Lesson video

Hi, and welcome.

Thank you for joining me for today's English lesson.

My name's Mrs. Butterworth, and I'll be guiding you through the learning.

Now, in this lesson, we're going to be thinking about discussions and how we can develop our discussion skills.

And we're going to focus on how we can use different types of evidence to really elevate our discussions.

Sound good? Great.

Let's get started.

In this lesson, you will effectively choose and use evidence to develop your comments in a discussion.

Now, before we delve into the lesson, let's look at those all-important key words.

And you may spot these as we move through the lesson today.

These words are evidence, textual, anecdotal, speculation, and verified.

Now, evidence can take a number of different forms in English.

It could be information, facts, or even data.

But the most important thing is that evidence is used to support a claim, argument, or belief.

So you'll need to use evidence to kind of back up your points.

Textual, we'll be looking at textual evidence today.

And textual means something that relates to a text or refers to a text.

Anecdotal is based on personal stories or experiences rather than on hard facts or scientific evidence.

So today, we're going to be thinking about how we can use anecdotal evidence.

Now, speculation, I love the word speculation.

Now, speculation is kind of a more elevated way to say a guess, okay? But so speculation is based on guesses or ideas rather than solid evidence or facts.

So speculation, a bit like guessing.

Verified means that something has been checked and confirmed to be true, accurate, or valid.

So we might talk about verified information, which means that it has been fact-checked and basically checked that it is reliable and true.

So the outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to begin by thinking about using textual evidence in discussions, and then we're going to move on to look at other forms of evidence.

So let's start with that, all-important textual evidence.

Now, first, I would like you to discuss if you were using evidence in a written piece of work, what might this look like? So think about things like essays, on novels, or poems, for example.

If you were using evidence in a written piece of work like this, what might it look like? So pause the video so you can discuss your ideas, or if you need to, you can think quietly to yourself.

Off you go.

Okay, great, shall we see what some of our Oak pupils said? And you can compare your answers to those.

So Laura said, "It could include textual evidence from a text, like a quotation." Absolutely, so I'm sure you have come across the idea of quoting from a text in a written piece of work.

So that could be an example of evidence.

Jun has said, "It might reference a source or an expert." Sometimes we do that, don't we? In our written work, we might refer to a source or expert.

And then Alex has said that "evidence could look like specific statistics or facts found in a reliable source." So these are all things that we could use as evidence in our written work, and we'll be considering some of these as well for our discussion in our spoken work too.

So sometimes, you may be given a discussion question on a specific text or source.

So in an English lesson, you may be asked to discuss a piece of text.

So in this case, you could include similar evidence to that in a written piece of work.

And this is what we call textual evidence, okay? So we'll look at an example now.

So Lucas's class have been studying "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare, okay? So you may be studying different texts or have looked at different texts, but the process will be the same.

So for Lucas, they're studying "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare.

Now his class has been set this discussion task.

Discuss, how does Prospero assert his power over Caliban? So part of Lucas's discussion, his answer looks like this.

"Prospero uses physical violence to threaten and control Caliban.

More specifically, he says, 'Thou shalt have cramps.

'" Now you can see that Lucas has used textual evidence in the form of a quotation from the text.

So you can see he says, "He says, 'Thou shalt have cramps.

'" So we know he's talking about a character, and he's quoted directly from the text.

And what this does, in the same way as written work, it really develops and elevates his discussion comments.

So whether you are studying "The Tempest," a different Shakespeare text or a different text entirely, you can use this same process of including quotations, textual evidence into your discussion.

True or false, let's see what you remember.

You should not use textual evidence in discussions.

Is this true or false? Tell me your answer now.

Well done to everyone that said that statement was false, but now you need to justify why.

So come up with your answer now, please.

Okay, should we compare? So hopefully, you have something similar.

So you should not use text evidence and discussion is false because when a discussion task focuses on a text or an extract, you can use textual evidence to develop and elevate your comments.

So when including textual evidence in your discussions, these phrases can help.

So I often say that you can, it's really important to practise your discussion skills.

And learning and remember some key phrases can be really helpful for this.

So these phrases for textual evidence can help with that and the practising of your discussion skills.

So these phrases are more specifically.

So more specifically, he says, "Thou shalt have cramps," for example.

you could also use more precisely, which looks like more precisely, the writer uses the words cold and grey.

And finally, in particular.

In particular, the use of simile in her voice was like treacle.

So you can see how those phrases really start to elevate how you sound in discussions, but also what you say in discussions too.

We have reached our first practise task.

So what we're going to do is we're going to read the following extract from "The Speckled Band" by Arthur Conan Doyle.

So let's read it through together first.

Okay, so just follow along.

"She raised her veil as she spoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey with restless, frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal.

Her features and figure were those of a woman of 30, but her hair was short with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard.

Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick, all-comprehensive glances." Okay, so that's the extract we're going to be using today.

