As a final project for CEP 820 Teaching and Learning Online, I designed a 6th grade argumentative writing unit built in Google Classroom. In a world saturated with information and varying viewpoints, the ability to construct a sound argument is one of the most critical skills a student can develop. It moves them beyond simply having an opinion to possessing the agency to persuade, advocate, and engage in civil discourse.
This post outlines a 3-week unit I designed for 6th-grade ELA students, The unit is designed for a fully online synchronous learning environment but is easily adaptable for hybrid or face-to-face contexts. The core objective is to guide students from understanding the basics of claims to producing a well-structured, evidence-based argumentative paragraph.
Unit Overview Video In this short screencast, I walk through the final day of the unit to show how the components, technological tools, UDL considerations, and curriculum standards, come together in the Learning Management System.
Design Philosophy & Context
In this unit, I explicitly chose topics that resonate with 6th graders (recess, screen time, community recycling) to validate their perspectives as a starting point for inquiry. We then layer on the skills of research and evidence to strengthen those existing perspectives.
Unit Breakdown
The unit follows a scaffolded progression over 12 days:
Week 1: The Foundation of Argument
- Focus: Differentiating facts from opinions and developing strong claims.
- Key Activities: We utilize collaborative sorting activities in Google Docs to distinguish facts from opinions. Students then brainstorm topics based on their interests and refine them into clear, arguable claim statements using peer feedback loops.
Week 2: The Power of Evidence
- Focus: Finding, analyzing, and citing evidence.
- Key Activities: Students move from having an opinion to supporting it. We analyze informational texts to find “strong” evidence versus “weak” evidence. A major focus here is digital literacy—teaching students not just to copy and paste, but to integrate evidence using proper citation phrases (e.g., “According to the text…”).
Week 3: Structure & Polish
- Focus: Paragraph structure (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning), transition words, and revision.
- Key Activities: We deconstruct model paragraphs to see the “blueprint” of an argument. Students draft their paragraphs, utilizing a specific revision checklist in Google Classroom to provide peer feedback. The unit culminates in a final submission where students can choose between a written paragraph or an audio recorded argument, adhering to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
Technology & Tools
To facilitate this synchronous online unit, I utilized a suite of Google tools to foster collaboration and provide feedback:
- Google Classroom: The central hub for organization and assignment workflow.
- Google Meet: For synchronous instruction and breakout rooms.
- Google Docs: For collaborative writing, real-time commenting, and peer review.
- FigJam: For visual brainstorming and sorting activities.
Resources
Below you will find links to the curriculum map, lesson plans, and slide decks used throughout this unit.