Toulmin’s Argument Model

     Stephen Toulmin was an English philosopher who identified the basic elements of a persuasive argument.  He believed that an argument should start with a claim.  A claim is a statement that you are asking another person to accept.  The second step to creating a good argument is to support the claim with evidence.  The evidence is made up of data,  hard facts, and the reasoning that is used to support the claim.   The third step is to use qualifiers.  These are words like "most", "usually", "always", or "sometimes".  They are used to indicate the limits of the claim.  The final step is my personal favorite because it requires the students to seek to understand the opposite point of view.  Once the other viewpoint is understood, students work on the final step, which is known as the rebuttal.  This is when you give reasons why you still think you are right and the other point of view is wrong. :)

     The sixth graders are working together to create interviews that share information they have researched over water.  The essential questions that were answered were:  What is water?  What is the water cycle?  Why is water important? What are some problems the world is facing with freshwater supplies?

     As you might guess, the last question is the one that is leading to the most controversy.  Students are learning the meaning of the words mitigate and compromise.

    Below are pictures of 6A working together on their interviews.   The interviews will be videoed using the iPads and uploaded into student google drive accounts.