7th Graders Joining a Conversation in Progress

At a time when many financial transactions are completed without cash and coin exchange, Librarian Javaha Ross believed this topic would generate discussion and debate among her middle school students.  Students were tasked with joining a conversation in progress, a C3WP strategy for young writers to step into a conversation on a current event or policy.  

Students had the opportunity to introduce a claim that emerged and evolved through repeated reading, thinking, and writing about the process of minting pennies.  Through teacher facilitated conversations, students gathered their thoughts, processed information, and contributed their own voices to an argument-in-progress by composing informed claims and writing a kernel essay draft letter. 

Students were first introduced to this issue through the text, How can metal mining impact the environment?.  Students were asked to annotate the text by marking words and phrases that were unfamiliar, asking questions about the content, and underlining key details.  Students discussed the main idea of the texts following each reading.  Javaha was able to see the questions from her students emerge and shared stances began to connect throughout this process. Following the close reading, students were tasked with recording a one page reflection.  For the final portion of this unit,  Javaha chose to have her students focus their final arguments in the form of a letter to economist and former Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States, Janet Yellen.