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Change My Mind
Category: English/Language Arts
Grades: 9 to 14
How It Works:
Students explore controversial issues that interest them through various classroom activities, from writing an essay to a group debate. The essay prewriting is a chart of the pros and cons of a specific argument related to their issue; this enhances their ability to argue effectively by anticipating opposing arguments. They continue through the writing process to a final draft. Light research is included for some topics, and news articles which pertain to their issues are discussed in class. Students design a slogan to convince their readers to agree with their opinions after reading bumper stickers as they drive, paying close attention to advertisements, and contemplating visual symbols which could move a reader to be sympathetic to their side of the argument. Students are grouped randomly to debate the issues that were explored through the writing process. This stage is especially validating for the remedial student, who often has a stronger verbal ability than his or her writing may reflect. The last phase allows students to see that their voices, when used effectively, are heard by adults, e.g. parents and teachers. Students choose an adult in their lives with whom they have a disagreement. The instructor sends an explanatory letter to the potential recipients of these persuasive letters requesting their participation. Then students send a statement of the change they would like considered Recipients send back a list of objections/justifications for the rule. After role-playing activities with other students and a drafting process, a persuasive letter is sent to the recipient, who responds in writing. Many participants compromised and changed a rule. Those who did not change provided ample justification for their policies, which helped students to understand the reasons for them. In both cases, the students' ideas were validated, and a good-natured, mutual respect for differences emerged. Change My Mind was inspired in part by a workshop I attended at UC Berkeley in 1990; I modified the presenter's idea (to write persuasive letters to parents) to include other adults in the lives of students. The time frame depends upon the writing process skills of the individual class. Last year the project took about two and a half months. This is an innovative approach to teaching persuasive writing and thinking because students are exposed to several settings in which to use these skills (writing, bumper stickers, politics, advertising, debates, and changing adults' minds) rather than merely writing an argumentative paper. It is student-centered, student-generated, and process-oriented. Students make connections between classroom work and their lives. All writing is done on computers, making the project even more relevant to future positions they may hold in our workforce. State Framework: The program is relevant to the California State Framework for Language Arts because it is a thematic approach to learning involving several levels of critical thinking. The Students: Approximately 35 students participated in 1992-93. They were remedial Writing Lab students, including non-native speakers of English, with various writing difficulties. This project is highly adaptable to other ability levels and ages, especially because students choose their own issues to examine.
The Staff:
I have taught English for three years at Santa Ynez High School. I am a Bay Area Writing Fellow.
What You Need:
Materials and Facilities: Paper, pencil, bumper stickers. Computer is desirable. Outside Resources: No outside resources are required.
More Info:
Linda Forbes
Santa Ynez High School (formerly)
P.O. Box 398
Santa Ynez, CA 93460
Contact Nancy Emerson
Dean Anders, Principal
Santa Ynez Valley Union
High School District
Business Partner
John Greenleaf Whittier
Award for Teaching Character Education
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