Climate Literacy in Education

City of Pure Water:

A Place-Based Argumentative Writing Unit

Katharine Werthwine

Werthwine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/cle.v2i2.6290

Keywords: Intensive Reading, Multimodal writing, Argument, Water crisis, Place-Based Learning

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Abstract

This 9th and 10th grade multimodal writing unit takes a place-based approach to argumentative writing. Over ten lessons, students explore a local environmental issue through teacher-curated text sets before working with a partner to create a visual essay arguing for a community-based solution. The unit was originally designed and implemented in an Intensive Reading/English Language Arts combination classroom and aims to support and scaffold diverse learners. The unit is aligned to both 9^th-10^th Grade Common Core and Florida BEST standards on argumentation and organization. The goal of the unit is to foster students’ abilities to write and develop specific claims in their arguments.