As we mention in the story, toys and gadgets known as “fidgets” have been around for a while. Some of your students may use them—they’re items such as chewable pencil tops and toys that are meant to be squeezed hard or stretched. If you’d like to help your class better understand their purpose, you might explain that for some kids, fidgets can calm the part of their brain that has trouble focusing. When kids get to use their fidget, their brain lets them concentrate on other things, like what they need to do in class.
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM (FIDGET SPINNER)
Is It Fair to Ban Fidget Spinners?
Students will take a side on an engaging topic while practicing opinion writing.
By Kara Corridan
From the September 2017 Issue
Learning Objective: Students will take a side on an engaging topic while practicing opinion writing.
Lexiles: 520L, 690L, 780L
Guided Reading Level: N
DRA Level: 24
Featured Skill:
Key Ideas and Details,
Topic:
Social Issues,
Common Core Standards
TEKS Standards
Can’t-Miss Teaching Extras
Why Fidget?
Fad Toys
Show your students this article about fad toys. Which ones have they played with? Which ones did you play with back in the day? You can also use this opportunity to talk about what a fad really is—something that explodes in popularity, and usually fades away just as quickly. Do they think fidget spinners are a fad, or are they here to stay?
Debates in the Classroom
This teacher’s hands-on, creative approach to teaching our debates is simple, doable, and super-fun! Check it out on the Storyworks Ideabook.
More About the Article
Key Skills
Main idea and supporting details, opinion writing
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
1. PREPARING TO READ
Have students preview the text features. Ask:
What is the topic of the debate? (Prompt students to use the debate title and the heading on the chart as clues.)
What are the two opinions people might have about this topic?
2. READING THE DEBATE
Depending on the reading level of your students, read the debate as a class or break the class into groups.
Have students read the debate a second time. Prompt them to highlight evidence supporting each side as they come across it. Using two different colors of highlighters would be useful here.
3. DISCUSSING
As a class or in groups, have students discuss:
Which opinion has the best evidence to support it?
Is one side stronger than the other? Why?
What is your opinion? What evidence helped you form your opinion?
For more advanced readers: Do you think the author has an opinion on this issue? What is your evidence?
4. WRITING
Have students complete the chart in the magazine or our full-page printable chart.
Guide students to write an essay on the debate topic, using the chart they filled out.
5. CHECK COMPREHENSION
Have students complete our comprehension quiz.
Text-to-Speech