Filter young teenagers' opinions and perspectives with a classic fishbowl discussion. Given any topic relevant to your curriculum, a group of class members engage in discussion for their peers to observe.

Concepts

discussion skills, group discussions, preparing for discussions, socratic discussion, debate

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Apply to a novel unit or when discussing current issues in social studies
• Use the technique with the whole class or in several small groups
• Model the discussion strategy before assigning it to class members

Classroom Considerations

• Instructions may be similar to the way classes conduct Socratic seminars
• Requires enough space in the classroom to set up two circles of chairs or desks

Pros

• Versatile for any subject or class
• Provides a step-by-step procedure guide

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.7.1.a SL.7.1.b SL.7.1.c SL.7.1.d SL.8.1.a SL.8.1.b SL.8.1.c SL.8.1.d SL.9-10.1.a SL.9-10.1.b SL.9-10.1.c SL.9-10.1.d SL.11-12.1.a SL.11-12.1.b SL.11-12.1.c SL.11-12.1.d