Socratic Smackdown! - Common Core Collaborative Discussion

Imitating the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, students participated in a points-driven collaborative discussion called Socratic Smackdown!  Students first thoroughly researched and wrote about their opinions for why the Roman Empire fell, how it could have been prevented, and what weaknesses are shared with the United States today.  They also gathered citations to back up their opinions to be fully armed for their competitive conversation during the Smackdown competition.  On Smackdown day, students took turns being "Verbal Fighters" (who conversed about these issues, asking their discussion group questions and citing evidence for their beliefs), "Refs" (who took score of the points earned in each discussion), and "Coaches" (who monitored the discussion and encouraged teammates to improve in their discussion skills).  Enjoy the conversations below!