LINES OF COMMUNICATION Teaching Strategy

Lines of Communication teaching strategy is one of my favorites! It gets the students out of their seats and most importantly communicating with their classmates. Follow the easy instructions below to implement this fun activity into your classroom.

1. Have students get into two lines. Each student faces another student. You may want to consider having the students go outside since you will need a lot of space.
2. Next, have students discuss important ideas, debate a topic, or review the main ideas from a lesson.
3. Once both partners have shared, have one line move in the same direction to the next student and repeat the process. Below are some ideas I use in my classroom.

I have my Civics students debate the death penalty after they read this informational text.

Death Penalty

In my World History class, I have my students learn about the Enlightenment Philosophers and discuss the question: Which Philosopher was the most significant in the development of democracy and why?

Enlightenment Philosophers

In my U.S. History class, my students have a blast debating the question, "Who started the Cold War?" before or after they write a DBQ.

Who Started the Cold War?

And, in my Psychology class, my students discuss the different theories of Personality after completing this graphic organizer:

Theories of Personality

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Happy Teaching,
Chalk Dust Diva

PHILOSOPHICAL CHAIRS Teaching Strategy

Philosophical Chairs is an engaging teaching strategy to get students to think about their beliefs on important topics and to be able to discuss and share their ideas. It allows students to critically think, verbally ponder, and logically write their beliefs on a variety of ethical issues and topics.

Below are the steps to implement Philosophical Chairs in the classroom:

STEP 1: Create signs to hang in the classroom: Totally Agree, Agree, Disagree, Totally Disagree. Hang one sign in each corner of the classroom.

STEP 2: First students need to learn about a specific topic. The teacher may wish to use direct instruction, show a film clip, or assign a reading, newspaper article, short story, etc.

STEP 3: The teacher will then present a statement or high-level question that may provoke thought and discussion. Some examples I use in my social studies classroom may include:

* U.S. History: President Truman was justified in dropping the atomic bomb on Japan.
* World History: After reading excerpts from Leviathan by Hobbes. "People cannot be trusted to govern"
* Civics: After reading "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau, "The government is best which governs least".

STEP 4: Give students a few minutes to think about their opinion related to the question. You may have students write their opinion on a piece of paper.

STEP 5: Tell students to move to the corner of the room that has the sign that matches their opinion: Totally Agree, Agree, Disagree, Totally Disagree. Tell students to they may be called upon to share their opinion with the class. You might want to have students discuss their opinions with the people they are standing next to so they can practice their response.  Tell students they can also change their opinion at any time and move to a different corner of the room. * To simplify this strategy simply remove the Totally Agree and Totally Disagree signs and have them move to either one side of the room or the other.

STEP 6: Ask volunteers to share their opinions. If no student volunteers, then call on students randomly to share their answers. You can use a simple rubric to assess their responses or give extra credit points.

STEP 7: At the end of this activity you may want to give your students a formative assessment. Some questions you may want to include:
1. What is your final opinion? Explain your reasoning in detail.
2. What were at least two opinions that are opposite of yours? What made you disagree with these opinions?
3. Are there still questions you may have about this topic?

STEP 8: Before beginning this activity you may want to review the following rules of engagement and post them on the board.

1. No talking while someone else is speaking.
2. Have an open mind and try to understand the person's point of view.
3. Explain your opinion and reasoning using academic language.
4. Respond to opinions only, not the personality of the person.

I would love to hear how you conduct this strategy in your classroom. Comment below!

Happy Teaching!

FOUR CORNERS Teaching Strategy

Are you looking for fun and engaging ways to implement discussion in your classroom? One strategy that never fails is "Four Corners".

Below are the steps to teach the "Four Corners DISCUSSION" teaching  strategy:

STEP 1: The teacher posts questions, quotations, photos, etc. in each of the corners of the room.

STEP 2: The teacher assigns each student to a corner… or students choose.

STEP 3: Once in the corner, the students discuss the focus of the lesson in relation to the question, quote, etc…

 • At this time, students may report out or move to another corner and repeat the process…

STEP 4: After students have moved… as a writing assignment, they should be encouraged to reflect on changes in opinion or new learning.

Below are the steps to teach the "Four Corners OPINION" teaching  strategy:

STEP 1: Post opinions about a scenario in four corners of the classroom. Examples would include: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree

STEP 2: Present the controversial scenario to your students.

STEP 3: Students express their opinion about the scenario by standing in front of one of four corners with students of the same opinion.

STEP 4: Call on student volunteers or ask random students to share their opinion. Tell students that if they choose, they may change their opinion at any time and move to another corner.

If you decide to try this strategy, I would love to find out how it goes!

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Happy Teaching!

FINAL WORD Teaching Strategy

This student-centered activity will get your students talking! The Final Word teaching strategy is a great way for your students to practice expressing their opinions as well as practice listening skills. It can be used for any subject, grade level, and topic. Check-out the steps below to implement this fun strategy in your classroom tomorrow!

STEP 1: Divide the class into groups of four.
STEP 2: Give each group a controversial statement or question.
STEP 3: Students prepare their arguments prior to the activity.
STEP 4: Students create a quad chart and label each square A, B, C, D and assign each student a letter.
STEP 5: Student A talks for one minute about their prepared arguments while students B, C, D take notes and creates questions.
STEP 6: Student B then has a minute to discuss, ask questions, and make comments about what student A said. Students C and D will do the same.
STEP 7: Student A then states their "final word" answering questions and restating their arguments.
STEP 8: Continue the process for students B, C, and D.

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Happy Teaching!