USH · Angle Lab — Lock Your Angle & Finish Your Contract

Part 1 · Angle Lab

Recap yesterday's Socratic. Every student should have a rough "itch" to build on.

Where we left off

Yesterday you found the argument that pulled at you. Today you turn that itch into a real question — and lock the plan around it.

Part 1 · Angle Lab

Today's finish line

Angle chosen. Contract done. Signed.

Two moves: ① lock your angle in the Angle Lab, then ② complete your Contract and bring it to me.

Part 1 · Angle Lab

Let students self-select a path. Both land on the same organizer + the 3 tests.

Two ways to get your angle — pick your lane

Path A

Start from the Menu

Grab a ready-made angle that sparks something — then make it yours.

Path B

Build Your Own

Run the 5-step generator to grow an angle from the text that got under your skin.

Part 1 · Angle Lab · Path A

The menu. Read a couple aloud. Point students to the same list on their organizer.

Path A · The Angle Menu

Trailblazer · more scaffolded

Why did the public respond to Sinclair's "stomach," not his "heart"? What does that reveal about how reform works?
MLK writes to "My Dear Fellow Clergymen." Why that audience — and how does it change his argument?
Douglass makes readers witness — why is being forced to see more powerful than being told?

Maverick

Compare Sinclair's exposure journalism and Beals' embodied protest — which created more lasting change?
How does each author argue for change when "follow the law" isn't a solution?
Hamer testified on national TV — was performance or policy her real weapon?

Phoenix

"The people who fix broken systems are rarely the ones it was built to serve." Evaluate — 3 texts + one example of your own.
Legal change vs. social change — what does the gap reveal? (Sinclair's disappointment + Beals' gap)
Who pays the highest price for reform — and do they benefit most? Argue it.

Part 1 · Angle Lab · Path A

Path A · Don't just copy it — make it yours

Three ways to personalize

• Swap the text — use Hamer instead of Sinclair.
• Change the comparison — pick your own pairing.
• Add a modern link — tie it to a reform now.

Menu → personalized

Menu: "Which reform strategy created more lasting change?"

Yours: "Does exposing a problem (Sinclair) or refusing to move (Hamer) force change faster — and which lasts?"

On your organizer: circle a menu angle, then rewrite it in your words

Part 1 · Angle Lab · Path B

Path B for students who already have an itch. Walk all 5 steps with the Marcus example next.

Path B · Build Your Own — 5 steps

Start from friction — which text or claim made you want to argue back?

Take a side — what do you actually think? (a stance, not a topic)

Right-size it — too big to finish? too small to argue? adjust.

Phrase it as a question — open and arguable.

Test it — the three checks.

Part 1 · Angle Lab · Path B

Model the generator with "Marcus." This same angle carries into the Contract half.

Path B · Watch Marcus build one

Marcus runs the generator

1 · Friction: "Sinclair wanted to help workers, but the public only cared about their own food. That gap bugged me."

2 · Side: "I think exposure only works when the problem threatens comfortable people."

3 · Right-size: "'All reform' is too big → just Sinclair's journalism vs. Beals' protest."

4 · Question: "Which created more lasting change — Sinclair's exposure or Beals' embodied protest?"

Part 1 · Angle Lab

Both paths end here. If an angle fails a test, it's not dead — it needs a tweak.

Step 5 · Test any angle — all three must pass

Arguable?

Could a reasonable person take the other side? Marcus: ✓ both strategies have defenders.

Researchable?

Can you dig into it in 6 weeks with your texts? Marcus: ✓ two clear sources.

Yours?

Do you actually care? Marcus: ✓ he wants to know what really works.

Run your angle through all three on your organizer

Part 1 · Angle Lab

✍️ Angle Lab work time

Finish your organizer. Land on one angle that passes all three tests.

Stuck between two? Pick the one you'd argue harder. I'll come to you.

Part 2 · The Contract

Shift to completion. Everyone should now have an angle to pour into Part 1.

You have an angle — now the plan

Open your Studio Contract.

Same idea as the Angle Lab: I'll show a part, you write it. We'll finish Parts 1–5 together, then 6–9 on your own.

Part 2 · The Contract

Contract · Part 1 — What this studio is about

Write

The essential question (copy it), your angle from the Lab, and why it matters to you.

Marcus's Part 1

Angle: "Which created more lasting change — Sinclair's exposure or Beals' embodied protest?"

Why: "I want to know what actually works when you try to fix a broken system."

Write Part 1 now

Part 2 · The Contract

Contract · Part 2 — Standards

Write

Your standard code + type (ELA / SS / crosswalk). Find codes on your Launch Reference.

Marcus's Part 2

Primary: 9-10.R.9 · Crosswalk: US.6_12.4 + Unit 1/6 · Type: Crosswalk

Write Part 2 now

Part 2 · The Contract

Push "specific = defensible." This description is what you'll score against in Week 5.

Contract · Part 3 — Demo of Learning

Write

Pick a mode and describe exactly what you'll make.

Marcus's Part 3

Mode: Extended Writing.

"A 700–1,000 word argument comparing the two strategies, 3+ quotes across both texts, naming my standard for 'lasting change,' answering one counterargument."

Write Part 3 now

Part 2 · The Contract

Contract · Part 4 — Skinnies

Write

List 1–3 skinnies for your standard & mode. Read their 2.0/3.0 lines before Part 5.

Marcus's Part 4

• R.9 Informational / Argumentative
• W.4 Argument Writing

Write Part 4, then open those skinnies

Part 2 · The Contract

The heart. Slow down. Their three rungs become the Part-5 table. 3.0 = A.

Contract · Part 5 — Proficiency Targets (the big one)

2.0

Marcus: "I can identify each author's claim and reform strategy — Sinclair's exposure, Beals' protest — one at a time."

3.0

Marcus: "I can compare how each strategy makes its case and argue which created more lasting change, with evidence and a clear standard for 'lasting.'" ← target = A

4.0

Marcus: "I can evaluate what each strategy assumes — and argue whether the people who paid the highest cost benefited most."

Write your 2.0 / 3.0 / 4.0 now

Part 2 · The Contract

Keep 6–8 fast. Most of the block is the angle + Part 5.

Contract · Parts 6–8 (quick)

6 · Deliverable

Public thing for Week 6.
Marcus: essay to the Commons.

7 · Timeline

One checkpoint per week.
Wk 1: "angle + contract signed."

8 · Resources

2 library texts + 1 you find.
The Jungle, Warriors + a news article.

Fill Parts 6–8 now

Part 2 · The Contract

Contract · Part 9 — Sign-off

Bring me your Contract.

Angle, standard, demo, skinnies, targets — done? Bring it over. I approve it, or hand it back with notes. Then it's official.

Angle Lab

Angle chosen. Contract done. Signed.

Open your Studio Contract.

Bring me your Contract.

Angle locked.Contract signed.

Angle locked.
Contract signed.