Objectives:
- To make a connection between everyday evaluating and written evaluations
- To introduce the concepts of forming criteria, presenting reasons, and collecting evidence in evaluating
- To present a visually-oriented means of pre-writing for an evaluation essay
- Overhead projector
- Blank overhead transparencies and transparency markers
- An assortment of miniature candy bars: one per student so that students in a group all get the same candy bar and each group is given different candy bars (Hershey Miniatures work well)
- Students should be assigned to groups of three or four by the classroom teacher(s).
- Begin discussing everyday evaluations: Ask, “Who has evaluated something recently?” If there is no response, ask, “Who has bought something recently?” Ask one student the following questions: “What did you buy?” “What were you looking for in a (item)?” “Why did you choose that brand of (item)?” Wrap up this discussion by pointing out that every time they buy an article of clothing, choose a restaurant, decide to go out with someone, they are evaluating.
- Present a hypothetical evaluation of a specific Taco Bell restaurant using a Criteria-Reasons-Evidence Chart or CRE Chart (see below). Begin by telling the students to pretend that you (the instructor) have been hired by Taco Bell to evaluate various restaurants. Point out that each time you go to a different restaurant, you go with the same set of criteria, or neutral judgement categories. In other words, you go into each Taco Bell looking for the same standards.
- Ask students to help you list some of the criteria. Then proceed to the reasons, and evidence, filling in the rows on the chart as in the sample below.
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- Pass out the candy bars to the student groups, giving each student in a group the same kind of candy bar. Instruct the students to evaluate their candy bars by constructing similar charts on overhead transparencies, one per group.
- When the students’ charts are fairly complete, collect them and present them to the entire class on the overhead projector, commending clear criteria, descriptive reasons and specific and vivid detail when it is present. Criteria usually include: wrapper, smell, taste, texture, and/or size.
- Take one row of one of the student’s charts and begin to quickly draft a paragraph, pointing out how the criteria and reason help form the topic sentence of the paragraph and the evidence helps develop the body of the paragraph. Write quickly without too much attention to style and stress that this is a “rough draft” which will improve with revision. (A few intentional but acknowledged mistakes might serve to show the students that writing is a process for everyone.)
| CRITERIA | REASONS | EVIDENCE |
| wrapper | striking, bright | yellow background,
red letters |
- Sample paragraph: The wrapper of the Mr. Goodbar candy bar is visually attractive. It attracts our attention with its bright yellow background. The letters are in red which contrasts well with the background. Also, the name of the candy bar . . .
- Tell students that they will be working on their own evaluation essays. If time allows, talk about possible topic choices.2 Encourage students to choose to evaluate things they know about and/or feel deeply about. Remind them that an evaluation can be both negative or positive.
- Topic categories that work well are:
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- Topic categories that are problematic, usually because the subject is too complex, are:
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2 It is important to work closely with the classroom teacher(s) on this assignment. This essay could be done as a group assignment, if groups don't exceed three students.
Workshop 6 / Workshop 7 / Workshop 8 / Workshop 9 / Workshop 10 / Credits
