Chapter 15: Small Group Argumentation
ACTIVITY #15.1: RULES AND ROLES. (To reinforce the concepts of rules and roles in small groups.)
PREPARATION: Obtain an episode of a show like “Real World” or “Road Rules.”
STEP 1: Tell the students you’re going to show the video, and they’re to look for the following:
What roles do different people take on? (examples might be Leader, Clown/tension reliever,
STEP 2: Show the video.
STEP 1: Divide the students into groups of five. In each group, two are to only be observers/recorders and
the other three do the work.
STEP 2: Give the groups the following directions: “This is a task in which working together as a group is
very important. I am going to give each group 25 sheets of paper and some masking tape. Each
STEP 3: Let the students do the work.
STEP 4: After 20 minutes, process the exercise. Start with the observers, and let others provide answers