Grade 8 Humanities: Week of 11/13/2017 A Claim By Any Other Name Would Need Just As Much Evidence To Place Blame

Dear Families,

Who is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? You could most likely make a case for every character in the play (with perhaps the exception of Serving Men 1-3, but then again . . .).

A big advantage of gathering information and evidence for a claim/counter claim or argumentative essay is that whatever material doesn’t make the cut for your claim(s) can automatically become your counterclaim! Counterclaims aren’t something outlandish or far-fetched, they are simply claims that are weaker and bear less evidence.

Unlike our personal statements essays, which started in many different ways and from a variety of experiences and inspirations, our current essay can be approached in this systematic way where we gather, sort, outline, draft, edit, and then publish. Easy, right?

Pre-Writing: gathering evidence for claims and counter-claims . . .

And last, we hosted an exhilarating visit from author and illustrator George O’Connor, whose series of graphic novels, The Olympians, updates Greek Mythology in a fresh, new way (i.e. Zeus has been transformed into a Lords of Dogtown style surfer dude!). Mr. O’Connor discussed the origins of his passion and craft, gave us a crash course on some favorite Greek Myths, and reminded us that mistakes become strengths when we learn and grow from them.

Yours,

Ms. Sacilotto

Self-portrait by George O’Connor (and Athena)