If you are looking for a really great expressive communication activity, this is it. I use this activity with upper-level students but it can certainly be adjusted to use with your novice-level learners too.
I first learned about Debate Carousel from Lisa Shepard while I was attending an online conference. I loved the idea of the Debate Carousel because it allows students time to think and process what they want to say, it gives students the opportunity to communicate with others in the class in a non-intimidating way, and depending on the prompt requires higher-level thinking skills to support student’s ideas.
When can I use Debate Carousel?
You can use this activity with any text. It is versatile and easy to set up.
- a children’s story
- a movie talk or clip chat
- a picture talk
- any cultural text
- a news segment
- a co-created story
What is Debate Carousel?
Debate Carousel is an activity that requires students to share their opinions with others. Students will see a prompt and respond to it by providing their opinion. The first students start off by responding and placing their work in box #1. Responses are in the target language. The document is then passed to a second person who will support the ideas of person #1. The document is passed to a third person who will provide an opposing viewpoint to responses #1 and #2. Lastly, the fourth person will view the 3 responses and add any thoughts that come to their mind. Basically, they will give their “two cents.”
After the 4 boxes have been completed, the document goes back to the original person. The students will view all of the responses and process the information. Then students will create a statement expressing if their opinion has changed or stayed the same.
You can click here to get a free template that goes with Extreme Home Makeover: Oregon School for the Deaf.
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