| The Art of Argument and Persuasion | |||||||||
| Persuasion Intro | People argue, and teenage years are especially rich times for strong opinions and arguments. The 7th grade is a great time to start learning how to understand and use the dynamics of reasoned argument and persuasion. The issues and complexity of expression can build after that.
Two elements that are hard to get in touch with for kids (all of us?) are: Self-awareness, and analytical awareness of opinion molding forces are important to develop. Understanding styles of persuasion, and of argument, help students exercise discrimination in their thinking and choices, and gives them some more control over their own communication. These few lessons represent some of the important experiences students in the middle grades can really benefit from. They should be viewed as part of the learning and making that you can involve kids in. Check the resources for help with that. I'm still scratching the surface with this, and will be expanding and changing this unit considerably in '02-'03. Enjoy. Jeff Foote |
||||||||