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Lesson Plan - Do Schools Need Dress Codes?
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Learning Objective
Students will evaluate reasons and evidence supporting each side of a debate about school dress codes.
Text Structure
Argument
Content-Area Connections
Debate, English Language Arts
Standards Correlations
CCSS: R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.5, R.7, R.8, R.9, R.10, L.4, SL.1, W.1
NCSS: Individual Development and Identity
TEKS: ELAR 5.9, 6.10
1. Preparing to Read
Take a PollAsk students to raise their hands if they think schools should have dress codes. Explain that they’ll now investigate both sides of the debate.
Preview Words to KnowProject the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.
Set a Purpose for ReadingAs students read, have them note key arguments on both sides.
2. Close-Reading Questions
1. What do you think Brooklynn Hollaman hopes her signed petition will accomplish? You can infer that Brooklynn hopes the signed petition will show school officials that many people agree with her—and will sway her district to change its dress code. R.1 Inference
2. Why does the article mention the U.S. Supreme Court? The article mentions the U.S. Supreme Court because the Court has weighed in on clothing and schools. It ruled in 1969 that schools can limit certain clothing choices. Anything that is likely to be disruptive or hurtful to others can be banned. R.8 Author’s Purpose
3. On the “No” side of the debate, why does the article note that dress codes can be confusing? The article notes that dress codes can be confusing because some rules can be interpreted differently by different people. R.3 Cause/Effect
3. Skill Building
FEATURED SKILL: Opinion WritingUse the Skill Builder “Seeing Both Sides” to have students draft an opinion paragraph on the debate question.W.1 Opinion Writing
Multilingual Learners Invite your Spanish-speaking students to read the Spanish version of the article in conjunction with the English version.
Striving Readers Support understanding by expanding the headings in the argument boxes. Expand “Yes” by adding “Schools need dress codes,” and “No” with “Schools do not need dress codes.”
Math Extension Have students use the statistic at the bottom of page 5 to make a pie chart showing the percentage of public schools requiring uniforms versus the percentage not requiring them.