For my direct instruction, I knew I needed to refresh the students on what a thesis statement actually is. To this end, I decided to find a dictionary definition of the term and then break down the characteristics of a thesis statement. Trent Lorcher’s lesson plan on thesis statements (found at http://www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-english-lessons/20762-thesis-statement-lesson-plan) really helped me express the good characteristics of a thesis statement. In addition, he included what students should not put in a thesis. I believe adding the “do not’s” of writing thesis statements was helpful for students to see. Too often we only focus on what students should do and they are confused when they are marked down for things they didn’t even know were wrong.
Then, I wanted the students to apply the characteristics of thesis statements to some I had written. I tried to engage their interest by writing the statements about pop culture references I thought they would know—Harry Potter, The Big Bang Theory, Doctor Who, etc.—but it turns out the age different between us is too great. Most of them only recognized Harry Potter. Although that idea fell flat, the students did very well in identifying which thesis statements were well-written and which were poorly written. They were also able to tell me why. My hope is that this activity will enable the students to criticize their own and each other’s thesis statements.
The final activity was to put everything they had learned into practice by actually writing thesis statements. I had five example writing prompts, three of which we practiced with together and two they practiced alone while I walked around and helped. One of the things I showed them was a pre-writing technique I often use before writing essays on standardized tests. I had the students make charts, each side of the chart supporting a different side of a potential argument on the topic. For example, one of the prompts was about Romeo and Juliet’s influence as a love story. It could be argued it was a good love story or a bad love story. I asked the students for evidence of it being good or bad and wrote it on either side of the chart. The students really enjoyed this part of the lesson because they were able to share their opinions. When we had gathered a good amount of evidence, I told the class that the side with more facts is often the easier side to write about. However, I encouraged them to write their thesis statements about whichever side they supported. After giving them time to write, I had a few students read their statements out loud to the class. Together we decided if it was well-written or poorly written and identified why. After completing the first three examples together in this manner, I set them loose to write the last two on their own.
I taught this lesson for the first three hours of the day, each time to honors sophomores. After first hour, Mrs. Schreffler suggested I make the students write down the practice thesis statements and charts in order to keep their attention and leave them with some examples to look back on. I did so in second hour, which was the hour the lesson went the best. Ms. Jordan caught the end of second hour and all of third hour.
I was extremely afraid of what Ms. Jordan would say to me in her critique. I had been intimidated by her when she came to our class, so I was prepared for the worst. I even had nightmares in the days before my lesson that Ms. Jordan would tell me I was a horrible teacher and I should completely rethink my life decisions. Luckily, nothing like this happened at all! She was very polite and helpful. Many of the suggestions she made were easy fixes, such as trying not to refer to the class as “you guys” or adding something to my lesson plan. She asked me what I would have done differently in the lesson now that I had taught it several times. Something I had noticed was that students were getting the argument of their thesis confused with the evidence. I had told them in my lesson they shouldn’t try to argue more than one point, but multiple pieces of evidence would be fine. If I were to teach this lesson again, I would make a better distinction between argument and evidence. After that, Ms. Jordan gave me the opportunity to ask her questions. To be honest, I was so relived it was over that I didn’t ask much. Our conversation ended with her telling me she was very impressed by my lesson.
This experience has convinced me that the classroom is where I am meant to be. Over the summer, I took several education classes that scared me with the politics of education. But now I realize the politics are nothing compared to the joy of helping young people learn and trying to make a difference in their lives.