One great way to foster collaboration and academic discourse is through Socratic Smackdown, an activity created by 8th-grade ELA teacher, Rebecca Grodner. In a Socratic Smackdown, students engage in a structured, gamified deliberation around a driving question or issue. In this case, the driving question is the DBQ prompt.
During a Socratic Smackdown, a group of 4-6 students employ a variety of discussion skills to explore the driving question. Participating students are challenged to articulate their viewpoint, support their ideas with evidence, build on the ideas of others, and consider alternative perspectives. Ultimately, the goal is to have students mutually explore and build on each other’s ideas in order to gain a deeper understanding
