The Argumentative Essay Writing - The Rest of the Process

Our Title for This Essay: “There are Those Who say That Getting a Puppy is More Advantageous Than Buying a Rescue Dog”

I do this paper with my students as a class. Since it is an art class (Intro. to Art, or Ceramics depending on the period) I write with the students only 30 minutes per day. That way I can review each day what has been done before helping the students to have more experience with the process of writing an argumentative paper. It also gives students more chances to be a part of the learning process since some students are absent on some days or have issues at home or at school that prevent them from really focusing on the writing process sometimes.

You will find below a typed version of the argumentative essay format that I have designed with the art example. In my paper, mostly each paragraph begins with what some people think is true, and then follows with the counter argument. However, is a couple of versions of argumentative papers, in each paragraph students state their opinion, and after 3 paragraphs of this, in the next paragraph they state the counter argument and state how this argument doesn’t make sense.

 You will also find the guidelines that I have put on a poster for my students to follow along with. This poster also gives the students more chances to earn points. I say, “We have done steps 1 and 2 so what do we do next?”

Each day of work begins with something about rescue animals that students discuss:

1. I use the projector to project quotes by Cesar Milan if you Google “Cesar Milan Quotes,” you will find plenty of interesting quotes about training for example. Students often have the misconception that shelter dogs are more challenging to train. They don’t realize that training has more to do with the person who trains the dogs - people who own animals need to look up effective techniques for training and use them. And in fact, dogs tend to learn faster than puppies because they have more focus, experience with the world, and often people at the shelters train them.

2. Before writing I show them the movie, “Redemption.” It is only $10 on Amazon and it shows how big cities like Reno, Nevada, Austin, Texas, San Francisco, as well as small cities were able to make their cities “No Kill” successfully. Now hundreds of cities across the U.S. are “No Kill.” This movie really helped students realize that euthanization doesn't have to occur, and that they can help make a difference.

3. The next day I reviewed with students the ways in the movie "Redemption" that they could make a difference to change our city to a “No Kill” City. I will post a photo of an example of that on a yellow poster.

4. I show students how they can look up their council person for their area and write them letters about the “No Kill” position.

5. The next day, I printed out photos with stories and read them to students by looking up "Celebrities rescue pets" and projecting the photos while I read the stories behind them.

6. Students take turns reading the Utahdobes article (you’ll find it listed on one or more of the students papers “Top 10 Reasons to Consider Adopting a Shelter Dog.” It's also One of the reasons for adopting has to do with rescue dog bond. I found this bonding comment - that shelter dogs bond as well or better than dogs you raise from puppies in many, many articles and have found it true with our rescue doggies, and my friends have found it to be true with their rescue dogs. However, I didn’t find the actual research from which this was based so I just used the Utah Dobes article.

7. I share the Daily Mail article shown in the next post but it's small there - bigger on the net - with students about dogs bonding with anything that feeds them, even robots! Make sure to show them the photos from the net of the cute beagle looking so lovingly at the robot!

8. Beginning the next class, I look up and  project from the Elmo (it shows what the computer is showing, or what I am doing in real time during the writing process) the Pet Finder animal photos looking into the ones that my students find most interesting. 

9. I show students photos of my at two shelters in our area. I show photos of the building, and photos of the dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, turtles and other animals housed there. I also show them photos of the presentation of the donation magnets, or earrings that we donated before. Also, one student in each class writes beautifully or types up one of their essays which they display at the animal shelter.

10. Students also help me make a poster bulletin board. I'll post photos in the next post. Each year I have each period's students stand around the poster and hang up the photos of the students with the poster.

11. I show students something new I discovered this year called “Shelter Me,” a website that has photos of many shelter animals that have videos accompanying them. For me, when we wanted to adopt our first rescue dog, I showed my husband a video that they had online with him. Seeing how loving my dog was with a volunteer made me realize that he would be as loving if not more loving with me.

12. I showed students photos of friends of mine with their shelter dogs along with their heart warming stories - some shown in the next post. 

13. I showed videos of me with my shelter dogs and the tricks that I have taught them supporting the fact that shelter dogs are very trainable.

14. I show them that it is actually the law in our city to neuter and spay our pets, and encourage them strongly to use “Fix Nation” (a group that spays and neuters stray cats for free) to fix cats in their area and release them again to live a happy life.

15. I also showed them a 1 minute video about owning rabbits and their particular needs because many people want to hold and cuddle rabbits but after the first couple weeks of a rabbits adoptable life, they move into rabbit adolescence and no longer want to be picked up. Therefore, rabbits are the third most given up animal in animal shelters. 

16. Look up Shelter Dogs PTSD - many articles and videos, and Shelter Dogs drug sniffing (next post has the net Info.) for the benefits of dogs used and students appreciate.

17. Also, for inspiration that’s happy look up the “OLATE Dogs.” They won the first place million dollar prize on America’s Got Talent in 2012. The guy came from I believe somewhere in South America, got a shelter dog, trained it to do tricks and began doing shows for his job. Most of his performance dogs come from shelters. Also, many TV dog actors come from shelters. People often choose dogs from shelters for these kinds of jobs because they are looking for highly active, prey driven animals who are wanting to please so that they are more easily trainable and the person training them can see the adult looks of the dog as well as it’s personality. Students love to see these dogs in action. There’s also a couple of cute Olate dogs performances in “Le Sauvetage” a short film of 5 Min. made by Halo Pet Food that students enjoy.

18. The last day of writing the conclusion I show students the euthanized animals (next post - small sized here but larger if you find them on the web) for the best reason you should adopt an animal from a shelter - it's shocking and sad but seems to help drive the point home.

I have been asked by some individuals why I don’t do an essay in support of cats. You do your part too. You do an essay on adopting cats. We need everyone to all do their part in this to end this issue with animals that are being euthanized through no fault of their own. This essay I write with my students is focused on dogs and that makes sense because both of my dogs were adopted from shelters and I can’t own cats. However during all of my teaching time devoted to this project, “Redemption” supports cat adoption and I show students and talk to them about adopting cats many times during the weeks that we write this together. However, it is a difficult sell to get students to adopt a cat here since my students live in the inner city where most places don’t allow pets and there are busy streets all around. And I live on a street where cougars, bobcats, and coyotes live, and I am allergic to cats and dust so I can’t have cats inside the house so I can’t adopt cats. Also, for the donation part of the project, students are asked to draw the same amount of cats and dogs. I receive from students as many cat earrings and magnets, as I do dog earrings and magnets.

You would be shocked in knowing that the vast majority - pretty much everyone in the whole class it seems - thinks that all shelter animals have been abused beyond help, that they are second hand animals that can’t be trained, and that they have terrible behavioral issues. This ignorance needs to be changed. That is why I spend so much effort showing my students that what they have heard is wrong about shelter animals. The vast majority of shelter animals are truly innocent and just need a second chance with a family who actually cares about them.

I will also attach some of the essays that have come from different periods this school year.