MINI LESSON: Mini Debate with Comments

Mini Debate with Comments

Overview:

Students will engage in mini written debates with their classmates and will create their Posts from an existing idea (whether it come from the All Things Politics Group or made by their teacher]. The debates will take place in the Comments section.

Objectives:

• I can respectfully engage in a written debate about a current political event.
• I can create a Post from an existing Idea.
• I can Comment on the Posts of my classmates to engage in the written debate, as well as respond to comments left on my own Post.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.4

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.6

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1.A

Vocabulary:

Materials:

• One to one devices
• Individual student Posts

Lesson Outline:

• Part One: Introduction

• Introduce the activity to the students by explaining that they will be engaging in mini written debates about a current political event. If you have created a custom Post for students to respond to, you can pin it to their page for easy access. Now is also a good time to review any classroom norms regarding how to respectfully engage in a debate.

• Part Two: Writing

• Allow students a predetermined amount of time to respond to the Idea of their choice, or to the Idea which you previously created.
• If students have chosen an Idea from the All Things Politics Group, have them Publish their Post to that Group when they have finished writing.

• Part Three: Debate

• Have students choose two or three classmate Posts to engage in a debate with. Remind students that they will be debating by commenting on the Posts.

Enrichment/Extensions:

• Have students add audio to their post.
• Have students write about the issue from the opposite perspective.

Accommodations:

• Use the Description area when creating an Idea to provide step-by-step instructions or links to instructional references (ie skill videos, visual aids, etc).
• Use the audio tool to record instructions when creating an Idea. You can read the Idea and Idea Description text out loud so students can listen and replay them as needed.
• Modify the lesson to include small groups and be sure to follow provided personalized accommodations based upon any student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).