Richards Elementary
Yelkovich – Austin Sargent
Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes:
- Students will be able to orate effective arguments while following agreed on rules of turn taking.
- Students will be able to identify claims and counterclaims both in writing and in speaking.
- Students will improvise in small groups while fulfilling oratorical goals for constructing arguments.
- Students will work in collaborative groups and follow instructions for turn taking.
Integration Area/Subject:
ELA & Theatre
State Standards:
ELAGSE6W1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
- Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.
- Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
- Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.
- Establish and maintain a formal style.
- Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.
TA6.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.
- Demonstrate effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills (e.g. rate, pitch, volume, inflection, posture, facial expression, physical movement).
- Execute character creation in a performance.
Materials/Playing Space:
Open space at front of classroom
Description:
Start by grouping students into small groups of 3, 4, or no more than 5.
Explain the purpose of Three Headed Expert–
1) only one head speaks at a time, working in a sequential order.
2) the goal is to make a complete sentence or thought, not necessarily for the sentence to be true.
3) because this is a lesson on constructing arguments, students must be able to identify when proper argument structure is being used.
To start things off, ask groups a low risk question like: “What is the best restaurant in Columbus?” or “Why should people have cats instead of dogs?”. Give space for students to fumble and struggle through the turn-taking style of the activity.
Then scaffold to higher risk questions like “Why should or shouldn’t students be required to wear school uniforms?” Although the groups of students might have different individual opinions, they must work together and listen to each other to form one cohesive argument.
After groups have had time to work in tandem, pull one group up to present and ask them a new question. Have observing students listen carefully for the elements of good arguments. Feel free to scaffold questions to higher difficulty.
Notes:
Students may need you to restate the words that had already been spoken in the sequential order. Especially if there are long or awkward pauses between each word.
You could also ask that observing students write the arguments down as they are spoken, to help easily identify argument structure.