Lessons

Grade 8

Lesson

Writing an Argumentative Essay

Lesson

Writing an Argumentative Essay

Grade

Grade 8

UNIT

•

Courage

Last Updated:

June 10, 2025

In Unit 5, Lesson 3, “Writing an Argumentative Essay,” students will choose to respond to one of two prompts based on the two books covered in Lessons 1 and 2 of this unit: Lord of the Flies by William Golding and I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick.

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‍SUGGESTED TIME:

1 class period to introduce the assignment and to start on in-class brainstorming

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RELATED SUBJECT:

English Language Arts

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LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Write an argumentative essay
Provide textual evidence to support claims
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

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REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Prohuman Grade 8 Unit 5 Worksheet 3: Writing an Argumentative Essay

ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1.A

Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1.B

Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1.C

Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1.D

Establish and maintain a formal style.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.1.E

Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.4

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.9

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.10

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.3

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

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CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

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Intellectual Character B4

Compare and contrast perspectives and defend a position (e.g., intellectual autonomy)

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Social-Awareness A3

Demonstrate respect for other people’s opinions and perspectives

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Social-Awareness A5

Practice “perspective taking” as a strategy to strengthen your acceptance of others

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Social-Awareness A6

Demonstrate awareness and understanding that despite differences, all people have similar needs, feelings and wants

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Responsible and Ethical Decision-Making A3

Write about and share a principle you want to live by that you learned from a family member, book, movie, or personal experience

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LESSON PROCEDURE

Explain that students will write an argumentative essay of 2-3 pages in response to the prompt on the worksheet.
Explain that we will spend one in-class session for each student to decide which prompt they want to write about, to ask any questions, and to start brainstorming.
Explain that students will share their essays with three classmates for peer review. It is recommended that the teacher assign the groups.

Explain that students' essays will be evaluated on the criteria listed on the worksheet.

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GRADE 8 UNIT 5 WORKSHEET 3: WRITING AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

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Essay Prompt:

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In our unit on courage, we read two books: Lord of the Flies by William Golding and I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick. Write an argumentative essay of 2-3 pages in response to one of the following prompts:

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Option 1: In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, what message do you think is the author’s main message about courage? Provide reasons for your position and cite evidence from the novel to support your argument.

Option 2: We read the memoir of Malala Yousafzai, I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World. In her 2014 Nobel Prize speech, Malala thanked her parents for teaching her three character strengths: “Thank you to my father for not clipping my wings and for letting me fly. Thank you to my mother for inspiring me to be patient and to always speak the truth.” Write an essay in which you explain how Malala was able to show courage due to those three character strengths. Provide reasons for your position and cite evidence from the book to support your argument.

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Prohuman K-12 Curriculum © 2025 by Prohuman Foundation is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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