Teaching Argument Writing by George Hillocks, Jr.

why: This is a book I need to review for the course I'll be teaching at CU this fall. And it's also a book I've been interested in due to the demands of the Common Core State Standards for teaching argument.

when: start and end 7/19 (we were in the car for about 10 hours that day, ok?)

how: I read this in hard copy and in its entirety in the passenger seat of the car as we drove from Grand Teton National Park to Grand Mesa, Colorado.

thoughts: So George Hillocks has been in the education business for 55 years. I'm not kidding. FIFTY FIVE YEARS. Isn't that awesome? I actually saw him in person at a presentation at the NCTE conference in Chicago in 2011. This book is a great resource on argument and shows how to use crime scene investigation to teach students about argument. Cool stuff. I think, though, that it might be a bit more in-depth work than is necessary for my CU students this fall. I may have them read an excerpt but not the whole book, and I will definitely include it on a list of recommended teaching resources that I am building for them.

Click on the book image to learn more about the book.

review haiku:
an old but smart guy
explains teaching argument
excellent resource