Polarities and Opinion Gallery

Two linked opinion-gap tasks: (1) students physically move to opposing sides of the room based on a statement, then debate; (2) students rate posted statements individually, then find the biggest disagreements to discuss.

Task 1 — Polarities

1. Read a light-hearted binary statement (e.g. Morning person or Night owl?, City or Countryside?).
2. Students move to opposite sides of the room based on their preference — no fence-sitting allowed.
3. Each side brainstorms reasons supporting their position (2–3 min).
4. Students pair off across sides and share their arguments.
5. Quick poll: did anyone switch sides? Why?

Task 2 — Opinion Gallery

1. Post 6–10 mildly controversial statements around the room (labelled A–J).
2. Students walk around, read each statement, and privately rate it 1–10 on their notepad.
3. In pairs or small groups, students compare ratings and identify the statements they disagree about most.
4. They discuss those statements, trying to understand (not necessarily change) each other's views.
5. In plenary, students report one opinion they heard that surprised them — paraphrasing, not quoting.

Variations

• Steel-manning: Students must restate their opponent's view as fairly and strongly as possible before responding.
• Student-generated statements: After one round with teacher statements, students write their own for a second round.
• Dictogloss hybrid: Instead of posting statements, dictate them — students reconstruct the wording before rating.

Tips

• Polarities works best with light topics; Opinion Gallery handles more serious ones.
• The gallery walk stage should be silent and individual — this prevents groupthink before discussion.
• Rich emergent language: agreeing/disagreeing, hedging, softening, justifying opinions.