Philosophical Chairs is a structured form of academic discourse that relies on a prompt as the foundation for discussion and informed debate. It is a form of dialogue in which students develop a deeper understanding of a text or subject. This strategy gives students opportunities to improve verbal capability and fluency, as well as develop skills in the precise use of academic language.
Students will develop inquiry, oral language, and argumentation skills through participation in an informed debate on a controversial issue, while considering various points of view.
The video above is from my 8th grade history class in Lake Washington in 2016. (They're all graduated now ❤ ) We'd done a few Philosophical Chairs prior to this one, so they had practice.