It Ain't Over!

Keeping students engaged right up to the bittersweet end!

Like most years, my students seem to believe that the learning ends in my classroom about a week before the end of classes arrives. Sadly (but fortunately!) for them, this is definitely not the case. I am most assuredly a "to the last drop" kind of teacher when it comes to using all of the instructional time.

This year, I had two lessons left over after our final unit. Even trickier? These are 9th grade students. In Sweden, compulsory school ends after year 9, so these students are moving on to high school with all new curriculums and teachers. Not only that, but they truly are "skoltrött" ("School Tired") and have exhausted the majority of their mental bandwidth for the year.

This called for creativity! In compulsory school English, the main objective is to get students feeling comfortable with the English language - what are the rules? How do I express myself? As they go forward into high school, they will start using their English more strategically. To prepare them for this, I decided to pick up where their Swedish lessons left off with an extension lesson on persuasion and working with ethos, pathos, and logos.

I know what you're thinking. "How exactly is this a fun end of the year task?" I have two words for you:

1. Competition.

2. Prizes.

Nothing perked my students up more than uttering those 2 words as I explained the project!

Here's what we did:

Objectives:

• To give students the opportunity to practice spontaneous and prepared oral communication in a structured, time-limited environment (90-second pitches).

• To teach students how to use rhetorical strategies (Ethos, Pathos, Logos) to enhance the persuasiveness of their arguments and compensate for any vocabulary gaps.

• To develop students' ability to listen to spoken English for a specific purpose (evaluating arguments) and use mathematics/logic to allocate a mock budget.

• To introduce upper-level academic vocabulary and argumentative concepts, giving students a foundational "bridge" into the analytical requirements of gymnasiet.

Preparation:

1. I created (with the help of Google's Gemini) 16 random, silly inventions like "Anti-Gravity Toast", a "Homework Scented Candle" and a "Silent Snacking Bag".

   1. Note: You could have students create their own inventions, but I knew I only had 2 lessons to work with, so I needed things to run more quickly.

      

2. I also created a worksheet for "Dragons' Den Day" so that students could invest in each other's products.

3. I created paper crowns which proclaimed them the "Kings" and "Queens of Persuasion", and got some chocolate bars for the winners.

   
   

Lesson 1:

1. We reviewed ethos, pathos, and logos and looked at examples of how they are used in the real world.

2. Students had about 30 minutes to sit with their (pre-assigned) groups. They selected an invention from my envelope at random, and had to come up with a 90 second pitch which included all three elements of persuasion. They also had to use this time to practice and decide who would say what.

Lesson 2:

1. Students had 3 minutes to do last minute preparations and practice.

2. Using https://classroomscreen.com/ (my very best teacher friend!), we randomized the order of presentations and timed them to 90 second pitches.

3. Students who were listening to the pitch were the "Dragons" in the Den (like the British TV show, or the American "Shark Tank") and had to decide how much of their 1,000,000 Swedish krona hoard they wanted to invest in each product. They could change their minds as they listened.

The winning invention this round was the team selling the "Homework Scented Candle" - I think mainly due to their infectious enthusiasm! While there are some adjustments I'd make for next time (I need a faster way to count the investments, for example!), we had a great time, and everyone stayed in the classroom. Win win!