My students were told to think about a real-life social issue in the headlines today and develop a persuasive paper that reflected that specific issue. The issue could be a social, political, or ethical issue.
The students were told to develop a question that would
help them determine their intended audience and the purpose for the speech
(this question had to be submitted to me prior to beginning the assignment).
Next, they were told to search for information to support their persuasive
speeches and then go about writing a paper that would convince their audience
to believe in the same manner in which they believe. Students were
told to state the general cause of the problem, the basic effects of the
problem on select individuals or on society as a whole, and then to determine
the best course of action for solving the problem.
Criteria Score
| Title page (including student's name) | ........ |
| Legibly typed and neat in appearance | |
| Little or no errors in mechanics, (including punctuation & capitalization) | |
| Information relevant and well-organized | |
| Enough support of persuasive topic |
Oral Section:
| Strong beginning statement | ..... |
| Used precise language | |
| Used clear, strong voice | |
| Followed the specific order of information given | |
| Strong ending statement |
Oh,
come on! I know you've heard of it. Dungeons & Dragons
(also known as D&D) is a fantasy role-playing game with mythical wizards,
evil monsters, and heroic adventurers making their fortunes anyway possible.
In this historic R.P.G. (role-playing game) people role-play a character
of their choice and go on brave and daring adventures; whether it be saving
a small, peaceful town from danger or ridding the countryside of evil beings.
I know what you're thinking, "Is this guy nuts or what? Doesn't he know
that a game like D&D can mess with your head?" Ha! Anything can
get obsessive if you really put your mind to it. It could be school
work, a sports team, video games, etc. It's just that for some odd
reason D&D has been singled out as being obsessive, unhealthy, and
even demonic and satanic. But, hopefully I can change all that.
I know you've heard the bad side of D&D, but if you'll please listen
I can tell you why so many D&D gamers view it as just another game.
As
you probably already know, I am a D&D gamer. A four year veteran,
by the way. Do you know something else about me? I am a respected
Christian of a local Baptist church in my town and a straight A student
at my middle school. I run cross country as a hobby in the summer
and as a sport at the high school in the fall. I have
an uncountable number of friends in both middle and high school and consider
myself a well-to-do kid. So what is wrong with being a D&D gamer?
Some aspects of religion may say that D&D is evil because of wizardry
and spell casting and that is fine. Everyone has a right to their
own opinion, but people fear what they do not understand. Dungeons
& Dragons is a role-playing game. When you role-play, you pretend.
You don't actually cast spells. And don't get me wrong, you don't
speak in tongues to cast spells. You simply say to the dungeon master,
"I want to cast a spell." And there you have it! The spell
is cast in the D&D world and damage is done to the target. So,
I say again, "What is wrong with a D&D gamer?"
If
people don't understand D&D, I really wish they would either play the
game once or go to their local bookstore to buy the player's handbook before
they label it so harmful. I really don't think T.S.R, the makers
of the game, made D&D to harm or deceive anyone. Coming straight
from a D&D gamer, D&D is not harmful or unhealthy.
*submitted by an 8th grade student at Muhlenberg South Middle School