New York's South Brother Island to be a sanctuary

Ben Amato | Educational consultant

Persuasive Writing - ELA Standards 1, 3 and 4

Two hundred years ago, the entire metropolitan area was a pristine wilderness of fields, farms and flora. Today there are only small pockets of "nature" left, amid the sprawling metropolis we call home. Today's lesson looks at two pieces of land where Mother Nature reigns free and how their future development could not be more different.

TV Component
Newsday TV has a video about a new community being built in Muttontown. 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 has an article titled "New York's South Brother Island to be a sanctuary." Read the article and then using the facts and details within, complete the Comprehension Crossword Puzzle.

Language Arts Component

Critical Lens
"If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen."
Henry David Thoreau

Civilization is sometimes measured by the "things" Man builds and leaves behind. Other argue that we should live with Nature, and not spoil the pristine environment that once was. In the quotation used in this lesson, Henry David Thoreau illustrates which side he is on. What are your thoughts about development versus preservation?

Situation
Write a PERSUASIVE ESSAY about development and construction on Long Island and New York. Using the details about South Brother Island and the Stone Hill community in Muttontown, discuss your feelings about the use of vacant land on our island.

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 what should be done with land that is still undeveloped on Long Island.

BODY
This section concerns the actual SPECIFIC FACTS about the two pieces of land mentioned in today's lesson. 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. The preservation of South Brother Island and the construction of Stone Hill illustrate the conflict between Man and Nature. End this section of your writing by stating your feelings about which "use" of vacant land is best for our community. Conclude with a look to the future and your thoughts about the use of few remaining "natural" places.