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| 3/15/2010 |  | |||||
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Gun Control
This unit should take 3-4 hours, depending on time, interest, and extension activities. It is designed for advanced level students age 14 and above. Objectives Students will: Materials to Print Activities Activity I: Pre-reading (15 minutes) Hand out copies of Printout I. Ask students to go through the list and circle the words they don't know. Go through the list as a class, asking for definitions. Write the words on the board that the class does not recognize. Assign one or two of these words to pairs of students and give them three minutes to find a definition or explanation for each word. For instance, "assassination, when somebody kills a politician." One partner should write the definition on the board as the other reads it aloud to the class. Correct any definition that is not quite right. Activity II: Free Write about Gun Control (15 minutes) Ask students to guess what the lesson is about based on the vocabulary they have just learned. Once they finish making suggestions, confirm that the topic of the lesson is gun control in America. Ask them to write about what they have heard about guns in America. Make a list of their observations on the board and discuss what stereotypes are and whether or not they believe them. Activity III: Discussion of Bill of Rights (20-30 minutes) Hand out copies of Printout II and ask students to take turns reading one paragraph aloud to the class. At the end of each paragraph, ask students to paraphrase or give examples that explain the general meaning. Once you have read the handout as a class, break students into groups of four or five and ask them to discuss their opinions about the Second Amendment and their pre-conceptions about gun violence in the U.S. Ask each group to report back to the class about the content of their discussion. Activity IV: Reading (15 minutes) Hand out copies of Printout III. Ask students to read the passage aloud or silently, stopping to ask questions as needed. When they finish, have them answer the questions and then compare answers in small groups. Activity V: Questions and Discussion (15 minutes) Ask again the last question from Printout III: "What is the best method for stopping gun violence?" Ask them to share their opinions with the class. Encourage them to ask each other questions about gun control. You can also suggest options based on the reading (no restriction on guns, a total ban on guns, a limit of one registered gun per family, safety locks, etc.). If you would like to expand the discussion, ask them about their personal experience with guns or their additional knowledge about the gun control issue. (Have they ever gone hunting? Do their families own guns? What is your opinion of guns? Do violent movies encourage violence? What about violent video games?) Ask students to take notes on the discussion so that they can use the information in Activity VII. Activity VI: Debate Research (30 minutes) Tell students they will debate the gun control issue. Assign half the class to defending the right to bear arms and the other half to arguing for the restriction of individual ownership of firearms. Ask students to research the issue on the Internet (for homework). They can use the following sites or find their own: Handguncontrol.org, Guncite, and/or News on Guns. If this is not possible, ask them to use information from Activity V. Activity VII: Gun Control Debate (20-30 minutes) Once they have researched the issue, ask each team to discuss its argument. Tell them to come up with an introduction to their argument outlining three main points. They should know exactly what they are arguing for or against and have facts and examples to support their assertions. In the debate, give each team ten minutes to make their argument, five minutes for question and answer, and ten minutes for each team to rebut the opposition's argument. Activity VIII: Persuasive Essay (40 minutes - 2 days) Now that students have argued the issue, give them the opportunity to express their personal opinions on gun control. Ask students to write a persuasive essay with an introduction that clearly states an opinion and at least three reasons to support that opinion. This essay can fit the traditional five-paragraph form that contains an introductory paragraph, three main points and a concluding paragraph. |