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Clone the following discussion and share it with students: What is the best way to fight climate change?

Create a new Kialo discussion with the question "Should governments implement strict regulations to cut plastic production?" and the thesis "Governments should implement strict regulations to cut plastic production.".

Use Small Group Mode to give groups access to their own version of the discussion, if appropriate.

You may wish to share article one and two with students before the session or have them conduct their own research into the topic of reducing plastic.

Ask students what comes to mind when they hear the word “argument.”

Use their responses to establish a definition of an academic argument e.g., An argument is a set of premises that support a conclusion.

Use an example to clarify the meaning of premises and conclusions e.g.,:

• Premise 1: All mammals are animals.
• Premise 2: All whales are mammals.
• Conclusion: Therefore, all whales are animals.

Explain that a key part of critical thinking is being able to deconstruct arguments to assess their validity (logical consistency), logic (how well the argument flows), and soundness (truthfulness of the premises).

Part 1: Familiarization

Clone and share the Kialo discussion What is the best way to fight climate change? with students. (You may wish to use Small Group Mode.)

Once students have familiarized themselves with the discussion, discuss how the pro/con structure allows claims and counterclaims to be organised clearly.

Explain that in a Kialo discussion, the thesis or theses is/are the main conclusions and the claims and counterclaims are the premises. They may also represent sub-conclusions. A well-made argument is composed of the same structure, organized in a logical way.

As a class, identify examples of premises and conclusions within the discussion.

Note that arguments are supported by sources and examples.

Part 2: Kialo Discussion

Students should work in small groups appropriate to the class size.

Create a new Kialo discussion with the question Should governments implement strict regulations to cut plastic production? and the thesis Governments should implement strict regulations to cut plastic production.

Use Small Group Mode to give groups access to their own version of the discussion, if appropriate.

Students will apply their knowledge from the introduction by independently adding claims and counterclaims to the discussion.

Students will need access to these articles as the basis for their arguments:

• Global plastic production must be cut to curb pollution, study says
• Plastics Pollution Has Become a ‘Crisis,’ Biden Administration Acknowledges

Ask groups to identify the main premises and conclusions for both sides of the argument within the articles.

They may find it helpful to highlight these in different colors on paper or electronic copies of the articles.

They may also wish to conduct their own independent research.

Show students how to deconstruct a simple argument from one of the articles into claims to develop an individual line of reasoning e.g.,

• Mismanaged plastic waste will double to 121m tonnes by 2050 if limits are not placed on the production of plastic.
• This waste will leach into the environment.
• It could be harmful to people’s health.

Groups should then continue to add their own claims and counterclaims to the discussion based on the articles and their research.

To guide students, use Tasks to assign them a specific number of claims to write.

Ask students to reflect on their claims using these prompts:

• What is the main conclusion of your argument?
• What premises (reasons/evidence) support it?
• What might someone on the other side say in response to your claim?
• How would you strengthen your claim against this counterargument?