Resource 14: Activity Examples: Morality on the Spot and Expert Shares

In the real world, presentations are often spontaneous in nature, with limited preparation in high-stakes situations. Mixing short spontaneous presentation opportunities with more formal presentation assignments can help students become more comfortable with the discomfort of spontaneous speaking. Discussions and conversations should also be framed as a form of spontaneous speaking, since they require students to give immediate reactions to prompts and questions. Assessing spontaneous speaking should mostly be based on student self-assessment, where they reflect on their performance and what they need to improve. Aside from self-assessment, provide students with timely, bite-sized feedback on spontaneous speaking (either from peers or a teacher or coach), rather than a major grade.

What is the purpose of these activities?

1. Students practice presenting, questioning, responding, and summarizing ideas without preparation. Students also practice speaking about their interests, strengths, and opinions.
2. These activities can be done in small groups for a faster, more low-stakes version, but can also become more high-stakes presentations when done for the entire group.

How do these assignments connect to Common Core Speaking & Listening Standards?

• Regardless of grade level, the anchor standards for “Comprehension and Collaboration” require students of all ages to “prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.” (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1). This includes situations where students have limited time to prepare themselves.
• Anchor standards for all ages also require students to “adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.” (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.6) Spontaneous speaking skills are also involved in adapting to different audiences on the spot.
• Starting in Grade 1, the anchor standards for “Comprehension and Collaboration” require students to be able to build on others' talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1.B).
• Starting in Grade 2, the anchor standards for “Comprehension and Collaboration” require students to be able to build on others' talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.1.B).
• Starting in Grade 4, students need to be able to review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.(CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1.D).
• Starting in Grade 8, students need to engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, building on other’s ideas and expressing their own clearly (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1).
• In Grades 11 and 12, students need to propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.1.C).

What do these assignments look like?

Morality on the Spot: Students get into groups of 4. Give each group 4 index cards, labeled with different roles, “Presenter”, “Clarifier”, “Elaborator”, and “Devil’s Advocate”. Students draw a card to decide what role they will be taking in a short 5-10 minute conversation about a moral issue. Give each group an index card, which includes a controversial question on an issue of morality that will be the focus of their conversation (these cards can be created by the teacher initially, but can later be generated by students once they get the hang of the routine). Note: the choice of topics is one of the most important pieces for teachers to prepare -- see the list of “Morality on the Spot Question Prompts” at the end of this resource. More detail on each role includes:

• Presenter: This person kicks off the conversation by introducing the issue along with an initial opinion with reasoning. They offer opinions throughout the conversation and also bring the conversation to an end by summarizing what was covered after time is up.
• Devil’s Advocate: This person offers opposing points of view or “what if” situations that provide a different perspective on the issue. They don’t have to necessarily debate the presenter, but instead be the person to push everyone’s thinking.
• Clarifier: This person asks for clarity throughout the conversation, asking for definitions and for detail about what people mean by their points or questions.
• Elaborator: This person adds to the ideas of any of the other students, building on their questions, opinions, or challenges. This role does not have to take their own stance.

Expert Shares: This activity is a grown-up version of show-and-tell, asking students to share their areas of expertise, talent, strengths, interests, and experiences. For an easy version, students can get into groups of 4; for a harder version, this can be done with the entire class. To get everyone started, the teacher provides a prompt related to expertise, like the following:

• My special talent is….
• When I was a child, I was interested in...
• I felt proud when...
• I feel like I lose track of time when I….
• My favorite hobby is...
• In school, I became interested in ____ when...
• One of the hardest moments I’ve faced lately is….
• My superpower is...
• People turn to me for…
• I am good at...

Please note that students often struggle with saying that they are good at something, especially as they get older. When introducing the activity, discuss why it is hard to talk about yourself and why it is difficult to remember your personal strengths and interests. Discuss why it is still worth it to develop this skill, including needing to write about strengths in personal statements and talk about them in job interviews and networking situations.

For the activity itself, spend 5-10 minutes having someone share a story related to the prompt. Afterwards, everyone else can choose to either ask questions or relate to the story with their own personal experience connected to the initial story, which can then roll into a conversation. This activity can be repeated as a routine over time and can also be linked as a warm up for larger projects, like personal statements or personal essays.