Reading Workshop: Persuasive Essay

TEST for CHAPTER 7 page 228

Reading Workshop: Persuasive Essay

DIRECTIONS

in the right-hand column.

Springfield Youth Need a Skatepark

The youth of Springfield are getting a mixed message. They can buy skateboards and safety equipment in many local stores. Yet, once they skate in public, they are fined and ticketed because of a city ordinance that bans skateboarding on streets, sidewalks, and parking lots. Skateboarders report that they have no other places to skate. The city should create a public skatepark to provide a safe place for this sport.

Interest in skateboarding shows no sign of diminishing. A petition requesting a public skatepark has been signed by over five hundred young skateboarders who wish to continue to skate without breaking the law. Furthermore, the age range of skateboard-ers is increasing as more and more of them are staying with the sport past the age of sixteen. American Sports Data estimates that there are two million skateboarders who say they skate every day. Other surveys show that skateboarding is the third largest sport for youth between six and eighteen years of age.

Skateboarding has many benefits. First, it is physically challeng-ing. It teaches balance, coordination, and muscle control. Mastering tricks like a heelslip or lipslide requires concentration, practice, and skill. Second, executing these feats gives skaters self-confidence. Third, the sport often attracts young people who are not interested in team sports and would not take the time to exercise. Springfield needs to encourage its youths to develop physically and emotionally.

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1. What word in the first paragraph indicates that the writer is expressing an opinion?

2. Which statements in the second paragraph can be proved?

3. In the third paragraph, what example does the writer use to show that skateboarding teaches bal-ance and coordination?

NAME CLASS DATE

TEST for CHAPTER 7 page 228 _continued

Some people argue that skateboarding is dangerous and should not be supported by the city. Skateboarding is much less dangerous than many sports for which the city already provides public land. For instance, 3.6 percent of hockey players, 2.78 percent of football players, 2.57 percent of basketball players, and 1.42 percent of soccer players visit the emergency room for sports-related injuries. Yet, only .49 percent of skateboarders have similar serious injuries.

Springfield must give its skateboarders a safe place to skate. Skateboarding is a popular and challenging sport, and a skatepark is a safe, legal alternative to public streets, sidewalks, and parking lots. Young citizens of the city have demonstrated their interest in a park by signing a petition and sending it to the city council. Now, the city council should show that it values skateboarders’ health and safety by looking for locations for a skatepark.

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4. What facts does the writer use to support the state-ment that skateboarding is less dangerous than other sports?

5. What opinions does the writer express in the last paragraph?

TEST for CHAPTER 7 page 228 _continued

DIRECTIONS

Identifying Reasons and Evidence

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EVIDENCE EVIDENCE EVIDENCE

WRITER’S OPINION

REASON #1

REASON #2

skateboarding is beneficial

over 500 skateboarders signed

petition

REASON #3

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REVISING GUIDELINES

NAME CLASS DATE

for CHAPTER 7 page 237

Writing Workshop: Persuasive Letter

DIRECTIONS

REMEMBER TO

❑ avoid long sentences made up of strings of ideas connected by and, but,or so

❑ punctuate possessives correctly THE INTRODUCTION SHOULD ■ grab the reader’s attention ■ include a clear opinion statement

THE CONCLUSION SHOULD

■ summarize reasons that support the opinion ■ include a specific and reasonable call to action THE BODY SHOULD

■ give at least two reasons to support the opinion ■ contain one paragraph for each reason

■ give at least one piece of evidence (a fact or example) to

support each of the reasons

TEST for CHAPTER 7 page 237

Writing Workshop: Revising and Proofreading

DIRECTIONS

to this prompt:

Write a persuasive letter to your school board about a current topic.

The letter contains problems in content, style, and mechanics. ■ Choose from the statements in the Databankon the next page to

help you with the revisions.

■ Use the space between the lines to revise the paper and correct the errors.

■ If you cannot fit some of your revisions between the lines, rewrite the revised sections on a separate piece of paper.

Dear School Board:

My name is David Munn, and I am a sixth-grade student at Hamilton Middle School. I am writing about the proposal for school uniforms that the school board is considering.

I object to the proposal to require student uniforms. Making school uniforms mandatory will take away the responsibility my parents gave me.

The second reason I am against the proposal is that uniforms will not improve students grades and schoolwork. Although some peo-ple argue that students would be less distracted in class if there were school uniforms, that is not true. In my classes, I have noticed that some students always pay attention, but there are other stu-dents who are easily distracted, so I think those stustu-dents would be distracted whether or not the school required uniforms.

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a. Problem with opinion statement

b.Problem with evidence

c. Problem with possessive form

d.Problem with sentence length

NAME CLASS DATE

TEST for CHAPTER 7 page 237 _continued

School uniforms keep students from expressing who they are and do not help students make better grades.

