I have finally made peace with the fact that my students need specific AP Spanish Argumentative Essay lesson plans. For many years, I thought I just had to teach them what is expected to be included, or to just practice the timing. But year after year, I was surprised and sometimes even dismayed at their lack of writing skills.
Meeting Students Where They Are
Can anyone else relate to this? What I anticipate will take X number of days ends up taking many more, or hours and hours of correcting and commenting on their argumentative essays to fix problems. It was past time for me to dedicate a mini unit on essay writing and to develop AP Spanish Argumentative Essay lesson plans. I had to stop living in expectation for what they SHOULD know how to do, and start living in reality.
So step one is to recognize that students need writing instruction. It has nothing to do with their level of Spanish. It has everything to do with their general formal writing skills.
How I Carry Out AP Spanish Argumentative Essay Lesson Plans
My lesson plans last 6-7 days. On day 1, we look at the requirements of the argumentative essay on the AP Spanish Exam, and we also look at a well-written, well-organized essay. (I wrote it!) For homework, I pass out a sheet of look-fors, and ask students to identify the key components of what a good essay has.
Showing students how the requirements look in an actual essay helps them understand how to incorporate them in their own essays!
Day 2:
My AP Spanish Argumentative Essay lesson plans on day 2 include a deep dive into the introduction paragraph. This paragraph sets students up for success or failure, in my opinion. We review how it should be set up. And then I give them a variety of introduction paragraphs and ask them to rate each one based on the format and requirements in an ideal intro.
Again, seeing examples of both successful and poor introductions really helps them understand where certain parts should go, how to be specific, when to be general and how to end with a strong thesis statement or stance.
Next Steps in AP Spanish Argumentative Essay Lesson Plans
The next steps are to do a practice essay. We start with the 2 print sources. Students are given time to read and discuss, to ensure that everyone understands them. Then we listen to the audio source.
I teach my students how to take notes on the sources in a way that will help them quickly identify their stance and areas of the sources where they could use quotes or paraphrase while writing their essay. I have an organizer that I always provide for when they write class essays. It breaks down into manageable parts all they need to write a good essay!
Writing a Practice Essay
The next part of the AP Spanish Argumentative Essay lesson plans is to revisit the sample essay I gave them and look again at those look fors I asked them to find on day 1.
Next, we partner and begin writing, starting with the intro. I make sure that students are following the organizing guide I gave them, and they must have a great intro before being allowed to go on to the body paragraphs.
Allowing students to work in partners gives them a sounding board and gives me half of the amount of practice essays to give feedback on!
The Last Part of the AP Spanish Argumentative Essay Lesson Plans
To finish up, I give students another sample essay (that I wrote!). I give them the rubric I use to grade them on their work, and ask them to go paragraph by paragraph to grade this essay. It seems like when students have the opportunity to apply the rubric to someone else’s work, it really helps them to understand what’s needed and also what it looks like when a requirement is missing, or poorly worded.
Final Thoughts
Though it takes time, carrying out these AP Spanish Argumentative Essay Lesson Plans creates better essays and better writers. Their grades are better on the things they produce for our high school grades, and their essays on the AP Test are stronger!
If this seems like a great idea, but too overwhelming to create on your own, take a look at my lesson plans here!
And check below for the other blog posts I have on the argumentative essay!
Resources
AP Spanish Argumentative Essay Lesson Plans
AP Spanish Argumentative Essay: Sample Intro Paragraphs
AP Spanish Argumentative Essay Feedback Checklist
