. 6 “Making a Thesis Evolve”
Timing:
First Hour:
10 min. --- Lecture and facilitate a large group discussion on comparing texts. You could use the concept of Similarity Despite Difference and Difference Despite Similarity, but you do not need to. The main goal is to get the students to use comparison to generate analysis.
20 min.--- Using several images of Superman (images from different ears work best) have the stduenst generate a list of comparisons.
20 min.--- Using the Superman Comparison worksheet, discuss how one simple comparison, "Body is differenent" may generate several analytical claims. The thinking strategy "So What?" is helpful for getting students to see beyond the comparison.
Second Hour:
10 min.---Lecture and facilitate a large group discussion on the concept of the Evolving Thesis. Discuss the example in Writing Analytically.
20 min.---Hand out the "Complcating Your Thesis" worksheet that tracks complicating evidence and an evolving thesis using the Superman images. Discuss how the "So What?" and complicating evidence lead to an eveolving thesis.
20 min.--- Using the remainder fo class, build a conenction between the Superman activity and the students' own writing. Questions that may faciliate that discussion are: "How can we complicate our own theses?" "What kinds of complicating eveidence can we find in our own choice of texts?" "Why is the 'So What?' important to generating significant claims?" Students could be asked to trace their own "So What?'s", complicating evidence, and evolving thesis in their writing.
Worksheets:
Superman Comparison Worksheet
Complicating Your Thesis

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