The Fishbowl DebatePresenters:

By reading of the article, watching the movie, and asking the probing questions aboutcensorship and Huck Finn we have prepared ourselves for some serious discussion and debate. In theFishbowl format, the most prepared students on each side will be responsible for leading thediscussion. Your team will select no more than 2 people to voice your initial points and be preparedto guide the discussion with questions, new ideas, and support. Your responsibility will be to putforth critical analysis of the materials, prepare a discussion outline to turn into the teacher on the dayyour group is presenting, and lead an open dialogue with the inner circle members. All presentersmust participate. Your group will be graded on their preparation, analysis, participation, facilitation,and leadership. Remember, you need to cover all angles of the argument in a relevant and purposeful manner. Don’t focus on one subject so long that it becomes redundant and boring!

Discussers:

The

inner circle

is responsible for discussing censorship and Huck Finn along with the

presenters

. The inner circle groups have been decided at random (choose out of a hat) and willconsist of no more than 3 members from each team. The inner circle members can only earn their grade by participating in the discussion. (Because they will be selected at random on the day of thedebate, they will be responsible for the same paragraph of writing outlined in the Outer Circle paragraph)

Along with this select group, there will be 2-3

open chairs

for any individuals wanting to participate in the discussion. If you decide to become involved in the discussion, you need tocontribute at least 3 times in a meaningful way. Please refer to the Discussion Scoring Chart onrelevant contributions that can be made. To enter into the discussion simply sit in an open chair. If an open chair is filled but you still want to enter in the discussion, simply tap on the shoulder of theoccupant to remove him/her from the discussion. Also, there will be one chair for the presenters to select 3 random people (

drawn names

) who at some time must jump into the discussion and participate. If a drawn name individual does not participate, he or she will not be able to receive all of his/her points for the discussion. Any sign of a lack of preparation by a circle member will result in the loss of points. Also, any member of the inner circle may pose questions for discussion; this isnot limited to just the presentation group. There will be no hand-raising in the discussion; instead, it will be an open format. However, if members of the discussion group become disrespectful, pointswill be taken away. Please refer to the Discussion Scoring Chart for possible reasons for point deductions.

Outer Circle:

The members of the outer circle, who are not involved in the discussion, will still have toearn the ten daily points by submitting a one paragraph response to the following question: Whatform of censorship is appropriate for Huck Finn, and Why?. These responses will be collected at the

beginning

of the class. Any responses turned in after the responses have been collected will notcount. The outer circle is expected to be attentive and focused. They will be using Cover It Live inorder to discuss what the inner circle is saying and to put forth their own points. Please look to theDiscussion Scoring Chart for ideas of what kinds of comments are best. If outer circle membersdistract from the discussion, points will be taken away from their debate grade.

Outer Circle Moderators:

The moderators of the outer circle are responsible for making sure all of the comments in theCover-it-Live session are appropriate and on-topic. They will be accepting the comments as theycome in and timing them so as to provide for the best possible level of discourse. These members of the Outer Circle will not be responsible for the paragraph of writing required of the other Outer Circle members.