Editor’s note: 7th-grade ELA teacher Jennifer Stahl loves to get her students up and out of their chairs as often as possible. So she has her students practice persuasive writing by creating skits. It’s totally genius! Here’s how she does it.
I wanted to give my students a creative way to practice persuasive writing using Scope’s debates. So I have them write and perform skits to defend their arguments. I like to use this activity in place of an essay as a summative or formative assessment. The activity provides a rare opportunity for students to be creative—and they really sink their teeth into it! I’m always blown away by the originality of their skits and their well-backed arguments.
What you’ll need:
- any Scope debate, such as “Would You Get a Flip Phone?” (September 2017)
- overhead projector
- props; for this example, you'll need one flip phone (surely you can dig one up somewhere!) and one smartphone
Key skills:
speaking and listening, defending an argument, text evidence
Time:
2 class periods