Tuesday, 30 October 2007

Year 5 Non-fiction - The Devil's Advocate



We are going to learning how to write discursive essays - essays where you discuss two or more sides of an argument.

Some children find this hard, because they only want to argue for what they believe in. The game 'The Devil's Advocate' can help you learn to see both sides!

In class, we made arguments for statements that were plainly wrong, such as 'Boys are much more clever girls.' We had five minutes to construct an argument that supported these incorrect statements.

Your homework: Think of a statement that is clearly wrong, e.g. 'Children should eat McDonalds every night.' Brainstorm some ideas to support that argument, and then write 1/2 side of your book, making your case in full sentences, or as a bullet point list.

The cleverest people can make strong arguments for any idea - even one they may personally disagree with!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

No-one should eat Macdonalds every night, they would be unhealthy!