What'sMyRoleAgain?

:FormatandRolesoftheClassroomDebate
Author:BradyBarnhart
Datecreated:11/05/201510:38AMEDTDatemodified:12/02/201512:14PMEDT

GENERALINFORMATION
Subject(s)

LanguageArts(English)

TopicorUnitofStudy

Debate,Persuasion

Concept(s)

Essentialquestions:
Howdoesoneargueinanorganizedmanner?
Howdoesoneacknowledgethattheiraremultiplevalidopinions?
Howdoeseffectiveorganizationcontributetoaccomplishinggoals?

Grade/Level

Grade8

TimeAllotment

1classperiods.1.25Hrs.perclass.

AssessmentofPrior
Knowledge

Studentswilldiscussvariousrolestheynoticedinthepreviouslesson'smodeldebate.Wewilllatercompareand
contrastrolesbetweenthemodeldebateandtheroleswewilluseintheclassroomdebate.

InstructionalMaterials

Studentswillneedawritingutensilandanotesheet.

Resources
Materialsandresources:
ThislessonincludestheNearpodwebsiteprogram.Thisprogramisaduelpresentation/assessmenttoolthat
tracksstudentprogressbyusername.Thelesson'sinformationwillbepresentedusingthistool.!
Thenumberofcomputersrequiredis1per2students.
Alaptopcartorcomputerroommustbereservedbeforethelessonimplementation.
Links:
1. Nearpodresource
2. Pencilismoreefficientthanpens

Summary

Studentswillusecomputersinordertocompleteandinteractivewebsiteprogram,nearpod.ThisNearpodactivitywill
providestudentswithessentialinformationanddetailsforourclassdebates.FollowingtheNearpodactivity,students
willviewanothermodeldebatethatargueswhetherapencilorpenisthebetterwritingutensil.Thestudentswillthen
describehowtheirclassroomrolesapplytothatparticularmodeldebate.

STANDARDSANDOBJECTIVES
Standards

MDMarylandCollegeandCareerReadyStandardsMathandELA/Literacy(2013)
Subject:EnglishLanguageArts&LiteracyinHistory/SocialStudies,Science,andTechnicalSubjects
GradeRangeforELACCRAnchorStandard:612
Strand:Reading
Area:IntegrationofKnowledgeandIdeas
CCRAnchorStandard:
7.Integrateandevaluatecontentpresentedindiverseformatsandmedia,includingvisuallyandquantitatively,as
wellasinwords.

MDMarylandTechnologyLiteracyStandards(2014)
Standard:Standard3.0TechnologyforLearningandCollaboration:Useavarietyoftechnologiesforlearningand
collaboration
Area:A.Learning
Grade:Grade8
Indicator:1.Selectandusetechnologytoolstoenhancelearning
Descriptor:a)Usetechnologytools,includingsoftwareandhardware,tolearnnewcontentorreinforceskills

LessonObjective(s)

Studentswillacquiretermsandrolesthatwillbeusedthroughouttheclassroomdebateunit.
Studentswillapplytermsandrolestoamodeldebate.

Affectiveobjectives:
Studentswillthoroughlyunderstandtheimportanceoforganizedrolesinclassroomteams.

PROCEDURESANDMODIFICATIONS

Page 1 of 2

Introduction(Motivation)

Studentswillbeginclasswithatenminuteargumentativewritingpromptthatrelatesdirectlytotoday'slesson.Today's
promptasksifcellphonescouldbeusedaseducationaltools.Studentswillbrainstormandwritefortheentireten
minutesbeforehavingtheopportunitytoshare.

