Are you like me and love 4 corners? It is a great activity to get students up and moving around. It is also great to spark some brief conversations. However, sometimes it is nice to take those conversations a little bit further and delve deeper into a topic. Especially with our upper-level students who need a little more challenge in their activities and communication.
That is where Four Corners Debate comes in. The activity starts out like 4 corners but then turns into a debate where students try to persuade each other to change corners.
How does it work?
Create signage for the corners of your room (read on to get the free signage for your classroom). Place each sign in the corners of your classroom so students can see them (I like to hang mine from the ceiling with fishing line). Decide on a debate topic. This can be something you are currently working on or just a random topic students are familiar with.
Present the statement to the class. Students will take a stance on it and move to their corner of choice. Some good statements might be:
- Deaf people have access to communication.
- Deaf people are better communicators than hearing people.
- Deaf people are better drivers than hearing people.
Topics can also be about the world and current events.
- Everyone has access to nutritious foods in the United States.
- Climate change should be a top priority for this country.
- Products we purchase should come from the United States.
Other topics can be things students make a connection with:
- Students should wear uniforms to school.
- Homework should be banned in schools in the United States.
- Students under the age of 18 should get to get a tattoo without parental consent.
Whatever topic you choose to go with, pose the statement to the class then allow them a few minutes to process their answer. After a few minutes have passed, have students move to a corner they feel best describes their opinion about the topic. Hopefully, you have students in each corner represented.
They are in the corner, now what?
Appoint one student in each corner to be the “boss”, and give students 5-10 minutes to discuss with the other students in their corner the reasons they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the topic. The boss should take notes.
After the time is up, ask one student from each group to share with the class some of the ideas they discussed. If you find students are not providing enough information, ask a few more from each corner.
After all the discussions are over, ask students if anyone changed their minds after seeing the different opinions shared. If so, direct them to change corners.
Provide 5-10 more minutes for students to continue their group discussions. Everyone should take notes here so they can use the information to create a short video after the discussion. The video should state the student’s position on the issue. Encourage students to include in their video the four strongest points supporting their position on the discussion topic.
Alternative Ideas
- Have students come up with the topic and debate it once a week
- Use the four-corner strategy over a span of time discussing 4 – 5 topics, at the end students choose one they most connected with and create a video explaining why.
- Watch the videos in class and have students sit, translate, rotate.
I hope you use this in your class soon and it sparks interest in your students. Have fun!
Get your FREE 4 Corner signage here!
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