You may wish to have a go at reading the text aloud yourself to develop your understanding, which you can do by pausing the video now.

Okay, so now we have read the extract.

What I would like you to do is I would like you to discuss the following question.

How is the woman presented in the extract? Now the thing that you must do is include textual evidence from the extract to develop your comments.

So remember, you are including quotes and details from the text to develop your comments.

And then you can use the developing phrases more specifically, more precisely, and in particular like the examples we looked at a moment ago.

So pause the video, so you can discuss how is the woman presented in the extract.

Don't forget to include that text evidence and use those developing phrases.

So when you are ready, pause a video, and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Off you go.

Well done, everyone, a really good job.

So discussing texts and using textual evidence can be a really tricky thing to do, but it's great to see some of you using those developing phrases like in particular and more specifically to really help you introduce that evidence.

So hopefully you can keep practising that and getting better and better and better.

So here we have part of our Oak pupil, Alex.

And here we have Alex, our Oak pupil and part of his discussion.

Let's read it three together.

"The woman seems restless and frightened.

In particular, when the writer describes her eyes as like those of some hunted animal.

This gives the impression that she feels threatened and vulnerable." It's a really lovely answer from Alex, isn't it? So we can see that what Alex has done successfully here is he's used one of those developing phrases.

So in this case, in particular, and he has used that textual evidence like those of some hunted animal.

So he's done those things as well as explaining his answer further in his discussion.

So what I would like you to do is think back to your own discussion and self-assess using the checklist.

So did you use a developing phrase and did you include textual evidence? So pause a video to give yourself time to do this.

Off you go.

Okay, so we need to keep up the good work 'cause we're now on the second part of the lesson.

And in this part of the lesson, we're going to be exploring other forms of evidence.

So think about this, what happens if there isn't a specific text or source? Now sometimes discussion questions rely on you to respond in a more spontaneous way.

So it may seem tricky to use textual evidence from a specific text or source, but actually sometimes, those more spontaneous discussion questions can leave you wondering what type of evidence to use.

So you still want to use evidence and include evidence in these more spontaneous style discussion questions, but it may look slightly different to the textual evidence from the first part of our lesson.

So it could look like this.

Anecdotal evidence.

Now, anecdotal evidence is based on personal stories or experiences rather than hard facts or scientific evidence.

So you can draw on your own experiences or your own knowledge as evidence.

And then we also get this idea of intelligent speculation.

Now you may remember in the key words, I said speculation is almost an elevated way to say guesses, okay? Or guess, so you are intelligently guessing.

Intelligent speculation.

And this is based on guesses or ideas rather than on solid evidence or facts.

So you can draw on any prior knowledge or anything you already know to kind of intelligently speculate as evidence.

Now, it's important to ensure the following things when using anecdotal evidence or intelligent speculation.

Now you must ensure that it is still relevant to the topic and the other speaker's comments.

You don't just want to start telling a random story if it's not relevant to what the speaker is saying or what the discussion topic is about.

And likewise, if you are using anecdotal evidence and intelligent speculation, you should introduce these things in a tentative way.

So this means that you use language to demonstrate that you are not presenting a fact or absolute truth, okay? So tentative language is about showing or expressing some uncertainty.

You are not saying this is definitely true or this is definitely a fact.

You're saying things like maybe or perhaps to show that it is tentative, it's uncertain.

So let's look at what this could possibly look like.

So Jun has been set this discussion task.

Would you rather have a time machine or a teleporter? So here is part of Jun's discussion.

"In my experience, I'm often late for things which gets me into trouble.

Therefore, a teleporter would ensure that this never happened again." So you can see here that Jun is using anecdotal evidence to develop his comment, okay? Because obviously the discussion question a time machine or a teleporter, it would be difficult to draw on textual evidence, so he's using anecdotal evidence here.

He is relating to his personal experiences and he makes this really clear by using the phrase in my experience.

So he says, "In my experience, I'm often late for things." So it's allowing him to develop his comments through that anecdotal evidence.

So again, it is very important when using unverified evidence to make this clear.

So in my experience shows that he's not presenting a fact.

Okay, which of the following may not be the most effective for introducing anecdotal evidence? Is it A, B, or C? Pick your answer now.

Okay, well done to everyone that said b, it is a fact that.

That may not be the most effective for anecdotal evidence because it's too certain, isn't it? It's saying that it is a fact when actually with anecdotal evidence, it's more like in my experience or I have personally noticed.

You're acknowledging that you are drawing from your own experience and not hard facts.

So let's look at another example.

So Sam has been set this discussion task.

The great pineapple pizza controversy, delicious creativity or taste bud terror? What a great discussion question.

So Sam has been set this discussion question.

Now Sam suddenly realises that she's never had pineapple on pizza, and, in fact, doesn't really pizza.

So what can she do? She has no clue what to talk about.

So what can she do? Well, what she can do is Sam can use prior knowledge to intelligently speculate.

