A mini-discussion activity designed for AP Spanish

La opinión no es tuya (It's not your opinion)

Objectives:  

• Students will use the target language (Spanish) and course content to formulate and support their argument.
• Encourage students to think outside the box and to make and support arguments that they might not necessarily agree with. 

Context: 
This discussion activity took place towards the end of a unit dealing with technology and its role in today's society.  Students had read and listened to a variety of sources on the effects of technology on communities, families, and in education.  The sources came from the United States and from Latin America and were all in Spanish.  Students were then asked to defend statements dealing with the main themes from the in mini-discussions (each lasting about 5 min).

Example content: 
Below are a few examples of statements students were asked to defend in their mini-discussions and their English translations.  The statements were printed on note cards and a student would draw a card, read the statement and then go on to defend it.

• “Tener acceso a Internet es demasiado poder para un individuo.  Los gobiernos del mundo deben limitar el acceso a Internet.” 
  "Internet access is too much power for one individual.  The governments of the world should limit the access their citizens have to the internet."
  

• “Es importante separar la identidad privada y la identidad pública.” 
  "It is important to separate one's private identity from one's public identity."

• “Las redes sociales tienen un afecto negativo en el activismo político.” 
  "Social networks have a negative affect on political activism." 

• “El crecimiento constante de la vigilancia siempre nos hace mas seguros."
  "Increasing surveillance always makes us safer."

• “La obsesión con las redes sociales es una fase breve." 
  "The current obsession with social networks is a brief phase." 

Evaluation:
This was a formative discussion activity intended to provide students with a comfortable context to practice using Spanish in discussion.  I observed groups throughout their discussions but refrained from interrupting the discussions.  The skills practiced here will eventually be formally evaluated in the form of large group discussions and persuasive essays.