Lesson 13: A Raisin in the Sun, Argumentative Writing, Part 1

Have students take out their copies of the NPR article from Lessons 3 and 4 and their writing journals. Use this routine to connect the previous lesson’s study of Mama’s housing decision to today’s writing work about systems, barriers, and responsibility. Have students work with partners to answer the question. Guide them to each share for about 30 seconds.

Turn-and-Talk

• Say: In the previous lesson, we studied Mama’s decision to buy the house and how that choice was full of courage, risk, and dignity. Today, we will write an argument about what should happen after an injustice causes lasting harm. This matters because your final performance task asks you to make a clear claim, support it with evidence, and respond to people who disagree.

Say these Directions: Turn to your partner. Partner A, share your response to the prompt for 30 seconds. Partner B, build or add on for 30 seconds.

• Ask: How do Mama’s decision in the play and the NPR article both show that a house can provide more than shelter?

  • Mama’s decision shows that a house can stand for dignity and a better future, not just a place to sleep. The NPR article adds that homeownership also affects wealth and opportunity, so housing is connected to dreams and power.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we will address that big idea in argument writing by making a claim, incorporating supporting evidence, and answering an opposing view.

Guide students in analyzing a model claim-and-evidence paragraph to understand how argument writing is structured.

Say these Directions: Reread the NPR article from “Black homeownership rates increased . . .” to “. . . predatory real estate practices and exploitative lending thrived.” Follow along as I model how to write a claim-based introduction and an evidence paragraph, sharing each part step-by-step.

Teach: Model Writing

Display and read aloud the writing prompt:

Prompt: The Fair Housing Act of 1968 made redlining illegal but did not undo the damage already done. Should the government be responsible for fixing the lasting effects of redlining?

• Say: We are going to write a claim with evidence that answers “yes” to the writing prompt: “The government should help fix the lasting effects of redlining because government policies helped create the harm in the first place.” First, we will state the problem in one sentence.

State the Problem:

“Redlining did not just limit where Black families could live in the past; it changed who had access to wealth and stability over time.”

• Say: Next, we will state our claim.

Claim:

“Because government policies helped create those barriers, the government should be responsible for helping repair the damage they caused.”

• Say: Next, we will begin a new paragraph by explaining evidence that supports our claim. We can start with a quotation from the article that provides detail about the problem.

Evidence:

“The article states, ‘Today, many of the same neighborhoods that were redlined continue not only to have the highest poverty rates, but also worse health outcomes that lead to shorter lifespans.’”

• Say: Finally, we can explain why the evidence supports the claim that the government should take responsibility.

Explain Evidence:

“It is clear that even several generations after unequal housing policies created the problem, Black families have fewer opportunities to have security or build wealth. The American government acted to end unjust policies, so it makes sense that it should also consider ways to fix the results of those policies. If the harm wasn’t ended, the job isn’t really done.”

Say these Directions: Answer the following questions based on the model.

• Ask: What is the claim in the model introduction?

  • The claim is that the government should be responsible for helping repair the lasting effects of redlining because government policies helped create the damage.

• Ask: How does the evidence paragraph do more than repeat an aspect of the article?

  • It explains why homeownership matters and connects that idea to long-term harm across generations. The paragraph shows how the evidence supports the claim.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Now that we have reviewed stating our own claim, we will learn and practice how to acknowledge and respond to counterclaims.

Part A: Naming the Other Side (W.7.1.a, W.7.1.b) (15 minutes)

Whole-Class Discussion

Say these Directions: As a class, we will discuss how to analyze and respond to a counterclaim. Listen to the model counterclaim, and be ready to think about its logic. A counterclaim is the opposing side of an argument, and a rebuttal is the writer’s answer to that opposing side. Strong argument writing does not ignore disagreement; it names it and responds to it.

Teach: Writing a Counterclaim

• Say: Our introduction and evidence make a claim that the government has a responsibility to fix the lasting effects of unfair housing laws and practices. Our next step is to introduce a counterclaim and explain why the counterclaim doesn’t work.

Read sentences of the model paragraph as you explain the steps.

Model Counterclaim:

“Some people might argue that the government should not be responsible for fixing the effects of redlining because housing laws were meant to protect neighborhoods and property values.”

Evidence for the Counterclaim:

“In the Sugar Hill section, legal challenges were used to fight Black homeownership in the name of ‘stability.’”

• Say: Next, we’ll begin our rebuttal of the counterclaim. In other words, we want to show that the counterclaim doesn’t make sense.

• Ask: What doesn’t make sense in the counterclaim?

  • It doesn’t matter if people thought that they were protecting their neighborhoods, because they were just covering for injustice and defending exclusion. It doesn’t make sense to use something unfair and untrue as justification for not fixing the damage that was done.

Model Rebuttal:

• Say these Directions: We should start the rebuttal with a transition that shows contrast, such as however.

  • “However, that argument is weak because those practices protected exclusion, not fairness. The article shows that racist housing barriers kept Black families from having security across generations, so the damage was real and long-lasting. If public systems helped create that damage, public action should be part of repairing it.”

Part B: Draft and Test Your Rebuttal (W.7.1.a, W.7.1.b) (15 minutes)

Students will draft independently first, then share with a partner for one focused feedback move.

Display the following writing model if needed for support and guidance:

Model Claim

The government has a responsibility to try to fix the impacts of redlining.

Think-Pair-Write-Share

Say these Directions: First, think about the strongest opposing claim someone might make. Next, write a counterclaim paragraph that names that opposing view, uses one detail from the article, and ends with a rebuttal that answers the claim. After you write, share with your partner, and they will share with you. Give your partner one piece of feedback: Is the rebuttal logical, and does it use evidence from the article? Draft a counterclaim paragraph for your argument about whether the government should be responsible for fixing the lasting effects of redlining.

• Some people argue that the government should not have to fix the effects of redlining because the law already changed in 1968. However, the article shows that making redlining illegal did not return the wealth that families had already been blocked from building. The NPR article explains that homeownership is one of the main ways families gain financial stability over time. Because the damage lasted across generations, the government should be part of repairing it.

• Ask: After listening to your partner’s paragraph, what is one piece of feedback you can give about their rebuttal?

  • Your rebuttal is logical because you explain that changing the law did not erase the harm. I also noticed that you used evidence about wealth, which makes your paragraph stronger. One next step is to add a more specific detail from the Sugar Hill section or the opening section about homeownership.

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Lesson 13 Writing Rubric: Argument Paragraph — Claims & Counterclaims

Writing prompt: Write an argument paragraph responding to this prompt: The Fair Housing Act of 1968 made redlining illegal but did not undo the damage already done. Does the government have a responsibility to address the lasting effects of housing discrimination? State a precise, arguable claim about government responsibility, support it with evidence, and include a counterclaim and rebuttal.

Have students reflect on the strongest part of their argument and identify a next revision step using evidence.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Today, you practiced answering the other side to strengthen your argument. Take a moment to review your draft, then write a short, 3-4 sentence response to the following prompt:

• Which part of your draft is strongest right now, and what is your next revision step? Use one detail from the article or one sentence from your draft to explain.

  • The strongest part of my paragraph is the rebuttal because I explained that making redlining illegal did not erase the wealth families already lost. I used the article’s idea that homes are where families build wealth, so my reasoning feels connected to evidence. My next revision step is to add a more specific detail from the Sugar Hill section so the paragraph sounds even stronger.

Instruct students to reread the opening section of the NPR article and the Sugar Hill section. Then have students complete the following in their Journal:

• Add one more piece of evidence that could strengthen either your claim paragraph or your counterclaim paragraph.

• Label it as a claim or counterclaim.