What should

influence the
article you pick
for our Current
Events Fishbowl
discussions?

1. Personally Interested
(attached/attracted to the
topic, intriguing, and
thought provoking [puts a
bunch of ideas in your
head].

2. Topic effects
you directly (life, your
family, countries in your
lineage, our country, our
city, other children, the
world)

3. It
is a
topic of interest
(hearing about it among
peoples conversations,

newspaper/ news on TV,

friends are talking about
it, newsfeeds, radio)

4.

Picture/
Photograph/ Visuals

interest you or look

intriguing

5. Headline pulls you in,

and encourages you to
read.

6. Topic that you can

understand.

STEP
Group Meeting and
Article Selection.

2:

Use the following criteria

to support why/how you
select the article for the
fishbowl.
What criterion makes an
article A GOOD ONE for
our Current Events
fishbowl?

1. Within the article, the

majority/ a good
amount of the topic can
be understood.
2. Not difficult to use your
reading skills (predictions,
make inferences,
connections)

3. Its an article/ topic that

could relate to the
majority of the class, OR
its a topic that once
learned could be of great
importance to us.

4. Its an article/ topic that

encourages a lot of
questions to be asked.
5. The article easily allows
you to create questions in
your head as you read the
article.

6. The articles vocabulary

th
and writing is at 6 grade
reading level (majority of
words 4 syllables or less;
minus names and places).

7. Allows for a reader to

form multiple opinions,
and have information
(from that article, or
others) that allows you to
support your particular
opinion/ thought.

8. It has a (clear or subtle)

bias so that it encourages a
discussion or argument
among people. Some people
might think one thing, and
others might think another.

Current Events FISHBOWL

Setup
THURSDAY

Students who are selected

for that week will inside of
the circle of our classmates.
What will occur is The Fishy
Five students will
commence the fishbowl
discussion by sharing:

ONE STRONG/ DEFINED

OPINION
SUPPORTED BY DETAILS FROM THE NEWSPAPER TEXT
HIGHER LEVEL - COULD BE SUPPORTED BY DETAILS YOU
CONNECTED TO ANOTHER SOURCE
AND

ONE THOUGHT
PROVOKING QUESTION
ONE THAT EITHER (DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY) SUPPORTS YOUR
OPINION, OR QUESTIONS/ PUSHES ANY OPPOSING IDEAS THAT
YOU MIGHT FACE IN THE FISHBOWL.

SURROUNDING
CLASS

MAIN
5
WHAT DO THE PEOPLE
ON THE OUTSIDE OF
THE FISHBOWL DO?

Students OUTSIDE the

fishbowl are taking notes
as to what each person is
saying. Essentially you are
going to also have your
own opinions and
thoughts, and will now
create arguments or
opinions that are inline or

opposed to one (or more)

of the students in the
fishbowl. These are to be
shared the following day.

THURSDAY
The Fishy Five will
share their five opinion
statements, and five
questions.

FRIDAY
The rest of the class will
now speak, this will
become a full class
conversation, with the
Fishy Five probably
doing a lot of
supporting or
defending, since many
things the outside circle
will state will be
directed at them.

Monday Tuesday Wednesda

y
Full newspaper reading
session. Everyone
reads through the
headlines of either the
past week, or that day
(Monday).
Fishy five read
fervently trying to find
the article that they
will bring to the
Fishbowl on Thursday
(you may have this
become homework).

You come to your Fishy

Five group now and
argue why one
particular newspaper
article is the one that
should be selected for
your Fishbowl session
on Thursday and Friday.
Mr. Rana will be sitting
in on this meeting, and
may be the decision
maker, unless you all
come to a consensus.
The article must be
picked and shared
with the class.

Students spend the session

reading the article, making
questions, and looking up
alternative sources and
background information.
Discussion should be had
with your classmates since
you will probably be sharing
a piece of technology,
however it should be
focussed.

CURRENT
EVENTS
FISHBOWL

CONVERSAT
IONS

Enduring Understanding-

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

As young learners, we have the ability
to change our community, country,
and world; but we can only do so if we
are properly informed about what is
going on in the world. It is our
responsibility to be properly
informed about issues that affect
the lives of others, and our own.

Learning Target for each week:

Find out about a current issue
that is occurring in the world, and
formulate an opinion that can be
supported by reasons and facts.