Learning Experience/Unit
School Uniforms: Debating the Issue and Creating an Advertisement by St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES
Subject
English Language Arts (2005), English Language Arts (NYS P-12 Common Core)
Grade Levels
Intermediate, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade
Assessment
Students will be assessed using two rubrics, one for the debate itself and the other for their T.V. commercial.
Learning Context/ Introduction
How would you like to wear a uniform to school? Many school districts are looking for a way to unite their schools and create consistent standards. Because of this, the topic of school uniforms has risen.
In this learning experience, students will be part of a team which has been formed to review all sides of the uniform issue. They will defend their team's position in a debate and present their findings in the form of a TV commercial.
Duration
10 class days
Timeline
Essential Question
Should schools require students to wear uniforms to school? Why or why not?
Instructional/Environment Modifications
Our classroom is equipped with 4 student computer stations.
Procedure
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An explanation of the term "debate" was given. Students were provided with a list of common debate topics. The article, "Battle over the Pledge: Should the Pledge of Allegiance be Banned from Public Schools?" from the Weekly Reader, November 11, 2005 issue was read aloud, discussed and argued as a class.
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Students brainstormed ideas that could be debated. We chose the school uniforms topic because it could be easily debated by the students. They had a great deal of prior knowledge regarding this topic and the few who did not were placed with those who did.
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The class of 16 students was split into two groups, one on the affirmative, the other the negative of our "easy" debate topic.
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Students were taught the basic format of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate. They presented an informal debate following the above format on our "easy" topic. We discussed the process and clarified any doubts.
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The students were then given a handout describing the specifics of their assignment, the school uniform debate and T.V. commercial regarding their position on the topic (These first steps were done in one 40-minute period).
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They were split into 4 groups, two affirmative and two negative. Students were expected to choose a team captain, research, organize information, plan, participate in the classroom debate and maintain self-discipline. Students were asked to be sure that each student participated in the presentation of their team's constructive debate points. They were given specific expectations and a list of questions to consider regarding the topic. As well as an article entitled, "Custom-made Fit for School: Dress Codes, Student Uniforms Back in Style" by Amy Cox, a reporter from CNN, to use as a springboard for research. They had 60 minutes to research their position.
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On the day of the debate, one affirmative team debated one negative team. The remaining teams were not present during the first debate in order to ensure the quality of work done by each individual group. Both debates were video recorded and completed during two 40-minute class periods (I reorganized my schedule this day so that both groups were able to debate back-to-back).
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The following class day, we reviewed the video tapes and discussed their performances.
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Students were then given the instructions for the commercial. They would be working on the same team. Their commercial should have been a minimum of 30-60 seconds, and merely state/support their team's position on the issue of school uniforms.
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Teams were given 30 minutes to create the idea for their commercial using a storyboard, one 40-minute period to record the commercial using digital cameras, and two 40-minute periods to edit the commercial.
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Students were instructed on the basics of the movie editing software during one 40-minute period.
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The following day students created storyboards and prepared to film their commercial.
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Students then spent the next three days recording and editing their commercial.
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At this point, the teams presented to the class their finished commercial and were scored using the rubric below.
Reflections and Feedback
One team was given extended time. Their original storyboard needed to be redone because it was too graphic. The entire class loved this activity, and put a lot of energy into it. As an educator, I learned a lot and had a lot of fun, also!
Student Work
The links at the end of the learning experience will lead you to the student samples:
Resources
The following handouts were used in this learning experience:
