Introduction to the Senior Cycle Opinion Question
How to get students to start thinking for themselves/forming their own opinions?
This is an exercise aimed at getting students to recognise their own preconceived ideas/notions and beliefs
Pre-teach opinion structures like:
I chose this because/I like this ………because….
I think that/For me it is a question of…
It is necessary to ……/I need….
I have to have/be….
Basically…..
It has to do with….
Room Set Up:
The walls of the classroom have the headings placed in different areas. The photos are placed face down /backwards to be turned over later.
TITLES
Released Prisoner
Newly married couple
Old Age Pensioner
Athlete
Army Sergeant
Religious Minister
FRENCH
un prisonnier libéré
des jeunes mariés
une personne du troisième âge
un athlète
un sergent
un pasteur
SPANISH
un prisionero liberado
un matrimonio
una persona mayor/de la tercera edad
un atleta
un sargento
un pastor
On entering the room, students are told their neighbour has sold their home and the people listed on the walls are the potential new neighbours. The
student is asked to choose the person they would most like to have move in next door. They walk to that person and write down their reasons for choosing
this particular individual. Class discussion allows identification of the reasons why. See video.
Then the pictures are turned over. The reaction should be of a certain amount of surprise as the image presented, more likely than not, is not what they
had presumed/assumed. This can stimulate a focus on how assumptions/ideas/beliefs can influence people’s behaviours & attitudes towards other people
and events which introduces in a real way, the themes associated with the Leaving Cert Opinion Questions.
The students can then decide for themselves/in pairs/small groups how/full class brainstorm how we form these ideas/notions….hopefully they will come
up with suggestions like: family/education (or lack of it)/culture(pop culture)/society/religion etc. All the ideas and vocab are noted on the board and by the
students.
Having established how/why we form opinions should help them to be able to tackle the topics for LCE. Using the Contemporary Themes Mind Map as a
follow up should consolidate this.