A Walking Debate can be useful when discussing an issue or viewpoint, or finding a solution to a problem with the pupils. It can also be an Assessment for Learning (AfL) strategy. Find out more about walking debates in Active Learning and Teaching Methods for Key Stages 1&2.

To assemble the resource:

• fold each debate card so that the text is on one side and the faces are on the other; and
• type your pupils’ names into the thought bubbles on the name cards and print them off.

Display the debate cards in sequence from ‘Strongly Agree’ to ‘Strongly Disagree’, with ‘Neutral’ in the middle. You could peg them onto a washing line or stick them on a wall. Display either the symbols or the text, depending on the age of your pupils.

Describe an issue or problem, and have the children attach or stick their name card beside the debate statement that corresponds with how they feel or what they think.

Alternatively, for AfL, the children should place their name on the line corresponding to how confident they feel about a topic or specific skill at the beginning of an activity. At the end of the activity, they should move their name to where they feel it should go now. This will allow them to see how their learning has moved on.

These cards can aid discussion in the classroom. When children need more time to consider something, they can display the ‘I am thinking’ side of the card; when they are ready to contribute, they can turn their card around to show ‘I have something to say’.

These cards give pupils a shared vocabulary and guidelines on how to work as a team. During group work, encourage the children to decide who in the group will play each role. Distribute the cards accordingly. Introduce the roles gradually so that the children have time to become familiar with the requirements of each. Fold the cards so they can stand on the pupils’ desks.

The words on the Thinking Vocabulary list aim to give teachers and pupils a shared vocabulary to use when talking about thinking. Select appropriate words based on the age and experience of your pupils to display and use in the classroom. Type these words into the thought bubbles and adjust the font to suit. You can print these out to use as part of a ‘thinking’ wall display.

These cards allow learners to communicate how they are feeling without the need for spoken words. Emotion cards in the resource include happy, sad, excited, worried, proud, sick and angry.

These cards may be used as visual aids to reinforce what a teacher or learner is trying to communicate. They support learners as they process and follow instructions from the teacher and can be used to reinforce positive behaviour.