Kōkiri Learn

Week 1 of 5

Audience, purpose and a thesis

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

Session 1 · AUTHOR: Audience

The decision-maker

  1. 15 minWho will read this: an editor, a councillor, the board? What do they need?
  2. 20 minChoose an issue with a real decision coming up.
  3. 15 minWrite a one-sentence thesis and test it: is it arguable?

Session 2 · AUTHOR: Understand

Mentor texts

  1. 10 minRead two opinion pieces on one issue.
  2. 25 minMap each argument: thesis, reasons, evidence, counter-argument, conclusion.
  3. 15 minWhich is stronger, and why?

Getting started

Choose from three prepared issues with starter sources.

Stretch

Find where a mentor text's evidence is weaker than it sounds.

Checkpoint

Each student has an arguable thesis and a real audience.

Activities for this week