A Separate Peace

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Persuasive Argument: The True Nature of Finny’s Fall”

In this activity, students will work together to outline a persuasive essay arguing either “for” or “against” the argument that Gene intentionally jostled the branch to knock Finny to the ground. Student groups will then present their findings in a mini debate.

Throughout the novel, Gene struggles with the feeling that he is responsible for Finny’s injury at the tree; however, whether or not this injury was intentional is never clearly defined.

For this Activity, choose a side—either “for” or “against” the claim that Gene intentionally jostled the branch to knock Finny to the ground—and work with a small group to gather evidence and outline a persuasive essay that proves your argument.

• Clearly identify your point of view in a thesis statement at the beginning of your outline.
• Gather details from the text to substantiate your argument.
• Create topic sentences for each of the points of your argument. List your supporting evidence in the outline.
• Acknowledge and refute the possible counterclaims to your argument. Include these details in the appropriate sections of your outline.
• Consult with other small groups who are “on your side” to ensure you have considered and addressed all angles, evidence, and counterclaims.
• Elect a group member to represent your group in a mini debate against a group who is arguing “the other side” of the claim.

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity allows students to practice their persuasive analytical skills within the context of the novel’s plot. Prior to the start of the activity, consider assessing how comfortable students are with the traditional persuasive 5-paragraph essay structure (thesis in the introduction with three main points, topic sentences linking to the main points, etc.) and the rhetorical devices of pathos, ethos, and logos and review any necessary material accordingly. Consider holding a rotating debate in which each representative student gets only one chance to make their claim and one chance to argue against another representative’s claim, facing representatives from other groups until a winner is determined. Depending on your class structure, you may want to allow students to vote on a winner (consider using a ranking system to reduce bias) or you may determine the winner yourself, perhaps utilizing a persuasive argument rubric or similar.

Differentiation Suggestion: To support students with executive function differences, English language learners, and/or those who struggle to make abstractions, have difficulty choosing a side, or who would benefit from a visual representation of the argument’s “sides” and related evidence, consider providing a T-chart-style graphic organizer with “Accidental” and “Intentional” as the headers, having students work together in small groups to fill in the evidence they find in each column, then determining which side to choose and which evidence to use where in their outlines. These students may also benefit from the additional scaffolding of a pre-populated outline template to help them get started.