Post by justin on Oct 29, 2016 12:42:45 GMT 8
I was thinking primarily about the ‘need to speak English’ condition and the ‘opportunity to experiment’ condition primarily when I thought about trying to do a very simple debate in class about something rather arbitrary (arbitrary so as not to get students overly worked up). Have the students pick sides or assign sides if concerned the teams will not be even enough. Have the students list reasons why their object is better and provide the opportunity to be creative with language use. Simple things like which is better? Whale or elephant? Which is stronger? Gorilla or shark? If they are unwilling to jump in ask prodding questions to get them thinking. “Is a gorilla big?”
The biggest concern with this activity would likely be the ‘friendly atmosphere’ condition as some children may want to get into the argument and get heated and aggressive. The students not having the confidence to be creative and disengaging from the activity is also a possible issue.
The biggest concern with this activity would likely be the ‘friendly atmosphere’ condition as some children may want to get into the argument and get heated and aggressive. The students not having the confidence to be creative and disengaging from the activity is also a possible issue.