“An Olympic Event by Two-Thousand and Twenty-Fo!”
The Deal:
You just watched a video clip by Youtube sensations Rhett and Link. In the video they paid tribute in song to a tail-gating/backyard barbecue game: cornhole. You and a partner will compose a persuasive essay in the form of a formal letter to the International Olympic Committee, urging them to consider a sport of your choice that is not a recognized sport in the Olympics (summer or winter games) to be included in future Olympics. This is a hypothetical letter, and will not have to actually be submitted to the IOC (unless you are just that ambitious), but this will give you good practice in formal and business correspondence in addition to writing persuasively.
The Rules:
* You do not have to choose Cornhole, but you must choose a sport that is not included on the current list of IOC sanctioned games (see resource list below). Be creative. Make up a sport. If it is a sport that no one knows about, explain it. Include the rules. Describe the sport’s fan base. Think about this: BMX racing is now a summer sport that was introduced within the last 2 or 3 Summer Olympic games!
* You will be writing this as a persuasive essay in the form of a letter, so there is no need to
to format this as your standard, five paragraph formulaic essay. BUT, you do need to think about our discussion in class of what makes a persuasive essay.
* Include in your letter at least three objective, well thought out reasons your sport should be considered for the Olympic games. (Ex: interesting to watch, comparison to current games, international popularity, level of difficulty, etc.)
* This letter should be 3 to 5 paragraphs in length, and properly addressed: return address, date, inside address, salutation, body, complimentary close, signature, and typed name(s).
* You will be working on this assignment in pairs. I f you can’t choose a partner, pairs will be assigned. Remember, you will be responsible for each other’s grade. Make sure that one person doesn’t carry the burden of the entire assignment!
The Time-line:
Session 1: We will spend the last 20 minutes of today’s class period in pairs brainstorming ideas.
Session 2: We will spend the last 25 minutes of the next four class periods constructing the rough draft of the letter.
Session 3: We will spend the last 25 minutes of the next two class periods workshopping our letters with other pairs; getting the mechanics and grammar polished.
Session 4: We will spend the last 25 minutes of the following four class periods taking turns, in pairs, making revisions and typing the letters. By the end of the followingclass period, the letter will be submitted to me (not the IOC) for final grading.
The Finished Product:
As mentioned before, the finished product should be a realistic, formal business correspondence between you and the IOC. The letter should state clearly your reasons why the IOC should consider your sport for Olympic competition. “‘Cause it’s cool” does not count. Tell them why it’s so cool. Incite excitement!
The Grade:
Your grade will be judged according to the following and will be worth 100 total points…i
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Session 1: Possible 10 pts. |
Student contributed to brainstorming of topic, stayed on task. |
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Session 2: Possible 30 pts. |
Rough draft was completed on time. Clear, concise argument. Proper business letter format. |
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Session 3: Possible 10 pts. |
Student participated in workshop. Offered assistance, received criticisms civilly. |
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Session 4: Possible 10 pts. |
Student stayed on task. Did not disturb others when finished.
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Final Draft: Possible 40 pts. |
Letter properly addressed, free of spelling, grammatical errors. Conveyed persuasive message. Work turned in on time. |
Some Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Olympic_Committee
www.olympic.org
www.gmu.edu/departments/writingcenter/letter.html (sample business letter)
http://inventorspot.com/articles/10_weird_sports_from_around_the_world_15185
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport
Thinking/Rationale for
Video Clip Assignment
Teaching Context:
The grade level for this assignment should be for 11th and 12th graders. By this grade students should be more likely to form rational conclusions and convey them using Socratic reasoning. The thought process students must display to comply with the assignment is on a more mature level.
Insight:
This video clip is a humorous look at a backyard “sport” via music video. The characters in the video are portrayed as stereotypical “guys” who watch football, like to grill, hang out at tail-gate events, and play cornhole. The game cornhole has evolved from one man’s obscure idea to a nation-wide sensation with similar rules to horseshoes. During the video, the lyrics suggest that cornhole will be “an Olympic event in two thousand and twenty-fo.” We started brainstorming and came up with the possibility of having students write a persuasive essay in the form of a letter to the International Olympic Committee, urging them to consider a sport, possibly a little left of normal like cornhole, be recognized as an Olympic event. By doing this, we are asking the students to construct a well thought out persuasive letter. The format is not confined to a standard five paragraph essay: we are giving them the freedom to choose which way they think best for their purposes. We are not suggesting throwing away the traditional ideals of essays, this would serve to be only one of several different types of essays during their high school careers. We decided it would be helpful for the students to have an audience with a strong appeal and formal language to bring out the best in them. With a formal letter, especially a persuasive one, they will have to use every tool in their toolbox to convince the recipients of the letter to subscribe to their rationale.
Class Discussion Questions:
* Why and when do we write persuasive essays?
* Why should someone else care about something we care about?
* What good is practicing formal letter writing?
* Why is it important to be able to support a position with facts?
* Can you convince someone to take your side of an issue if you don’t have any supporting arguments? Why or why not?
* What roles do sports/leisure activities play in our lives? Why are they important?
* If this were an actual letter to the IOC, what would you want the outcome to be? Would you be satisfied with a negative response? Why or why not?
* Is it important to think “outside of the box”?
* What is the definition of sport?
* Are the Olympics that important? Why or why not?
Challenges:
One of the main challenges we could face would be getting the students to really think about and understand the importance of persuasion. We have to be sure they know the difference between persuasion and manipulation. It will probably be a tasking to stay focused on their work, that is why we set aside only twenty minutes at the end of each class period to work in pairs. Twenty minutes is probably just long enough to get things done, if they remain on task, and just short enough to keep their interest. Following through each class period from the beginning to the end of the assignment will hopefully keep everyone on track and the actual assignment will span right around two weeks. This would be more like a group project than an essay, but it will still have the elements of an essay with the benefits of learning the aspects of formal correspondence.
This sounds like a great assignment to me. The students can have fun doing this. Because they have the option to mail the letter, the could also feel involved and see the beginnings of activism.
I really like this assignment as a way to teach persuasive writing. It’s amusing, fun, and has the potential to be a fantastic learning opportunity. I think students will get a lot out of this activity and applaud you for finding something they can potentially become emotionally involved in.
I think this assignment will relate well with students. Most students are involved or enjoy some sort of sport. Having them write a letter like this allows them to be creative but at the same time teaches them how to be formal in their writing. Also explaining why this is important is key. The other thing I like about the writing assignment is the fact that they have to support their reasons why their sport should be considered. This forces them to support the cause and not just say because you should. I also liked the layout of your page. It was nicely put together and easy to follow.
This video was different in a fun, and exciting way. Your students will enjoy this assignment. It would make for enoyable writing from a persuasive or any other aspect. I believe the asssignment teaches the students how to approach difficulty, such as problem-solving techniques.
I really like this assignment, it’s very original. It was very organized too and creative. Plus this will strengthen their skills when it comes to persuasive writing. The only thing I would change is to make it an individual assignment instead of a pair writing the persuasive paper. I think it would make it more challenging if it was an individual assignment, but that’s just me. Overall, great job!