Ebola? Ferguson? Immigration? Too Hot to Handle or Great Learning Opportunities?

In light of recent events there seems to be no better time to teach children how to practice civil discourse and listen to and understand other perspectives.   However, it is often easy/wiser (and in fact sometimes even mandated) to avoid polarizing and emotional topics in the classroom.  So, how do we teach kids about them?  OR what do we teach kids about them?

It is difficult for any of us to get a clear understanding of what is going on through the filter and sound bites of the media.  One thing that has become clear (and is a lesson in itself) is that violence does nothing to solve problems and in the case of Ferguson, only clouds the issues or polarizes people even more.  The lesson that we want our children to understand can be taken right from the common core – to be able to develop arguments backed by facts and evidence.  We want to teach our kids how to think, not what to think.

Critical Thinking

Our children need to see that clear thinking is the only pathway to a solution to these complex problems and that there are ways to promote that clear thinking.  Once again, the simple critical thinking strategy SCAN (based on asking the right questions) can help you get kids to take apart complex issues, clarify them and create solutions.  A powerful way to get our children to practice civil discourse!

It doesn't matter whether you use the 4 step SCAN strategy to look at very tough emotional-ridden events like those in Ferguson (or desegregating schools from a historical perspective) or use it on simple situation like having cell phones in school (or should we be allowed to wear hats?) – The important thing is that we teach the kids (and adults for that matter) a way to deal with complex situations using a formula that helps them see different perspectives, weigh them and create solutions.

The SCAN tool (housed on the TregoED site) is an online discussion tool that has the SCAN strategy built in.  The advantage of using this tool, rather than just asking the questions in class are many:  kids find it engaging, roles and perspectives are built in, students use screen names, all students contribute, etc. Students read a scenario (write your own or use one from the library), select a point of view and discuss it guided by the questions that make up the four steps of SCAN.

Some typical SCAN lessons in our library:

Who owns Egyptian Artifacts?

Cyberbullying

Senior Pranks:  Crime or Tradition?

Cell Phones in School

Should there be zoos?
Should we all get trophies?

Who gets the Ebola Vaccine? (NEW!)- Have your students look at the perspectives of  ethicists, scientists, health care workers and vaccine makers and discuss how the Ebola Vaccine should be tested and distributed.

Write your own!

In addition, you can write your own lessons to meet the needs of your class.  Some hot topics in the media right now that are perfect for SCAN lessons:

Should kids be punished for parent’s behavior?  Parent’s brawl cancels children’s football championships. 

Should students have to do school at home on snow days?  Using technology at home can replace lessons in school.

Supreme Court tests the limits of free speech on social media.  Can you land in jail for something you said on Facebook?

Should we regulate E-cigarettes?  Should the same rules apply as regular cigarettes?

Who owns fashion?  Can you copy designs?

Should all Kids get a trophy? 

Are websites liable for user’s comments?

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that you may be able to avoid topics that you are uncomfortable with in the classroom, but you should never avoid the opportunity to demonstrate that clear thinking- seeing other perspectives, clarifying issues, evaluating importance and creating solutions- is a skill that can be learned and transferred to any problem.  

How old is too old? Writing and Resources on Term Limits

Today’s headlines touted that Senator Lautenberg, 89, the oldest member of the US Senate has decided not to run for reelection.  Really, at 89?  The Pope stepped down last week, at age 85, because he thought he might not have the stamina to do the job.   Suffice it to say that neither Congress nor the Vatican have term limits.  Should they?  I remember the minute I stepped into my classroom at the Middle School at the ripe old age of 23, the kids look at me as if I was old!  Now, the staff does.  I know that when budget time calls for RIF’s, some of our younger teachers would love to see term limits!  I have to say that the latter half of your career is prime time for learning and implementing new ideas.  There is something to be said for knowing the nuts and bolts of the job so you can spend your time finessing your skills and learning new ones.  But I digress….

The Term Limit Debate

When our Constitution was first written, there was no mention of term limits.  The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, restricted Presidential terms to a maximum of two terms.   Only one President, Roosevelt, served more than two terms.  

History, Civics, Language Arts and the Common Core

President’s Day is a great time to look at the debate on term limits.  The Common Core standards call for students to examine multiple perspectives and analyze points of view.  Why not have students analyze evidence (pros and cons) from multiple texts and synthesize their own thoughts on term limits?  Seems like a great way to integrate social studies and language arts while developing key critical thinking skills.

Start your students with this recent Gallop Poll  or article from USA Today that states that most Americans would like see term limits.  Have your students read about the pros and cons of term limits from various sources, write an argumentative essay, blog or speech and then finish by having them take a poll using one of several simple polling tools available online.  

Resources:

Your students can look at some of these resources for different perspectives:

Pros and Cons of term limits by debate.org

 Do you believe in Term Limits? Political Debates and Polls

Debate:  Term Limits for Elected Representatives  from Debatepedia

The Term Limit Debate from About.com

Give them a strategy

Just like a graphic organizer helps your students organize their writing, critical thinking strategies can help them organize their thinking.  Looking at term limits from different perspectives gives students the opportunity to practice SCAN:

See the issues:  What are the important issues, both pro and con from your perspective?

Clarify the issues:  What do you mean by…..?

Ask what’s most important:  Which issues are most important in terms of seriousness or urgency?

