My Absolute Favorite Single Teaching Strategy…

…is Pop-Up Debates. The format is so simple:

• I give a prompt. E.g.:
  • What was the most interesting thing we studied in Unit 3?
  • Who is the most underrated character in the novel we just read?
• Students spend a few minutes writing about it.
• Once we start the debate:
  • Every student has to speak at least one time. (I keep track on my clipboard and call on students who haven't spoken yet if there's a lull.)
  • No student may speak more than twice (unless I say otherwise).
  • My job is to listen, to coach, and to make notes regarding what I learn about my students, their knowledge, and their skills.
• After the debate, I ask for student feedback on two questions:
  • What did we do well as a class during this Pop-Up Debate?
  • What could we do better next time?

I take what I learn and pick a new skill to teach or model during the next Pop-Up Debate.

There is nothing else that I do with students that produces as much obvious growth over the course of the school year than this simple public speaking ritual. And obviously, I'm bringing over a decade of hard-earned craftsmanship, overlapping mastery objectives, and heart to the strategy as I facilitate. But once upon a time, the simple bullet points above are all I had.

Teaching right beside you,

DSJR

P.S. Digging Deeper Into Pop-Up Debates

What follows is a list of articles I've written on Pop-Up Debates; see also Chapter 4 of These 6 Things.

• The Complete Guide to Pop-Up Debates
• Beyond the Fear of Public Speaking: Making the First Pop-Up Debate a Success for All Students
• Pop-Up Debate Problem: What Do You Do When Students Aren’t Yielding the Floor Well?
• What If a Student Has an Accommodation that Prohibits Speaking in Whole-Class Discussions?
• The Best Pop-Up Debate Prompt in My Repertoire (Valued Within Exercise)
• Tips for Starting Pop-Up Debates Well
• How to Resolve Pop-Up Debate Power Struggles Where a Student Refuses to Speak
• Pop-Up Debates as Comprehension Improvement? Apparently, Yes!
• A Pop-Up Debate for Helping Students Value Writing
• Two Very Different Pop-Up Debates on the Same Day
• 10 Tips for Motivating Students Toward Full Engagement in Pop-Up Debates
• Improving Pop-Up Debates: Better Prompts
• Improving Pop-Up Debates: Tracking the Argument
• Fulkersonian Argument: The Mixture of Debate and Discussion Toward Which Pop-Up Debates Strive