Teaching/Activities

1.StudentswillbrainstormandcompletethedailyWrite,RightNow!writingprompt.Studentswillsharetheiropinions
anddiscusstheirdifferenceswiththeirclassmates.
2.Followingtheshortdiscussion,theinstructorwilldemonstratehowacellphonecanbeusedasanexcellent
educationaltoolbydemonstratingthecompatibilityofaniPhoneandtheNearpodresource.
3.TheinstructorwillprovidedetailsabouthowtologinandjointheclassroomNearpodsession.
4.Thestudentswillbeallowedtoretrievealaptopfromthelaptopcart.
5.Oncethestudentsareloggedon,theclasswillworkthroughtheNearpodpresentation,whichincludestherolesthe
teamswilluseandtheformatofthedebate.
Roles:
Moderatorcallsthedebatetoorder,posesthedebatablepoint/question,andintroducesthedebatersandtheirroles.
Constructorpresentsthemainpoints/argumentsforhisorherteam'sstandonthetopicofthedebate.
Questionerposesquestionsabouttheopposingteam'sargumentstoitsQuestionResponder.
RespondertakesovertheroleoftheLeadDebater/Constructorasheorsherespondstoquestionsposedbythe
opposingteam'sQuestioner/CrossExaminer.
Rebutterrespondsonbehalfofhisorherteamtoasmanyofthequestionsraisedinthecrossexaminationas
possible.
Summarizerpresentstheclosingstatement.
Format:
Openingstatement:acollectionofateam'smainargumentandstatements.
Crossexamination:aquestioningofanotherteam'sargumentandsupport.
Rebuttal:Responsetootherteam'sattacks.
Closingstatement:aclearsummaryofyourteam'sargument,support,andresponses.
6.FollowingtheNearpodresource,studentswillviewthePencilorPendebate,whichfollowsasimiliarformattoour
classroomdebate.Studentswillbeaskedtoreflect,compare,andcontrasttheirrolesandformattothethemodel
debate.

Closure

Studentswillapplytheknowledgetakenfromtoday'slessoninordertoanalyzeandcompareamodeldebatetothe
formatusedintheclassroomdebates.

DifferentiatedInstruction

IhaveseveralstudentswithIEPsduringBlockTwo.Idifferentiatetheirinstructionbyusingmorescaffoldingtechniques.
TheywillhavemoreguidancewhileusingandinteractingwithNearpod.Someofthesestudentsdonothavetheskills
necessarytonavigatetheInternetandwillrequireguidedassistancethroughtheinitialsteps.

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Assessment/Rubrics

Studentswillbeformativelyassessthroughthediscussionofmodeldebate.

Reflections

Overall,thislessonwentextremelywell.ThestudentsthoroughlyenjoyedusingtheNearpodresourceandthegeneral
consensuswasthatitwasinteractiveandusefulintheclassroom.Imayhavetoreviewandexplainsomeofthecontent
toBlockTwobecauseafewofthestudentswerestillconfusedaboutwhichrolescorrelatewitheachsectionofthe
debate.Reflectingbackonthislessonfollowingtheculminationofthedebateunit,Icanseejusthowbeneficialthis
lessonwastotheoverallunit.Thislessonallowedstudentstofamiliarizethemselveswithaconcreteformatwiththe
unit.
IhadinitiallythoughtthatthelargestdrawbacktothislessonwouldbethecooperationoftheNearpodresourceonthe
school'scomputers,butIfearedfornothingbecausetheresourceworkedoutstandinglywellthroughoutthelessonthe
biggestissuewasdeterminingwhichcomputersworkedandwouldoperatecorrectly.Atleastfivecomputersdidnot
workduringeachoftheblocks,whichcausedahugeinterruptiontothefluidityofthelesson.Theinterruptioncauseda
bitofanissuewithBlockTwo,butIquicklysettledandgotthembackontask.IwouldrecommendtheNearpod
resourcetoacolleagueasIplanonusingitinthefutureitabsolutelycapturesstudents'attentionandkeepstheir
interestonthesubjectmaterial.Iwoulddefinitelyimprovehowthestudentsaccessedthetechnologyinthefuture.This
lessonwouldhaverunmoresmoothlyifIhadthecomputersrunningforthembeforehand.

Page 2 of 2