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Lesson 6

We will read, delineate, and evaluate arguments about affordable housing in the United States in order to expand our understanding of the issue and the various debates and responses it inspires.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I independently delineate and evaluate speeches and arguments about affordable housing?

  • Can I form a comparative claim about two American leaders’ views on the government’s role in providing affordable housing?

Texts

Core

  • Unit Reader
    • “Affordable Housing: A Debate over Core American Values,” Elijah Cummings, The Afro-American Newspapers Inc., 2018
    • Excerpts from “Where Should a Poor Family Live?,” Thomas B. Edsall, The New York Times Company, 2015
    • “Redefining the Multifamily Challenge,” Ben Carson, Public Domain, 2018

Optional

  • Digital Access
    • “HUD Secretary Ben Carson Lays out His Plans for Affordable Housing and Regulatory Reform,” Jeremiah Jensen, Housing Wire, 2018

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write – Discuss

We will read, analyze, and compare two recent speeches by us leaders that address aspects of the affordable housing issue.

Step 1

Select one of the following recent speeches to read, annotate, delineate, and evaluate:

  • "Affordable Housing: A Debate over Core American Values," Congressman Elijah Cummings, August 2018

  • "Redefining the Multifamily Challenge," Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, September 2018

Individually, read the speech and annotate sentences that express the speaker’s perspective, position, and major claims.

Partner with another student who has read the same speech. Compare your annotations and interpretations of the speaker’s argument. Discuss how the speaker’s government position and political orientation might have influenced his perspective and ideas.

Delineate the speech’s argument using a copy of the Delineating Arguments Tool, then evaluate it using a copy of the Evaluating Arguments Tool.

Step 2

In a think-pair-share activity, join with two other students who have read, delineated, and evaluated the other argument. Compare your annotations and your delineations and evaluations of the two speeches’ arguments.

Develop a comparative claim about how each of the two speakers address issues associated with affordable housing and how their approaches are influenced by their politics.

Share, compare, and discuss claims with other students in the class.

As a class, discuss what you have learned so far about the affordable housing debate.

Activity 2: Read

We will practice delineating and evaluating an argument about affordable housing in order to prepare for the Section Diagnostic in the next lesson.

Individually, read and annotate excerpts from an argument by TheNew York Times columnist Thomas B. Edsall titled "Where Should a Poor Family Live?" while focusing on the author’s perspective, position, and major claims. Delineate the argument using a copy of the Delineating Arguments Tool.

Consider the author’s background, as presented at the end of the argument. How does this information influence your thinking about his perspective and credibility? With a discussion partner, compare your delineations of his argument, noting the similarities and differences in how you have identified the argument’s issue, perspective, position, and claims.

Individually, evaluate the argument, using a copy of the Evaluating Arguments Tool.

As a class, discuss the argument, considering the following questions:

  1. In what ways do the two questions that introduce the argument set up its position and claims?

  2. If someone were to counter this argument, what aspects might they challenge or address?

Preview the next lesson’s Section Diagnostic by looking over the Section 2 Diagnostic Checklist. Note that you will be reading, delineating, explaining, and evaluating a counterargument to Edsall’s essay.

Activity 3: Read

We will prepare for the Section Diagnostic by reviewing what we have read about affordable housing.

For homework, review the Section 2 Diagnostic Checklist.

Reread "Where Should a Poor Family Live?" Ensure you understand its major ideas and claims, as well as your own delineation and evaluation of it.

Review your Vocabulary Journal. Identify a significant word or words that you would like to use in your response to the Section Diagnostic.