The Game of Why

Jessica F. Handley

As a teacher, my favorite question to ask is, "Why?" Nothing seems to make students squirm in their seats as much as that three-letter word. Why is "why?" so threatening? Does it challenge students? Does it make them second-guess themselves? Does it require extra work? Yes—and these experiences form the basis of good argument writing, or the ability to craft statements that challenge thoughts and change minds

Ego versus Evidence

As a middle school English teacher, I noticed that, when faced with "Why?," many of my students reverted to egocentrism to support an argument. Why did the protagonist react the way he did? Well, because last week Mary did the same thing to me and I sure reacted that way! Or: Why did the author use blue throughout this scene? Blue is a calming color, that's why it's my favorite. There was a fundamental flaw in their ability to reason through the evidence that was right in front of them.

Over the next few years, I developed a way to support my students' ability to find, discuss, and use evidence. It began as a test review that begot a scavenger hunt–like activity that eventually became a fast-paced, interactive, prewriting exercise. In less than two minutes, I transform my classroom into a life-size game board and we become the pieces, moving from corner to corner. The object of the game is to convince the other corners, by using evidence alone, that your answer is the best one.

Activity Prep

You'll need to begin by giving a multiple-choice exam on the topic under discussion. It's important to write this exam to be diagnostic, include only four answer choices per question item, and give students access (at the time of the exam) to "proof" or source materials that they may annotate (such as passages, primary and secondary sources, case studies, word problems, graphics, and formulae).

Ask students to mark their answers and any evidence and annotations on their test copy. Have them also record final answers on a Scantron or bubble sheet so that, when you grade, you will not make marks on the test copy they will use as reference during the activity.

Use your data software (or good old-fashioned math) to create an item analysis per class period. You'll need these to determine which items to review in class. Give special consideration to items with:

• Key ideas that should be supported by significant evidence within the essay.
• Evenly-split answer selection (ex., A-60%, C-40%), signifying many students were distracted by an incorrect answer choice.
• Evenly-distributed answer selection (ex., A-26%, B-31%, C-19%, D-24%), implying most students either guessed or followed a distractor in the item, answer choice, and/or context to an incorrect response.

Depending on student answers, your review list may look different for each class period. You should also make note of the time you have to devote to this prewriting activity; each item will take about four minutes to review.

The morning of your exercise day, create A/B/C/D signs (very large font on a regular 8.5x11" sheet of copy paper will suffice) and post one in each of the four corners of your classroom.

Rules of the Game

To play, students will need copies of the test and highlighters, pens, and pencils to write with. Teachers will need a multiple-choice test key, the list of items to review with each class period, and a timer. Then, let the games begin!

1. Set expectations for your students. They must abide by the following ground rules:

• Adhere to classroom etiquette rules (and review them, if necessary).
• Stay on task to manage your time.
• Collaborate to make your group's argument the best it can be.
• Ensure that only one person speaks for the group.
• Rotate group spokespeople so that no one serves in that position more than once (except in rare cases or small classes).

2. Tell students they'll learn the procedure as they move through the first round of the activity.

3. Begin round 1, clearly reviewing the time frames for each activity:

     a.  10 seconds: Announce the first review item (i.e., question 8). Ask students to turn to that question item in their test copies and go to the corner corresponding with their answer choice.

     b.  60 seconds: Within their corner teams, students then discuss the evidence that supported their choice. All team members should annotate their test to prepare for the possibility of presenting the team's argument.

     c.  10 seconds: Have each team select their spokesperson.

     d.  30 seconds: Have Team A's spokesperson speak directly to the other teams and use the collected evidence to convince them that A's answer choice is best.

     e.  30 seconds: Have Team B's spokesperson present evidence.

     f.  30 seconds: Have Team C's spokesperson present evidence.

     g.  30 seconds: Have Team D's spokesperson present evidence.

     h.  10 seconds: Have all students consider the evidence presented to them and choose which answer is best. At this point, they may change corners, if they are so compelled.

     i.  30 seconds: As the moderator, you ask students to take quick notes as you debrief that item's review by

          •  addressing misconceptions,

          •  announcing the correct response, and

          •  reinforcing the evidence that supports it.

4. Play rounds 2 and on by repeating steps A through I until you have reached the end of your review.

5. Introduce a writing assignment in which students will have to write and support an argument.

Final Argument

This activity will be awkward at first. The class will be silent and then it will be silly as students acculturate to your expectations of evidence. But you should push through that initial phase, because this exercise

• ensures evidence is the basis of an argument;
• reinforces the idea that strong arguments can make a difference;
• is student-centered, because they lead the academic discussion;
• allows students to practice articulating their argument before committing it to writing;
• builds a sense of authority over the topic, leading to stronger writing;
• allows students with limited language proficiency to process and interact with the information prior to writing;
• encourages students to consider multiple points of view;
• allows students a glimpse into the opposing parties' thought patterns, which they should address in their final written argument; and
• allows you to see how the students are thinking to better address misconceptions.

By turning the experiences related to asking "Why?" into a game, students feel less threatened and open to challenge, second-guessing themselves, and putting in extra work. Discomfort dissolves as students physically and mentally immerse in the world of crafting an argument.

Jessica F. Handley is an instructional designer at the Center for Online Learning and Teaching Technology (COLTT) at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She spent more than a decade as a higher education academic coach and middle school classroom teacher.

ASCD Express, Vol. 12, No. 24. Copyright 2017 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.