Wednesday, 22 January 2014

persuasive debate, google drive, collaboration


As a next step in all things persuasive, (persuasive toy commercials in Dec.) my students work on preparing a persuasive debate.  Student partners received a pre-written debate card and possible phrases to support them in their preparation.  Partners were asked to decide who would argue con and pro.  They were also reminded of the persuasive techniques used in their commercials and were given a list of powerful words. Jody was in and introduced students to having multiple writers work on the same document and the chat function while you’re working (using Google Drive).  Students applied this to the debate preparation and the results were amazing.  Although students weren't required to write out their debates (they were allowed to prepare orally), most partner groups chose to use Google Drive.  I sat back and watched (that’s right, I left them alone) and before long students were chatting about ideas for their partner to use, and creating and collaborating to ensure that both partners were ready.  The use of Google Drive fostered collaboration to a new level in my classroom.  One student even remarked on how their partner helped them to focus on sentence structure and punctuation.  It was great!

When it came time to present their debates students were very engaged and excited.  Student presented in front of the class with an Ipad in their hands.  One step closer to a paperless classroom.

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