9. OVERVIEW
o It is a method that encourages students to
express positions on controversial issues.
o It is useful to assess students’ knowledge before a
lesson or to assess students’ understanding after a
lesson.
o Because the method involves physical movement of
students, it often stimulates even quiet students to
speak out.
10. TARGET GRADE LEVEL
o This activity is designed primarily for midle and
high school students.
o Depending on the content selected and the issue to
be presented, it can also be designed for upper
elementary students.
11. PROCEDURES
Select a controversial question or
statement that gets to the heart of the
subject being taught.
Post signs at the opposite of the classroom
with each of these responses (agree and
disagree).
12. PROCEDURES
Give the students 3-5 minutes to think about the
question or statement and to determine their position.
Students that agreed with the statement line up
on one side of the room, and the students that
disagree line up on the opposite side of the room.
Group should face each other.
13. PROCEDURES
Ask the students to express their opinion orally
regarding why they agree or disagree with the
statement and ask other students to respond to
the opinion. The students may change their mind
and change their position in the continuum.
The teacher may wish to extend the students’
thinking by changing the wording and asking
them to move their position along the continuum based
on their position on the new question or statement being
posed.
14. ALTERNATIVE MODELS
There are multiple ways to conduct human continuum
strategy.
o Provide multiple position option (e.g. Strongly
agree, agree, undecided, disagree, strongly
disagree).
o Students determine where they stand on the issue
and line up along a continuum.
o If multiple students align at a certain
position, they should discuss privately as a small
group.
15. o Then, the group present the single most persuasif argument
to the class.
o After each group has presented, they should decide which
opposing position was most persuasif.
16. REFERENCES
NN. n. d. Teaching about Controversial Issues: TheHuman Continuum
Method, (online)
(www.justiceteaching.org/resource_material/Teaching_Abo
utControversial_Issues.pdf) accessed on January 21, 2014.
NN. n.d. Continuum, (online),
(http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104014/chapters/
Human-Continuum.aspx) accessed on January 21, 2014.
Wormeli, Rick. 2004. Human Continuum, (online),
(http://paddingtonteachingandlearning.wordpress.com/2013/03
/17/t-l-activity-of-the-week-human-continuum/) accessed on
January 21, 2014.
