Scott Edward Moran, Ph.D.
moran.scott1@gmail.com 210-269-7531
On this page, you will find...
Tasks
1. Rhetorical analysis / Persuasive essay draft
3. Update your Daily Report and Action Plan.
4. Exit ticket
Assignment
Now it is time for you to begin drafting your persuasive letter. In order to get a better sense of what should be in a persuasive letter, though, we will start by writing a persuasive essay. Then, once you have written your essay, your teacher can help you reformat it into a persuasive letter.
Before we actually write our essays, we create a list of ideas related to our topic. For instance, if you chose the No Poverty SDG, you would create a list of all that you have learned about it. You also might consider revisiting your essential questions. Take a look at your resources from other assignments as well.
In the example above, the claim is People living in poverty in San Antonio should not be stereotyped and should be provided with job training so they can get gainful employment. Using this claim as the main point you want to prove in your essay, you need to build an introduction, two body paragraphs, a counterargument, and a conclusion. Alternatively, you could write about any other SDG or make a case for climate change being caused by human activity. Finally, you could choose to write about a technological solution that reduces the impact of human activities on the planet and argue for increased use of that solution.
San Antonio has a Ready to Work program. Here is a link to their catalog. Explore the website and the catalog. What opportunities for improvement do you see? How might someone in poverty or dealing with hunger respond to this program or the catalog? What important information may be missing? Respond with your thoughts in your daily journal.
Big Idea:
What can I do to teach others about my SDG and help my community implement one of the SDGs?
Students will have three primary goals for this unit.
First, they will be working to research a chosen SDG and consider a scenario-based lesson. Second, they will need to determine how they will educate others in terms of their SDG, for most people know very little about the SDGs. Finally, they will be creating a multimedia presentation and persuasive letter meant to convince people to take action regarding their SDG. Be thinking about these three aspects of the project at all times.
Alternatively, students can
construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, the occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity OR
evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces the impacts of human activities on natural systems.
Extension: Enter your multimedia project in the worldof8billion video contest.
Extension: Use the Five Thinking Hats Method when reading: Five Thinking Hats is a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved.
You and your team members can learn how to separate thinking into six clear functions and roles. Each thinking role is identified with a colored symbolic “thinking hat.” By mentally wearing and switching “hats,” you can easily focus or redirect thoughts, the conversation, or the meeting.
Assignment
Rhetorical Analysis
Teacher lesson plan and student response sheet for Our Climate, Our Future (Ethos, Logos, Pathos)
Teacher Lesson plan
Student response sheet
Writing your initial essay draft
Essay planner PDF
To write your initial essay draft, you will use NoRedInk. The link can be found here. NoRedInk will guide you through the drafting process and allow you to submit your essay in parts so that each part can be checked before you proceed to the next. Your peers will also provide feedback to you. Also, you will find a rubric in NoRedInk. Finally, you have the example essay above to reference. Remember, ultimately this essay will become a letter to authority figures who may consider your suggestions with regard to ways to improve efforts to implement your chosen SDG. The resources linked below may also help you.
TEA.org
Assignment
Update your Daily Report and Action Plan. You coud also update your calendar. Continue developing your multimedia presentation.
Assignment
Educating people about Climate Change and the SDGs
is part of the problem here. Many people have heard of Climate Change and may have heard of the SDGs, but more often than not people have misconceptions about these issues or have not truly been taught how they can make an impact in efforts to try to mitigate the effects of Climate Change and in ways to personally implement even one of the SDGs.
Prompt: Think about your own experiences with this website so far. Did some of the stats surprise you? Were you fully aware of how your city is or is planning to deal with these issues? Did you know that most higher education institutions (HEIs) in Texas do not have courses related to sustainability, let alone degrees related to sustainability (Moran, 2022)? Part of your task is to start thinking of how you can educate others about your choice of SDGs. Would you use social media? What would you include in a post to truly catch peoples' attention? How would you push them beyond education to action? If you don't want to use social media, what would you use? Using Flip (formally known as Flipgrid), record your initial thoughts regarding these issues. A Flip code is provided for you below, along with some stems that may assist you in formulating your response. Your video should range in length from 2-3 minutes. A video overview of Flip (as well as a PDF overview) can also be found below. An alternative to Flip would be to respond in your Daily Journal.
