PSHE: Diamond 9
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Lesson duration is: 15 minIntroduction
A learning technique designed to prompt class discussion and insight from your students, while allowing the teacher to inquire into the choices their students made and reasoning behind their decision.
Instructions
This activity can seem deceptively simple but it can be used as the base for a discussion-based lesson; it can help give your students a framework of their own creation for structuring their own justification argument or prompt questioning of their peers' choices and order. Keep the conversations well structured and respectful, and this simple task can have you and your students talking pros and cons for hours.
In Diamond 9 Ranking, students are given nine statements, texts, concepts or photos, which they have to rank in the shape of a diamond. The item most important, interesting or valuable to the student is placed at the top, while the least important or interesting item is placed at the bottom.
In Diamond 9 Ranking, students are given nine statements, texts, concepts or photos, which they have to rank in the shape of a diamond. The item most important, interesting or valuable to the student is placed at the top, while the least important or interesting item is placed at the bottom.
This method gives students - individually or in groups - insight into their own points of view. Partly due to the visual representation in a diamond shape, it then helps students to explain it to each other. Especially with more complex subjects, this method provides insight into what students find most valuable or important while making them reason with their own decisions through prompting from the teacher.
This working method can be used in any subject when you want them to discuss a complex issue: an issue in which there may be many viewpoints and a truly unequivocal answer cannot be given.
- Let the students fill in the ranking for themselves. You can do this by clicking on LessonUp or 'Teach'.
- Briefly discuss any problems they encountered. It is not yet the intention of the students to explain their choices. However, this discussion can help them sharpen their motivation, for when they later make a joint ranking during the group part.
- Let the students in groups (maximum: 3 students) first explain their individual ranking to each other. Then have them make one joint ranking. The students can do this on a single 'group device', or all on their own device.
- Discuss the working method, not only discussing the content, but also the process: was it difficult to arrive at a joint ranking? How did you (eventually) reach an agreement?
This method is suitable for both activating prior knowledge and processing the acquired knowledge (during class) it is also a great technique to use as a metacognitive tool for revision or organisation of subject strengths!
Items in this lesson
Slide 1 - Slide
Who is responsible for tackling racism?
TV- and film-makers
Young people
Schools
Activists
Employers
Government
Police
Religious leaders
Social media