Fall Launch — Territory Inventory, Arguer's Workshop, and the Term of Arguing

Welcome-back-to-G4 share: each child holds their G3-spring published informational essay and names one CREEL-related move they used (TDET in G3). Teacher names the bridge: 'You wrote about a topic. Now you take a POSITION on a topic — and defend it.'

• Affirm specific informational-craft moves by name (topic sentence, transition, paraphrase)
• Bridge explicitly: 'Informational told what you KNOW. Persuasive tells what you BELIEVE — and WHY.'
• Read aloud the opening pages of Sofia Valdez, Future Prez and ask 'what is Sofia ARGUING FOR?'

M-4-F-WR-01-C Chart

Photo-quality reproduction of MG-10 wall chart at 18x24: 7-column grid TERRITORY | BOXES-AND-BULLETS | DRAFT | ELABORATE | REVISE | PEER-EDIT | PUBLISH (note: TERRITORY replaces G3's RESEARCH; ELABORATE is new for G4), each column with definition and icon. Print-ready.

MG-10 Chart

Arguer's-workshop status-of-class wall chart: 7-column grid TERRITORY | BOXES-AND-BULLETS | DRAFT | ELABORATE | REVISE | PEER-EDIT | PUBLISH. Each child has a magnetic name-tile moved into the column matching their current stage at the start of each workshop block. Each column has a 1-sentence definition and an icon. Print-ready 18x24.

This fall you become an ARGUER — a writer who takes a position and defends it. Not every topic deserves an argument; we pick topics with CONVICTION — topics where you genuinely believe something, and where there is an AUDIENCE who could be persuaded. A persuasive essay has FIVE PARTS (point at MG-2). PART 1 — INTRODUCTION (blue): a hook + context + thesis-claim. PARTS 2-4 — THREE BODY PARAGRAPHS (yellow, orange, red): each defends one REASON for the thesis-claim using the CREEL routine (which we meet in lesson 3). PART 5 — CONCLUSION (green): LINKS BACK to the claim and adds a SO-WHAT for the reader. To find topics we use the TERRITORY INVENTORY — a 2-page notebook spread listing 5 to 10 topics you have CONVICTION about. Not 'pizza' — 'our school should serve more locally grown food in the cafeteria.' Not 'recess is fun' — 'our school should keep outdoor recess in winter even when it is cold.' A territory has: a CLAIM (what you believe), a WHY-I-CARE (your conviction), and an AUDIENCE (who could change something about this).

• Each territory has all THREE parts. If you can't name an audience, the topic is an opinion-share, not an argument.

  model Territory 1: 'Our school should keep winter recess. — because indoor-only days make afternoons hard. — audience: principal.' Territory 2: 'Our town should plant more trees on Main Street. — because the heat in July is dangerous. — audience: town council.' Territory 3: 'Schools should let students bring water bottles to class. — because dehydration affects focus. — audience: school nurse and principal.' Notice: claim + why-I-care + audience. Specific. Mine. Real.

  prompt Teacher models a sample territory inventory on the board.

• What makes a TERRITORY different from an opinion-share?
• Point to one of the 5 boxes on MG-2 and say what goes there.

M-4-F-WR-01-A Chart

Reproduction of MG-2 at 11x17: horizontal row of five color-coded boxes — INTRODUCTION (blue, with hook+context+claim icon), BODY 1-3 (yellow/orange/red, each with claim-reason icon), CONCLUSION (green, with link-back+so-what icon). Below each box: the matching sentence-frame in dyslexic-friendly font. Print-ready, primary colors only.

MG-2 Chart Physical / non-image

Argument-essay 5-box anchor poster: five labeled boxes in a horizontal row — INTRODUCTION (blue, with hook+context+claim icon), BODY 1 (yellow, with claim-reason 1 icon), BODY 2 (orange, with claim-reason 2 icon), BODY 3 (red, with claim-reason 3 icon), CONCLUSION (green, with link-back+so-what icon). Below each box: a sentence-frame ('Have you ever ___? Every ___ deserves ___. I believe that ___ because ___, ___, and ___.' / 'First, ___ because ___.' / 'Second, ___.' / 'Third, ___.' / 'For these reasons, ___. So the next time you ___, remember ___.'). Print-ready 11x17, dyslexic-friendly font.

• Each child builds their own territory inventory. Begin with 3 entries; add more if time. Each entry: CLAIM + WHY-I-CARE + AUDIENCE.

  scaffold 2-page spread at 1.5x; prompt-prime cards (school rules, community issues, habits, places to protect, fairness questions)
• Share one entry with a partner. Partner asks: 'Could someone disagree with this? What might they say?'

  scaffold Sentence frame: 'I have conviction about ___ because ___. My audience would be ___.'

M-4-F-WR-01-B Illustration

Reference image of a completed Grade-4 territory inventory: a 2-page notebook spread with 6 entries handwritten in pencil, each with CLAIM line, WHY-I-CARE line, and AUDIENCE line ('Our school should keep winter recess. — afternoon focus drops without it — audience: principal'). Print-ready 8.5x11 spread, classroom annotation style, dyslexic-friendly font.

• Pick ONE territory. Write one sentence stating your CLAIM and one sentence naming a possible AUDIENCE.
• Place your name-tile on MG-10 status chart in the TERRITORY column.

• Star your strongest territory.
• Predict: tomorrow we draft an INTRODUCTION.

• At dinner tonight, share ONE territory with a family member. Ask: 'Do you AGREE or DISAGREE? What is your reason?' Bring back their reason on a sticky note — it is your first counter-claim.