4 Corners

Four Corners

I once observed a middle school social studies classroom where the teacher lead an excellent learning activity with her students called Four Corners. The lesson's topic brought up a controversial question. In her classroom, each corner had one of the four signs: Agree, Somewhat Agree, Somewhat Disagree, Disagree

She invited her students to walk to one of these corners to represent their feelings about the topic. In each corner, students discussed among themselves why they chose to walk there. Then as a class, each corner discussed why they either agreed or disagreed (or somewhat disagreed/agreed).

I was very impressed with many of the students during this activity. No one from the other corners interrupted or argued their disagreements. Each got a turn to share their opinions and be heard. Some were brave enough to stand alone in their own corner, while others were brave enough to change their mind and walk to another corner after hearing other sides.

It gave me hope for a brighter future and the world our youth have the potential to create.