The document summarizes Lorraine Genetti's presentation about using an "Article of the Week" approach to teaching writing skills. She discusses having students read, comprehend, and summarize complex articles. They then respond thoughtfully by integrating quotations and building background knowledge. Genetti provides templates and models to help students learn skills like summarizing accurately, weighing evidence, and participating in academic discussions. The goal is for students to enter meaningful conversations and succeed in college by mastering skills like argumentation.

1. A Presentation by Lorraine Genetti
April 18, 2015
Student Success in Writing Conference
Savannah, GA
Entering the Conversation
with the Article of the
Week

2.  Reading:
 Comprehend meaning and structure
 Identify main ideas and supporting details
 Writing:
 Summarize accurately and honestly
 Respond thoughtfully
Rationale: Students Need Skills!

3.  Thinking:
 Understand “the conversation”
 Weigh evidence, formulate opinion
 Speaking/Listening:
 Express ideas clearly
 Reflect and respond to others
Rationale: More Skills

4.  Read complex texts
 Summarize accurately
 Respond thoughtfully
 Integrate quotations effectively
 Build background knowledge
Students Should:

5.  “Argument is the currency of academic
discourse, and learning to argue is a
necessary skill if students are to succeed in
their college careers.”
 First-year composition courses teach the
skills of argument
 Help raise public discourse from the
“abysmal” depths to which it has sunk
Duffy, John. “Virtuous Arguments.” Inside Higher Ed.16 March
2012. Web.
John Duffy: “Virtuous Arguments”

6. Article of the Week

7. Hook the Students
Model
Reading/Annotating Provide Templates Discuss and Debate
Article of the Week

8. What do you
know about…?
Take a Stand
Video/Song/Cart
oon
Kahoot!
Hook Them
Real Good!
Hook the Students

9.  Ebola Quiz
 Account for teachers: getkahoot.com
Kahoot.it

10. Model the Reading Process
Mark your Confusion
Annotate Purposefully
FOCUS ON QUALITY, NOT
QUANTITY!
Model Reading/Annotating

11. Set the
context
Summarize
Respect the
views of
others
Use
quotations
effectively
Provide Templates

12.  Students must be able to adequately and
honestly summarize the position of their
opponent before they undertake to put forth
their own views (Fleming 256).
 Templates provide guidance and structure to
keep students focused on what the article
actually says.
Fleming, David. “Rhetoric and Argumentation.” A Guide to
Composition Pedagogies. Ed. Gary Tate et al. New York: Oxford
UP, 2013. Print.
Locating Themselves in the
Conversation

13.  They Say, I Say: The
Moves That Matter
in Academic
Writing
 Gerald Graff
 Cathy Birkenstein
Central Source for Templates:

14.  The general argument made by author X in her/his work,
__________________, is that _______________________________. More
specifically, X argues that __________________________. She/he
writes, “_____________________________________.” In this passage, X
suggests that ____________________________________. In conclusion,
X’s belief is that ____________________________________________.
 In my view, X is wrong/right, because ___________________________.
More specifically, I believe that _____________________________.For
example,_______________________________. Although X might
object that ____________________________________________, I
maintain that
____________________________________________________. Therefore, I
conclude that _____________________________________________.
 *Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: Moves that
Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007.

15. Two viewpoints on a topic
Selection of editorial cartoons
Vary the reading levels: NewsELA
Variations on a Theme

16.  Extend the conversation
 Promote engagement, thinking
 Scaffold: Move toward teaching the skill of
academic conversation
Discuss and Debate

17.  TeachingEnglishMatters.weebly.com
Collection of Resources for
News Articles, Templates, Ideas

18.  Duffy, John. “Virtuous Arguments.” Inside Higher
Ed. March 16, 2012. Web.
 Fleming, David. “Rhetoric and Argumentation.” A
Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Ed. Gary Tate
et al. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.
 Gallagher, Kelly, and Richard L. Allington.
Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and
What You Can Do About It. Portland, Me:
Stenhouse Publishers, 2009. Print.
 Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I
Say: Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. New
York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007. Print.
 Stuart, Dave. "There and Back Again: My Journey
with Gallagher's Article of the Week Assignment."
Web log post. Teaching the Core. Dave Stuart
Consulting LLC, 27 Sept. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.
Resources