In trying to make my 4th grade class stay focused so late in the year, I am doing some different things. One report card mark is that students will write a position paper. Lame. I chose the topic of "Do boys and girls learn better together or seperately?" Before we started writing, the kids split into teams and they had to come up with arguments of why they think they should be separate or together.
So the debate began. One person stated their opinion, and hands shot up to disagree with him. Before that, I told the students they need to "respectfully disagree" with their classmate and give a reason why.
Each of my students started their debate sentence with "I respectfully disagree with you because..." It was awesome! I should probably mention that all of my students are bilingual and oral language is a challenge for many of them.
Their position papers turned out great, too. I loved it! I will miss these guys next year.
That's a great idea for a position paper! I am sure they enjoyed it and learned a lot. If you don't mind me asking, what state do you teach in?
ReplyDeleteThanks, they really enjoyed it. I'm in Michigan. :o)
ReplyDeleteOh. Not too far from me. I am in Wisconsin.
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