Sincerely,

David Munn

David Munn

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e. Problem with call to action

■ When I was a small child, my parents picked out my clothes for school. As I grew older, my parents trusted me to make this decision.

■ The school board wants us to dress alike.

p. 33

❘

a. Problem:The introduction does not include a main idea statement that identi-fies the topic and the major points.

Solution:Include a main idea statement at the end of the introductory paragraph. Example:It is reasonable to be afraid of some spiders, but it is unreasonable to be afraid of all spiders.

b. Problem:A vague noun is used.

Solution:Replace the vague noun with a more precise one.

Example:Professor Savory, a biologist, found that most of his students were afraid of large or black spiders or spiders with long legs.

c. Problem:The source is not correctly capi-talized.

Solution:Capitalize the important words in the title.

Example:The Book of the Spider

d. Problem: The conclusion does not restate the report’s main idea.

Solution:Replace the concluding sentence with sentences that state the main idea. Example:People should not be afraid of all spiders. Even though they look scary and make creepy movements, most spiders cannot cause serious harm to humans.

Chapter 7

p. 35

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1. The word shouldindicates that the writer is expressing an opinion.

2. The statements that can be proved are the number of skateboarders (five hundred) who signed the petition; the age range (past the age of sixteen) of skateboarders; the estimated number of skateboarders according to American Sports Data (two million); and the rank of the sport’s popu-larity (third largest with people between six and eighteen years of age).

3. The writer uses the example of mastering tricks like a heelslip and a lipslide to show that skateboarding teaches balance and coordination.

4. To support the statement that skateboard-ing is less dangerous than other sports, the writer uses facts about the number of injuries in other sports compared to those in skateboarding.

5. The writer expresses the opinions that Springfield must give skateboarders a safe place to skate and that the city must look for locations for a skatepark.

Reading Workshop Writing Workshop C op yr ig ht © b y H ol t, Ri ne ha rt a nd W in st on . A ll rig ht s re se rv ed .

Chapter Tests

SCORING TOTAL POINTS: 100

Here are suggested weights for test items.

a.35 points c. 15 points

b.20 points d.30 points

SCORING TOTAL POINTS: 100

Here are suggested weights for test items. Reading Passage 65 points (13 per item) Graphic Organizer 35 points (5 per item)

p. 37

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PART 1: COMMUNICATIONS

REASON #1

there is continuing interest in skateboarding

WRITER’S OPINION

Springfield should create a public skatepark.

REASON #3

not a dangerous sport

EVIDENCE

over 500 skateboarders signed petition

EVIDENCE

percentage of skateboarders who get hurt is small and is less than in other sports

REASON #2

skateboarding is beneficial

EVIDENCE

teaches balance, coordina-tion, and muscle control

EVIDENCE

attracts people who are not interested in team sports

EVIDENCE

gives skateboarders self-confidence

p. 3 9

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a . P r o b l e m :The introduction lacks a clear opinion statement and is not attention g e t t i n g .

S o l u t i o n :Add an opinion statement and grab the readers’ attention.

E x a m p l e :

• Attention grabber:

Do you ever get tired of wearing the same old clothes? We would, too. My name . . .

• Move the first sentence of the second paragraph to the beginning of the letter. This sentence is the opinion statement.

b. P r o b l e m :The letter does not include evi-dence to support the re a s o n .

S o l u t i o n :Use information from the

D a t a b a n kto add evidence for the re a s o n .

E x a m p l e :When I was a small child, my p a rents picked out my clothes for school.

As I grew older, my parents trusted me to make this decision. Making school uni-forms mandatory will take away the responsibility my parents gave me.

c. P r o b l e m :The possessive form of a plural noun is not punctuated corre c t l y.

S o l u t i o n :Add an apostrophe to the appro-priate plural noun.

E x a m p l e :The second reason I am against the proposal is that uniforms will not i m p rove students’ grades and schoolwork.

d. P r o b l e m :The sentence is long and stringy.

S o l u t i o n :B reak the long sentence into two shorter sentences.

E x a m p l e :In my classes, I have noticed that some students always pay attention, but t h e re are other students who are easily dis-tracted. I think those students would be distracted whether or not the school re q u i red uniforms.

e. P r o b l e m :The conclusion lacks a specific and reasonable call to action.

S o l u t i o n :Add a call to action to the end of the paragraph.

E x a m p l e :I ask the school board not to pass the proposal for mandatory school u n i f o r m s .

Writing Wo rk s h o p

Chapter Test s

SCORING TOTAL POINTS: 100

H e re are suggested weights for test items.

a .30 points d .20 points

b .25 points e . 15 points