In seventh grade Civics classes across the state of Florida, students study the roles, rights, and responsibilities of United States citizens. On Friday, August 23rd, students in Mrs. Katie Williams' and Ms. Regina Messer's classes interacted with their peers to enhance their content knowledge in a collaborative carousel activity.
In small groups, students rotated around the room, like a carousel, to different scenario cards and had to closely and carefully read and determine whether the situation described is a citizen's "obligation" or "responsibility." Students then had to provide a summary sentence of key ideas from the scenario and then list evidence to support their rationale. The teachers guided students to look for key words and phrases, like "must," "everyone," "required," and "you can." They also told them to ask themselves, "Is there a consequence described?" (If not, then it is probably a responsibility.)
This engaging activity built students' content knowledge through writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and inquiry (WICOR) tasks--a foundation of AVID-style learning at WMS. It also helped equip students with fundamental knowledge about their roles and duties as United States citizens--knowledge that will prove beneficial to them for the rest of their lives.
Submitted by Kristen Nelson