Kidney donation a 'bittersweet' sister's gift

Ben Amato | Educational consultant

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill

Persuasive Writing - ELA Standards 1, 3 and 4
Organ donation transplant techniques are quite common and effective. The problem is finding the donors, for many in our society feel uneasy about donating their organs to others, even after their death. Today's lesson looks at the several stories that illustrate power of giving.

TV Component
The CW 11 News at Ten had two stories about medical transplants. One was "bittersweet" and the other inspiring. View the video clip twice, the first time jotting down notes on its content and theme. The second time, refine those notes and use them to answer the LISTENING QUIZ about the news clip.

Newspaper Component
Today's edition of Newsday had an article titled "Kidney donation a 'bittersweet' sister's gift." Read the article and then using the facts and details within, complete the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle.

Language Arts Component
Critical Lens
'The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving."
Albert Einstein

There is no greater gift than being a donor and saving another's life. Yet the shortage of suitable organs dooms many on the waiting list. There is reluctance on many to donate their transplantable body parts, even after their death.

Situation
Write a PERSUASIVE ESSAY about your feelings on organ donations and other life-saving medical transplant procedures.

The Nature and Structure of a Persuasive Essay
The goal of a PERSUASIVE ESSAY is to sway the reader to your opinion. Using facts and details, an argument is presented, designed to change your reader's mind and convince them of your interpretation. It is usually framed in three sections.

INTRODUCTION
This paragraph begins the essay and starts off with a STATEMENT OF TOPIC. In the opening sentence establish WHAT the essay will be about. Then describe WHO should be concerned about this topic and WHY it matters to this audience. End this introduction with your own OPINION about medical transplants and organ donations.

BODY
This section concerns the actual SPECIFIC FACTS about the latest facts about these topics. Arrange the details according to an ORDER OF IMPORTANCE, where the most significant information comes first, with the less significant details later in the paragraph.

This section may be longer than just one paragraph, depending on how many facts and details you gather from the article and television news story. Use the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle and the answers to the Multiple-Choice Quiz as a RUBRIC, so you can see if all the important facts have been included and described.

CONCLUSION
This section of persuasive writing is your final attempt to sway your audience, so restate the TOPIC and your OPINION about the issue. Select the one most important detail which might sway your readers to feel the way you do. Your last sentence should look towards the future. How do you feel about organ donations? Are you willing to give life-saving pieces of yourself to others, after your death?