Weekly Update: January Reading Reflection and Dynamic Debate Overview
Happy Sunday everyone,
Hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend! I had a few readers reach out for more information about our "Dynamic Debate,” so that’s where I am going to focus my attention for this update. First, however, I wanted to share our January Reading Reflection (which I also posted over on the projectLITcomm Instagram account). Click here for the assignment directions + my example. I’d love to see what you and your students write this week :)
Dynamic Debate: My goodness. My teacher heart is full. Our students spent Thursday and Friday (2/1 & 2/2) engaged in a dynamic in-class debate over the role of technology in today’s society. Tomorrow we’ll hear closing arguments before Judge Amato decides on a winner and students take time to reflect on the entire unit. Here’s a step-by-step overview — as always, feel free to modify for the specific goals & needs of your crew and be sure to reach out with questions.
KEY SKILLS & LEARNING OUTCOMES (What I hope students gained from the unit):
“Casting a wide net” in the initial brainstorm and then thinking critically to select the strongest reasons to support a claim/argument
Gathering strong, valid evidence to support their claim
Using the CRAAP analysis to determine if a source is credible
Understanding and applying the three rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos)
Determining how to refine & revise our search to find the right evidence/information to support a claim
Working collaboratively and contributing to a team
Using their notes/research to develop several slides that support their specific subclaim
Learning how to embed video and images into a slideshow
Selecting a Canva/Google Slides template and creating slides that are compelling and convincing
Creating a Works Cited page
Public speaking & listening skills (SL 8.1, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5)
Listening to the opposing team and determining how to best undermine or weaken their claim (developing a strong counterargument)
Anticipating the opposing argument and developing a strong rebuttal
Writing and delivering an effective opening and closing argument
Thinking critically about technology and the role it plays in our personal lives
TIMELINE
Initial Brainstorm (students identifying main reasons to support both sides of the issue – the positive and negative effects of technology)
Students split into two teams
Students review key vocabulary and develop their five strongest reasons/subclaims (as a team, students decide who will focus on each specific subclaim)
Students gather evidence from at least two credible sources to support their respective subclaim (with class sizes around 20, there are two students working together on each subclaim)
Students then use their notes/research to build out their respective slides (each team creates one slidedeck/presentation). Examples of effective debate slides include the following: Short Video Clips; Charts, Graphs, Statistics, Powerful Numbers; Quotes & Testimonials (Ethos); Bulleted/Numbered Lists; Cause & Effect, Then & Now, etc. Hypothetical (What If...?); Anecdotal Evidence (Stories); Analogical Evidence.
As the slideshow starts to come together, students’ first responsibility is to ensure their part of the debate is ready to go (multiple slides full of evidence & reasoning to support their respective subclaim). Their second responsibility is one of the following: write/deliver the opening statement, prep/lead their team’s cross/counterargument (how they’ll respond to the opposition’s claim), or write/deliver the closing statement.
Students have time to practice & prepare for the in-class debate. Here are a few sample slideshows that students created last week: 1, 2, 3.
Student Reflection (which will take place tomorrow).
*Again, be sure to reach out if you have specific questions, and don’t forget to check out last week’s update for the usual links and resources. (And shout out to the good people over at Vocabulary.com for putting this Project LIT resource.)
Finally, a reminder that you can still pre-order JUST READ IT: Unlocking the Magic of Independent Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms here. The book is scheduled for release next week and should arrive in your mailboxes by the end of the month. (I am still waiting on a physical copy myself, but that’s a conversation for another day…) Be sure to use the code RAVEN25 for a 25% discount + free shipping. Thanks to everyone who has already pre-ordered and shared with friends and colleagues in your school and district. It means the world to me!
Sending y’all lots of love as we head into another week, and as always, happy reading.
Jarred