Tug of War

Tug of war is a routine designed to help students examine the many different forces that "tug" opposing sides of a topic. 

Here are some examples of how this routine can be used across the curriculum: 

English: identifying genre (see video below), debating, dilemma in a novel (see image below)

Science: (see video below)

English - Finding the order of importance

English - Debating the delima in a novel

Science - Thinking routine

Digital Tools to Support Tug of War

Nearpod

When in a 'Live Participation' mode for presenting with Nearpod, teachers can use the collaboration feature and use the column setup to have students place "sticky notes" on opposing sides of a topic. 

Once the presentation had ended, teachers are able to see a report of all student work from the session. 

Google Slides

Google Slides is a free online tool to help users create presentations, interactive notebooks, and learning resources. Similar to other Google tools, you can collaborate with others, publish online, or download an image file. You can use the built-in Theme Builder to create templates where you choose what elements students can modify and which ones they cannot. To use the Tug of War template, built using the Theme Builder, click on the link below.

Jamboard

Google Jamboard, accessible through Google Drive, allows students to share the document and work collaboratively with others. Students can easily put their opinions on each side of the topic.