Students produce assertions on slips of
paper and “stock” the classroom Assertion Jar. As a daily or occasional
activity, students practice refutation skills by pulling an assertion from the
jar and refuting it either orally or in writing. Appropriate as a writing prompt or journal activity.
Materials
- Large
glass jar or plastic container, such as a pickle jar.
- Scissors
and paper for students.
Procedure
- Begin
the exercise by reviewing ARE argument construction and Four-Step Refutation
with the class.
- Ask
each student to take out paper and pencil. Explain that they will be helping to
stock the classroom “Assertion Jar.” Tell them that they should try to come up
with 5-10 (depending on age and skill level) assertions that will be approved
and cut up into folded slips to be placed in the jar.
- Tell
students that they will be asked to draw randomly from the jar on a regular
basis for refutation practice, so it is not in their interest to produce
assertions that are too difficult to refute (“The sky is blue,” for example).
- Give
students 5-10 minutes to write out their assertions. Review them before giving
permission to cut up for placement in the jar.
- When
you review the assertions, don’t use too heavy of a hand on spelling and grammar;
this is to be a fun exercise. Do suggest corrections when the assertion is
illegible or incoherent, and encourage students to rewrite when appropriate.
- Pass
the stocked jar around and ask each student to draw out an assertion.
- Ask
students to take a minute to write out their Four-Step Refutation, and then go
around the class while students stand and present their refutations.
Optional
Follow-on Activities
- If
you use journals in the classroom, refutation practice makes a good daily
journal entry, especially as a classroom routine so that students know to draw
an assertion out of the jar on the way into the classroom. It’s a nice change
from the shared daily writing prompt, and students enjoy the participatory
aspect of the jar.
- Don’t
forget to re-stock the jar when it’s empty!