Perspective-Taking in the Hot Seat
Seventh graders engage in thoughtful discussion and learn about different viewpoints as they take the "hot seat" during WWII and Holocaust unit.
While studying World War II and the Holocaust, Live Oak seventh graders are drawing connections between social studies and short stories on the theme of “Resisting the Herd.” Texts like Harrison Bergeron, The Lottery, and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas help students to consider how political systems and social norms impact the individual, and how an individual might respond.
“What is groupthink and herd behavior and is it possible to resist it?” is one essential question. We examine what keeps people in bystander mode when moral obligation should compel them to action. We also explore the stories of upstanders to understand the benefits and risks of resistance.
To get inside the minds of individuals and their decision-making, we use the improv technique “Hot Seating” to conduct short story discussions. Hot Seating is a drama-based instructional strategy; as the Department of Theater and Dance at UT-Austin explains, “characters, played by the teacher or a student, are interviewed by the rest of the group. This activity invites students to recount a specific event, exploring motivation and multiple perspectives or experiences.”
In student-led sessions, seventh graders play characters from our stories; in the hot seat, they thoughtfully (and sometimes hilariously!) field questions from their peers. Hot Seats bring different perspectives to life in the classroom. They empower students to practice the brave and changemaking skill of challenging perspectives they find limited, irrational, immoral, or otherwise problematic.
Improvisational role-play is helping us to dig under the surface of characters’ actions, recognize patterns that repeat in fiction and in the real world, and make deeper meaning together.
Live Oak School welcomes and admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, citizenship status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and faith to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities of Live Oak School. Live Oak School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, citizenship status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and faith in administration of its educational policies and programs, admissions policies, Adjusted Tuition program, and athletic and other school-administered programs.