Milcia CO #2

On September 13, I observed Ms. Calyn Stringer’s Speaking class. Before the class began, she went over two announcements. In her announcements she used the phrase: “I want to tell you this so that it’s on your radar,” and asked them if she knew what that meant. She then went on to explain what it meant and used planes and radars as an example. She also mentioned resources that she had posted online for students for one of their assignments.

After going over the announcements, she told the class that they had to get ready for their debate. Students had 10 minutes to get into teams and make sure that they knew their argument and what they are going to be talking about. Their debate was on video game violence and each team took one of two sides: limiting regulation of violence in games or increasing restriction of children having access to these games. In groups they designated roles and sections that they would each focus on. The teacher wrote the order of the teams and speakers on the board for students to reference and also put time limits. She told them they could notes but cannot read them the entire time as they would be graded on pronunciation, grammar and the viability of argument

Students were able to create arguments and cite references such as Time and BBC and used recent news to highlight points in their arguments. Students used transition words such as “moreover” and” in addition.” After presenting their arguments, students had 2 minutes to prepare a rebuttal.

While the students paused or said “um” a few times, they were able to debate with one another and not rely on the teacher for guidance. They were able to listen and create arguments to refute with. Overall, the students seemed to enjoy this activity and had great communication with each other and a good grasp on what it means to debate.