English Language Arts · 6th Grade

Active learning ideas

Responding to Opposing Viewpoints Orally

Active learning works for this topic because students must practice the skills of acknowledging, reasoning, and responding in real time. The activities in this hub give structured opportunities to try these skills in low-stakes settings before applying them in larger discussions.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1.c

• 20–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Structured Academic Controversy
• 40 min · Pairs

Structured Academic Controversy: Argue Both Sides

Pairs receive a debatable issue and are assigned a position to argue, regardless of their personal view. After presenting their argument, pairs switch sides and argue the opposite position. Then all four students (two pairs) drop their assigned positions and work together toward a consensus, using the strongest evidence from both sides. The debrief focuses on how hearing both sides changed their response strategies.

How do we respectfully acknowledge and address a peer's opposing viewpoint?

Facilitation Tip

During Structured Academic Controversy, assign roles that explicitly require students to summarize the opposing side before introducing their own evidence.

What to look for

Present students with a short, debatable text (e.g., a paragraph arguing for or against school uniforms). Have them discuss in small groups, ensuring each student practices acknowledging a peer's point and offering a brief rebuttal. Teacher observation checklist: Did student acknowledge peer's point? Did student offer a reason or evidence for their rebuttal? Was the tone respectful?

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Rebuttal Sentence Frames for Discussion

Students practice verbal rebuttals using three sentence frames: 'I hear your point about X, but the text shows...', 'That is a fair concern, and here is why the evidence still supports...', and 'I disagree with the conclusion, though I can see why... because...' Partners take turns making a claim and responding with one of the frames, then evaluate which frame felt most respectful and logical.

Construct a verbal rebuttal that uses evidence to counter an argument.

Facilitation Tip

For Think-Pair-Share, model how to use sentence frames by demonstrating a full exchange with a student before asking partners to practice.

What to look for

After a structured debate or discussion, ask students to write: 1. One point a classmate made that you disagreed with. 2. How you respectfully responded to that point, mentioning any evidence you used. 3. One thing you could have done differently to make your response stronger.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Fishbowl Discussion
• 35 min · Whole Class

Fishbowl Discussion: Charting Response Strategies

While an inner circle holds a discussion on a debatable text passage, the outer circle observes and categorizes each response to disagreement as: dismissing, deflecting, acknowledging and pivoting, or evidence-based rebuttal. After the fishbowl, observers share their tallies and discuss which strategy moved the conversation forward most productively.

Evaluate the effectiveness of different strategies for responding to disagreement in a discussion.

Facilitation Tip

In Fishbowl Discussion, provide a simple checklist for observers to track how often a speaker acknowledges another’s point before offering a rebuttal.

What to look for

Provide students with a hypothetical scenario where two characters disagree. Ask them to write a short dialogue (2-3 exchanges) showing one character acknowledging the other's point and then offering a reasoned rebuttal. Example scenario: Character A believes homework should be banned; Character B believes it's essential for practice.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by first modeling the difference between acknowledging and agreeing. They use sentence frames and role-play to make the moves visible. Teachers also avoid praising quick or loud responses, instead highlighting thoughtful, evidence-based ones to shift the norm in the classroom.

Successful learning looks like students who can pause to affirm a peer’s idea before introducing their own evidence. They should use phrases that show they listened, and their responses should connect directly to the claim they oppose rather than launching a new argument.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Structured Academic Controversy, watch for students who skip summarizing the opposing side because they think agreement is required.

  Pause the activity after the first round and display sentence stems like 'The opposing side argues that...' to remind students that acknowledgment is separate from agreement.

• During Think-Pair-Share: Rebuttal Sentence Frames for Discussion, watch for students who use forceful language in their rebuttals thinking it will persuade more.

  Use the fishbowl chart to highlight which rebuttals students rated as most effective, then ask the class to identify the tone and structure of those responses.

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Methods used in this brief

• Structured Academic Controversy
• Think-Pair-Share
• Fishbowl Discussion