Now, what should be done? :  What do you think is the best solution to resolve the issues?  Remind students that solutions do not always have to be pro or con, they can be hybrids of the best ideas suggested.  The SCAN tool and resources at TregoED.org can help you get them started.

Extensions

As we celebrate President’s Day having students practice good citizenship by participating in civil discourse around an authentic issue is a great way to get integrate civics and argumentative writing.  Check out Teachers’ Hub to find more Presidential Writing Prompts and Top 12 President Day Activities

5 Great Resources that ask: Should Students Give Up their (Video) guns?

5 Great Resources that ask:  Should students give up their (video) guns? 

In response to the violence in his hometown, twelve year old Max Goldstein, urged his classmates to toss out their violent video games.  He started a movement called “played out” and urged his peers to “put down their guns” or turn the games in for store credit, similar to the real gun buyback programs that were going on in his town.  This brings the debate right to our students’ level. 

If, in fact, as Annie Murphy Paul states “arguing is the best way to learn,” this debate is sure to get kids thinking and engaged in a relevant topic that directly affects them.

Do you think that violent video games have influenced teens to become more violent?  What should be done about violent video games?

Common Core Standards come alive

There are some great resources that point out the pros and cons of this debate and will enable your students to “make a claim and support it with evidence, as well as evaluate the arguments of others” hitting right on Core Content Standards.  Give them the opportunity to read these informational texts to develop arguments of their own.

You can start with this youtube news video of Max Goldstein and his campaign to get his friends to throw out their games. 

Researching the Pros and Cons

Video games ProCon gives students great statistics and facts that can support arguments for and against on whether video games promote teen violence. 

The International Debate Education Association also provides arguments on whether video games should be outlawed or controlled. 

At readwrite.com you will find five basic facts that can be used to support arguments on whether violent video games really cause violent behavior.

A more scholarly approach can be found in the article by the American Psychological Association “Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions”.

All of these resources can be used to help your students think critically about a topic and develop their own arguments.  To help students see other perspectives to develop and deepen their argument, you can assign them one of the built in perspectives- student, parent, game maker or lawmaker- in the free SCAN lesson “Video Games and Youth Violence.”  The SCAN tool will help them develop their arguments by listing issues, clarifying, assessing, and collaborating to come up with a plan of what should be done. 

Gun control is a hot topic that many teachers will avoid.  Focusing on the guns that most students have held in their hands via video games gives them a change to think critically and write argumentatively.

Simple Tools for Argumentative Writing

Whew!  I'm back from 10 days with no power or heat and a road trip to Oregon.   I often hit the road to help teachers and students integrate technology in a way that makes sense.  Technology should not be layered on top of what teachers do, it should be used as a tool to make what we do better.  In the case of collaborative technology, we are increasing student engagement and participating in the lesson and giving them an authentic audience.  Being digital natives, students instinctively “figure it out” while many educators fear that “figuring it out” will take precious planning time.  The truth is that many simple tools take very little time for teachers to set up and even less time to get students started in them.  In fact, using these tools can make a teacher’s life easier as student engagement takes the place of student management and working online saves time at the copy machine! 

While at the recent AMLE conference, I got a lot of great information on what needs to be done in the classroom in order to meet the new Common Core State Standards.  What I heard emphasized was a shift from persuasive writing (emotion based) to argumentative writing where students need to be able to make a claim, recognize and acknowledge opposing claims, and use credible sources to support their claims.   In my own house, this would translate from “Mom, I need the new iPad because you have always been the coolest mom with the coolest stuff and I need to maintain that image for our family” to "Mom, I need the new iPad because I will be able to do the following:  access over 100 free educational apps, keep all my notes from school organized and in one place, and store over 100 books on it.”  The common core is moving students to argumentation because it relies on more “substantial reasoning” based on logic and evidence and therefore has increased rigor (not the dead kind).

Simple Tools for Complex Learning

 It seems to me that there are a number of simple online tools where students can practice these skills without increasing the physical amount of work (in pounds) or time that it takes to set up, implement and assess.  Catlin Tucker, an expert in the blended classroom and  integrating technology in the Language Arts classroom wrote a great blog “Common Core Standards and Argument Writing” which includes great ways to use Collaborize Classroom, YouTube, Google Docs, and  Ted Talks in the classroom to get this done. She includes great screen shots and easy to follow examples to help teachers see the value of using these simple tools.

The SCAN tool found at TregoED is another simple tool that requires minimal set up and implementation in the classroom.  Scan features a library full of scenarios that include four different points of view.  Students go to a private url to participate in a guided online discussion following the four steps of SCAN (Stop and think – what are the issues?, Clarify the issues, Ask what’s most important, and Now, what should be done).  Along the way, students are asked to support their claims, acknowledge other points of view, and collaborate to solve the problem.  This is precisely what the common core is asking us to teach our students.  SCAN offers free timely lessons for teachers in all content areas.  With a cheap subscription ($45/teacher/year – unlimited use) teachers can write their own lessons to address particular needs of their students or curriculum.  Better yet, they can have their students research different perspectives and evidence in a highly engaging topic (such as the death penalty) and post their own SCAN Lesson!  Students can then share their SCAN session with teachers all over the world.  Relevant argument writing with an engaging tool and an authentic audience – doesn’t get any better.

What tools are you using to reach the core?