The Pro/Con List

Nothing beats a good list.  I have my grocery list.  I have a list of albums I want to buy (very long).  I have a list of books I want to read (just as long).  I have a list of ideas I want to try in our classroom.  I have a list of things I have to do around the house (this one is my least favorite).  Lists seem to surround me and lately I have noticed a lot of lists in our classroom.

We have been keeping a list about what we know about Flora the main character in our book Flora and Ulysses.  In one book group we have students keeping a list of what they know about Preacher and Opal.  In another book group we have students keeping a list of things they know about Pacy.  In our reading about heroes we are keeping a list as a class of the characteristics that we think heroes possess.

In class today we added one more list a pro/con list.  I love a good pro/con list.  A good pro/con list can make decisions so easy.  This week our class has been thinking about the decision of making the school year longer.  The reason we are thinking about this idea is we read an article from TweenTribune (great site for nonfiction texts) about how Governor Christie wants to make the school year longer in New Jersey.

We read this article on Monday and I asked the class the question...Why can't the governor just do what the governor wants?  This question is going to guide us throughout the next few weeks as we think about state government.

I remember when I was young I thought that governors and presidents just got to make all the laws.  I want our students to understand this is not the structure of our government.  I want them to realize that our government separates powers so that one person does not have all the power.  I want them to realize why this is a good thing.  I think the Christie article is perfect to help students understand this principle.

Now back to our pro/con list.  After reading a few more texts about extending the school year, I asked the students to create a pro/con list about the topic.  The list was amazing.  On the pro side students listed that more school would better prepare them for college or a career, more school could help them compete with other students from other countries around the world, and that more school could help students retain information instead of losing the information they learned over a long summer break.  On the con side the class listed that lengthening the school year would allow for less time with family, less time to travel, less time for the brain to rest after a long school year, and many other wonderful ideas.

Then in groups the students looked at the pro/con list and thought about what they were going to claim.  Most of the students stuck with their original claim of not wanting to change the school year, but I did have a few students change their original claim and say that we should extend the school year.  Tomorrow we are going to use the pro/con list we made to add evidence to our claims.  Then students are going to stand and deliver their claim to the class.  I will fill you in on that tomorrow.

I hope you are having a great week and that your lists of things to do is not too long.