Arguing+with+the+Doctor

I am in love love love with the British television show //Doctor Who//. Created in 1963, the series has been hailed as the longest-running television series of all time. The show centers on The Doctor, a man from another time and place who travels the universe. He claims to be "just a traveller," but he often finds himself in situations requiring heroic actions - he more often than not saves Earth and human beings from certain destruction, enslavement, or decimation. The character of The Doctor has been played by 12 different actors, but my personal favorite is David Tennant, the 10th Doctor. His three seasons as The Doctor are some of the best television I have ever seen. If you haven't yet discovered //Doctor Who//, you must try it. Start with David Tennant's first episode as The Doctor, the 2005 Christmas special; you'll love it!

Since the focus in seventh grade in North Carolina is on developing argumentative skills, I have created a lesson plan to teach the basic elements of argument using //Doctor Who//. Many episodes feature a mystery-"whodunnit" format - what is going on and how did it happen? The particular episode that I have chosen for this lesson plan depicts a strange middle school in London where all of the children seem to be computer hackers, the faculty of the school is almost entirely new, and there is something wrong with the french fries (or "chips," as the Doctor calls them). These clues are all supporting statements to the overall argument that the school is unusual. After watching the clips in class, students are challenged to make a hypothesis as to what is going on in the school, demonstrating how an argument needs to be supported by relevant details and/or facts, and should attempt to convince the reader or audience of a particular opinion. From here, students will begin to work on making their own arguments with supportive details. This could lead to discussions about conspiracy theories as an example of argumentative writing, the rhetoric of public speaking to practice both making arguments and delivering speeches, and eventually independent research projects that culminate in an argumentative, five-paragraph essay.