Grade 6 · Lesson 12 — Notes on an argument

Note-taking · blocked · 30 min · 17 slides · Launch → I do → We do → Read → You do → Closure

Anchor to leave them with: A claim is what they want you to believe. Support is what they offer.

Objective Map a claim and its support at the right levels.

Smallest piece Notes on an argument keep the claim and its support at different levels.

Spot test “Is this what they think, or what they offer to prove it?”

Why that test works A child reading an argument records it as information and later repeats someone's position as though it were a fact — the commonest and most damaging note-taking failure there is. Separating the two at the moment of writing is the only reliable fix, because by the time they come to write, the distinction is invisible in their own notes.

Why — in your own words A claim and its evidence are two things, and the careful person keeps them apart.

Practice mode blocked

If it breaks Remedial 62 — a short argument with the claim already marked

Vocabulary — pre-pointed T3 CLAIM = what the writer wants you to believe · T3 EVIDENCE = what is offered to make you believe it

Materials Mini-whiteboard + pen per student · Composition notebook · Deck — 17 slides · Writing Book 6, p.51 · Remedial 62 — a short argument with the claim already marked

The lesson, slide by slide

Slide — what is on it	What you SAY	What happens, and why
Slide 1 LAUNCH Writing — Day 12	(nothing yet — this is up as they come in and settle)	Have Writing — Day 12 up before they enter. Say nothing about it. Same slide every lesson, number only changes. It marks the transition into writing before you speak, which saves you having to. Students: See it on the way in. Know writing is next.
Slide 2 LAUNCH Notes on an argument	“This is how we set our hand and our page up to write.”	CONTEXT — say where this lesson sits: what it follows, and what it is part of. One sentence. The children should know what kind of work is starting. Context, not a hook. A child who knows what KIND of lesson this is spends no attention working it out. Students: Listen. Orient.
Slide 3 LAUNCH Today ›› Launch I Do We Do Read You Do Closure	“Here is what we will do today.”	Point to Launch once. Do not explain the others. · Retrieval on MWB · 3-5 min Mini-whiteboards: Retrieval on MWB Students: Look.
Slide 4 LAUNCH Map a claim and its support at the right levels.	“Map a claim and its support at the right levels.”	PURPOSE — say it slowly, in these words. The teacher objective in the header is for you; this is the version the class hears. Never read a teacher objective to children. The version in the brief header is written for you and is too long and too abstract to say to a class; this one is what they hear. Students: Listen.
No slide LAUNCH WHY — SAY IT ten seconds, off screen, in your own words	“A claim and its evidence are two things, and the careful person keeps them apart.”	Why this matters. Say it, do not read it. Ten seconds, then move on. Your words, not these. This is the one beat of the lesson that should sound like you mean it rather than like it is written down. Students: Listen.
Slide 5 LAUNCH Words we will use T3 CLAIM = what the writer wants you to believe · T3 EVIDENCE = what is offered to make you believe it	“Two words we need before we start.”	Read each, point to it, move on. Do not drill them here. Pre-pointed vocabulary. Naming them now stops the lesson stalling later on a word that was never the point. Students: Listen.
Slide 6 LAUNCH What we will do Notes on an argument keep the claim and its support at different levels.	“Notes on an argument keep the claim and its support at different levels.”	Click once per line. Do not elaborate. Students: Listen.
Slide 7 I DO Today Launch ›› I Do We Do Read You Do Closure	“Now we i do.”	Point to I Do once. Do not explain the others. · 3-4 min Mini-whiteboards: NOT here — they watch, they do not write. Writing during I DO is how the model gets missed. Students: Look.
No slide I DO (board — build the VIP, then leave it up)	(you are narrating each stage as you build it)	Build on the BOARD, not the slide. Teacher reads a short argument and outlines it, putting the claim at level I and each support at level A. Then leave it up for the whole lesson. One click per step. The footsteps are never erased — the same strip is printed at the top of their sheet, so come back to it if anyone stalls. Students: Watch it being built. It stays there to look at.
Slide 8 I DO The test “Is this what they think, or what they offer to prove it?”	“Here is the question we ask ourselves: “Is this what they think, or what they offer to prove it?””	Say it, then apply it aloud to the example already on the board. WHY IT WORKS — you will be asked: A child reading an argument records it as information and later repeats someone's position as though it were a fact — the commonest and most damaging note-taking failure there is. Separating the two at the moment of writing is the only reliable fix, because by the time they come to write, the distinction is invisible in their own notes. Students: Listen, then say the test back.
Slide 9 WE DO Today Launch I Do ›› We Do Read You Do Closure	“Now we we do.”	Point to We Do once. Do not explain the others. · PRIMARY MWB use · 5-6 min Mini-whiteboards: PRIMARY MWB use Students: Look.
Slide 10 WE DO Together	“Now with me.”	Class marks the claim in a second argument before anything is written. Take answers from boards, not from hands — that is how you see all thirty. Students: Answer on boards.
Slide 11 READ Today Launch I Do We Do ›› Read You Do Closure	“Now we read.”	Point to Read once. Do not explain the others. Mini-whiteboards: NOT here — they watch, they do not write. Writing during I DO is how the model gets missed. Students: Look.
Slide 12 READ Writing Book 6, p.51	“Open Writing Book 6 to page 51.”	Read it with them — FASE or teacher read-aloud, never round robin. Stop at the worked example and let them look at it. Our own book, not a purchased one — so it can be printed, edited and improved, and there is no license on it. Students: Follow along. Read when asked.
Slide 13 YOU DO Today Launch I Do We Do Read ›› You Do Closure	“Now we you do.”	Point to You Do once. Do not explain the others. · Written on the sheet · 4-5 min Mini-whiteboards: Written on the sheet Students: Look.
Slide 14 YOU DO Outline a short argument. The claim goes at level I.	“Outline a short argument. The claim goes at level I.”	Set them off. Walk the rows. Correct the grip and the setup, not the content, in the first minute. Students: Work in the notebook.
Slide 15 CLOSURE Today Launch I Do We Do Read You Do ›› Closure	“Now we closure.”	Point to Closure once. Do not explain the others. · Display answers on MWB · 2-3 min Mini-whiteboards: Display answers on MWB Students: Look.
Slide 16 CLOSURE Read the line you marked as the claim.	“Read the line you marked as the claim.”	Exit Direction. Take it from every child before anyone stands. It belongs to today's content — it is how you know who has it. Students: Answer, then pack away.
Slide 17 CLOSURE A claim is what they want you to believe. Support is what they offer.	“A claim is what they want you to believe. Support is what they offer.”	Say it once. Leave it on screen as they pack away. The anchor — the one line you want them to still have tomorrow. Students: Hear it. Repeat it if asked.

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