Students’ age range: 06-08
Main subject: Language arts and literature
Topic: Is it ever okay to lie and steal?
Description: Set the purpose: Form an opinion and supply evidence to address the question: Is it ever okay to lie and steal?
Demonstrate listening behaviors (track the speaker, don’t interrupt, use a friendly facial expression).
Demonstrate discussion behaviors, and remind students of sentence frames we have been using. (For example, I agree/disagree with ____ because ____. I would like to add on to ____’s idea ____. Can you tell us more about your idea?)
Guide and Scaffold: Questions to ask
Central question: The heroes in these two fairytales lied and stole. Is it ever okay to lie and steal? Why or why not?
Are there times when rules should be broken?
Is a good intention enough?
However, if a misconception arises that they can’t resolve on their own, focusing questions will be asked to come to an understanding of the concept or idea.
the moderators for this discussion. A list of possible clarifying questions will be provided to ask when needed. the moderators will keep time (5 minutes per circle session) until all students have participated in the inner circle. I will sit with the outer circle to encourage student leadership of this discussion and listen and watch for any students who are having difficulty in explaining
Moderators will summarize the fishbowl discussion at the end and provide a list of points, pro and con, that were discussed.
Closure: I will then review the learning intention and success criteria for the lesson, and move students back to their tables for independent writing.