Students’ age range: 10-12

Topic: The ant and the grasshopper

 

Description: At the beginning of the class the teacher will introduce the topic for the day and inform students of the objectives for that class.
Students will then be asked to view and read the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper in the Rainbow Readers book 2 page 18. This story will also be projected on the whiteboard in the classroom.
after reading the story the teacher will allow students to sit together in pairs to discuss the story paying attention to the main characters and their attitudes towards life . Then relate their findings to their own lives.
Teacher will then explain the procedure for implementing the fish bowl activity following the procedure below:
1. Select a Topic
Almost any topic is suitable for a Fishbowl discussion. The most effective prompts (questions or texts) do not have one right answer or interpretation, but rather allow for multiple perspectives and opinions. The Fishbowl strategy is excellent for discussing dilemmas, for example.
2. Set Up the Room
A Fishbowl discussion requires a circle of chairs (“the fishbowl”) and enough room around the circle for the remaining students to observe what is happening in the “fishbowl.” Sometimes teachers place enough chairs for half of the students in the class to sit in the fishbowl, while other times teachers limit the chairs further. Typically, six to 12 chairs allows for a range of perspectives while still giving each student an opportunity to speak. The observing students often stand around the fishbowl.
3. Prepare for the Discussion
Like many structured conversations, Fishbowl discussions are most effective when students have had a few minutes to prepare ideas and questions in advance.
4. Discuss Norms and Rules
There are many ways to structure a Fishbowl discussion. Sometimes teachers have half the class sit in the fishbowl for ten to 15 minutes before announcing “Switch,” at which point the listeners enter the fishbowl and the speakers become the audience. Another common Fishbowl discussion format is the “tap” system, where students on the outside of the fishbowl gently tap a student on the inside, indicating that they should switch roles. See the variations section below for more ideas about how to structure this activity.
Regardless of the particular rules you establish, make sure they are explained to students beforehand. You also want to provide instructions for the students in the audience. What should they be listening for? Should they be taking notes? Before beginning the Fishbowl activity, you may wish to review guidelines for having a respectful conversation. Sometimes teachers ask audience members to pay attention to how these norms are followed by recording specific aspects of the discussion process, such as the number of interruptions, examples of respectful or disrespectful language being used, or speaking times (who is speaking the most or the least).
After completing this activity students will be given an individual seat activity to complete ( to write a paragraph about attitudes of both characters in the story) and in pairs answer a set of basic questions on the story.