Instructional Strategy

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Human Continuum

Grade:

K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, UNIV

Type:

Discuss & Collaborate

20-30

Minutes

When:

Before and after reading

Materials:

Tape, whiteboard or display

Description

Human Continuum is a discussion strategy that asks students to form and explain an opinion about a statement or statements related to a topic. The strategy encourages flexible thinking and active listening as students listen to classmates with different opinions and consider if the points made by others cause them to adjust their thinking. Human Continuum can be used before reading to activate prior knowledge, presenting themes and issues that will be presented in the text, or after reading as a way for students to summarize and share their learning. It is best used with topics where students may have a diverse range of opinions.

Procedure

Create a horizontal line on the board or with tape on the floor.

Prepare a series of statements about the topic to be studied or related to the reading/lesson.

Explain to students that one end of the line represents the statement “Completely Agree” and the other end, “Completely Disagree.” Share that the middle represents “Neither Agree nor Disagree.”

Read one statement at a time and invite students to move to a position on the line that indicates how strongly they agree with the statement.

Once all students are in position on the line, ask them to turn and talk to share their placement on the continuum using evidence to support their opinion.

Call on a few volunteers from various positions on the line to share with the class.

Invite students whose opinions have changed to move to a new place on the line, sharing why they are doing so.

Differentiation

Limited Mobility and Space Adaptation: Create, or ask students to create, note cards or other visual representations that show a level of agreement. Suggestions include numbers zero through four or faces showing a range of emotions from sad to neutral to happy. When the question is posed, students hold up their note cards to indicate their opinion. Discussion continues as above.

Student Processing Time: Before engaging with the strategy, provide students with the list of statements that will be read. Give students time to formulate their opinions and justification, jotting notes that they can use during the activity. As an additional support, consider working with a small group, reading each statement aloud and clarifying any vocabulary that may be unfamiliar. Some students may also benefit from sentence frames to lessen the language load and provide support in the syntax used to share their opinion. For example:

I completely agree because ___.

I somewhat agree because ___.

I neither agree nor disagree because ___.

I somewhat disagree because ___.

I disagree because ___.

Point/Counterpoint: After students move to their positions on the line, invite them to turn and talk with a partner. Instead of just sharing their opinions and reasons, encourage students to also discuss the arguments someone on the opposite side of the continuum might pose. For each of those points, students should generate a counterpoint. This encourages students to think about both sides of the topic and strengthens their argumentation skills. As the class engages in the discussion, consider asking students to participate in a point/counterpoint discussion to build off each other’s ideas and promote collaborative discourse.

Variations

Pre-writing Activity: Consider using this activity before students complete a writing prompt that requires them to form an opinion, take a side, or make a decision. Encourage students to use evidence from the text to support their thinking, and to jot notes that may help them answer the question.

Debate Prep: Use this activity as an introduction to debate. Forming an opinion and finding supporting evidence is one important component of debate preparation. After completing this activity, students can then return to the text and do additional research in order to form a rebuttal to an opinion they did not agree with.

Instructional Strategy

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY

Human Continuum

Description

Procedure

Differentiation

Variations

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