4 Corners and Snap Debate

Rachel Beazley
2nd Grade unit on Play at Friends Select School
To be taught on Friday, April 3rd from 11:00am 11:50am
Goal
Play can take place in school, the community, and at home, and certain
places, like adventure playgrounds, have been constructed for a specific
reason: for children to experience risky play.
Standards
SL.2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners
about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger
groups.
SL.2.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or
information presented orally or through other media.
W.2.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from
provided sources to answer a question.
Materials and preparation
Posters with Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree
List of statements for 4 Corners exercise
Two videos of The Land adventure playground in North Wales ready
to play on Apple TV
Whiteboard to write key words, phrases, and instructions
KWL chart to reference
Learning environment and management issues
Arrangement: Students will be standing and moving around the room
for the first part of the lesson, but after that they will sit on chairs that have
been arranged in two even groups facing each other.
Management: I dont think my students have done a 4 Corners activity
before, so I anticipate that students will have a hard time remembering the
activity rules. I will write them on the board to reinforce them, as well as
given verbal reminders. The debate portion of the lesson will run similarly to
a Meeting for Worship, so I expect students will be respectful towards each
other, but I will move students or have them sit out from the activity if
necessary.
Plan
Hook 11:00 11:20
Explain why there are 4 posters taped up around the room and explain
4 Corners exercise, emphasizing how important it is to move silently to
your corner and focus on your own choices, not just going with your
friends choices.
Read statements about play and allow students to move silently,
discuss with the classmates who went to the same poster as they did,

4 Corners and Snap Debate

Rachel Beazley
and take a few volunteers to share out to the class.
o When I play, I feel like grown ups are always telling me what I
can and cant do.
o I like to play in ways that grown ups dont always understand.
o I want to be able to play without grown ups watching me. Or
We dont need any teachers with us at recess.
Transition students to sit in the chairs that are set up on the rug
Body 11:20 11:40
Show the students two videos about The Land, give more
background information about what an adventure playground is
(perhaps have an anchor chart or more visual images to reference),
and answer any clarifying questions
Explain that a lot of adults debate whether or not children should be
able to play in places like adventure playgrounds, and that it is their
turn to have a debate about it.
Introduce a Snap Debate and emphasize that in the debate, you have
two turns: one for and one against. Relate the debate to Meeting
for Worship I dont want to have to call on students to stand up, so if
they can sit in silence and take turns speaking, then it can be led by
the students, and the only thing I will have to do is snap my fingers
when they need to switch sides.
Closure 11:40 11:50
Have students arrange their chairs into a circle for a debrief session
about the 4 Corners exercise and the debate
Possible questions to ask could be:
o What did you learn from the 4 Corners exercise/Snap debate?
o How did you feel when you had to be on the side that you didnt
believe in?
o What do you think of adventure playgrounds?
o Would the grown-ups in your life want you to play at an
adventure playground?
Assessment of the goals/objectives listed above
Did the students defend their choices during the 4 Corners exercise?
Did students make relevant and understandable contributions to the
debate?
Did students ask questions about adventure playgrounds or risky play?
Did students build on each others comments in the debate?
Anticipating students responses and your possible responses
During the 4 Corners exercise, I anticipate that some students will want
to follow their friends instead of making their own choices. I will given
frequent reminders to students to think of how they really feel about
the statement.

4 Corners and Snap Debate

Rachel Beazley

I plan on knowing where the closest adventure playground is located,

in case students ask me if they can go to one. I may even come up
with a Google Map to show where adventure playgrounds are.
I expect students will be excited to debate, but will not like to represent
the opinion they dont believe in, so I will encourage students to put
themselves in the shoes of someone who really believes that opinion.

Accommodations
Accommodations for students who may find the material too challenging:
I will write debate prompts on the board to serve as scaffolds for students
who need help formulating their ideas. I will make sure to allow buffer
time in between when I ask the question and when students can debate,
in order to give those students extra think time.
Accommodations for students who may need greater challenge and/or
finish early: All of the students will be participating in activities at the
same time, but for students who may excel in this arena, I might ask them
to reflect of the debate in writing in order to add another dimension to the
activity.