So she can draw on things that she does know to make some intelligent guesses, she can intelligently speculate.

So although speculation requires some guessing, you do still need to give it some thought, okay? So, and it does still need to be relevant to what is being discussed.

So it is a really good strategy when you are struggling with what to say? So let's look at part of Sam's discussion.

So Sam says, "Fruit on pizza? Perhaps the most disastrous combination ever.

I imagine it must be like putting ice cream on steak or bananas in a stir fry." So you can see here how Sam has drawn on her own experience of food and the idea of sweet and savoury together.

So although she's never had this, she's sort of saying, "Well, actually it's probably a bit like bananas in a stir fry." So she's using that evidence, that speculation to develop the comment even though she doesn't have a set answer.

And you'll see that Sam has used tentative language to show that her evidence is not verified, okay? This can be seen when she uses the word perhaps.

Perhaps the most disastrous combination ever.

So she's not saying definitely or absolutely, she's using that tentative language to show that it's not an absolute thing.

So true or false.

If I don't know what to say, I can just guess and say anything.

Is that true or false? Answers now, please.

Yes, absolutely that's false.

You can't just guess and say anything.

But now you need to justify why that answer is false.

Off you go.

Okay, let's compare.

Hopefully you have something similar to intelligent speculation means making thoughtful guesses based on prior knowledge, okay? And the evidence also needs to be relevant.

So you can't just say anything and you can't just guess.

You have to really think about that intelligent speculation.

So if you're using anecdotal or speculative evidence, this usually draws on information that has not been officially verified.

So it is not an official fact, or statistic, or piece of information, okay? So this is why we should try and use tentative language to demonstrate that we are not presenting a fact or the absolute truth.

So as I've said previously, these words can help you speak tentatively.

So verbs like could, may, might, and adverbs such as perhaps, maybe, arguably.

So let's look what they look like in sentences.

So this could suggest that trenches were cold and uninhabitable.

This might mean that a time machine would be more beneficial in the long run.

Arguably in my experience, pineapple on pizza is the perfect pairing for melted cheese.

So I'd like you to have a go now at using some tentative language, and I'd like you to use tentative language to adapt these two statements.

The poem is about power and control.

All soldiers experience diseases in the trenches.

Pause the video so you can have a go at adapting those statements using tentative language.

Off you go.

Great, thanks, everybody.

It's really interesting.

Lots of different variations of word choices to make these statements tentative.

So you might have said something, like arguably, the poem is about power and control, or perhaps all soldiers experience disease in the trenches, or soldiers could have experienced diseases in the trenches.

So you can see how there's lots of different ways we can make our statements sound tentative.

Okay, so second practise task.

So keep going 'cause you've been working brilliantly so far.

So what you're going to do is you're going to discuss the following statements, including different types of evidence and tentative language to develop your comments.

So you'll need to make sure you are including different types of evidence to really develop your discussion comments.

So the first statement is chocolate for breakfast, brilliant idea or bad habit? From puppies to dragons, which animal would make the best pet is your second one.

And remember, as you are discussing those all-important spoken language skills, so those eyes looking, make sure you are using positive eye contact, you are listening to what the other person is saying in order to respond effectively.

You are thinking, so remember to think about using that tentative language and those different types of evidence, and also make sure you are speaking clearly.

So make sure you have everything you need to complete this task.

You may just want to spend a few moments thinking about those discussion statements before you start your discussion.

But when you are ready, pause the video, and I can't wait to hear what you come up with.

Off you go.

Wow, thank you.

That's brilliant.

I loved hearing the use of anecdotal evidence to really elevate these discussions and that tentative language alongside the intelligent speculation.

It just really makes these discussions much more developed and much more interesting than just simple yes or no answers, or even just saying, I don't know.

So if you use that intelligent speculation, it avoids you getting into that situation.

So well done.

So we have one of our Oak here, Aisha, and let's look at her discussion and what she says.

So this is in response to that first statement.

"I know that chocolate has been linked to greater gut health, however, in my experience, it affects my teeth and concentration, perhaps suggesting that chocolate is more of a bad habit than a healthy breakfast choice." So you can see that Aisha has really successfully used that anecdotal evidence here.

She says, however, in my experience.

Okay, so she's drawn on that and some speculative evidence too, and she's used that tentative language in perhaps suggesting.

So she's not said, "I know this and this is a fact." She's used those words to really use that tentative language to show that she is unsure.

Okay, great.

So over to you.

Think back to your discussions, and I'd like you to self-assess using that checklist.

So did you use the different types of evidence and did you use tentative language? Pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic work, everyone.

It's been really great drawing on that anecdotal evidence to really develop and elevate these discussions.

So we now know, don't we? That discussions can be elevated for the inclusion of evidence.

And there's lots of different types of evidence we can use.

Like written responses, textual evidence can be used in discussions.

Different types of evidence can be used depending on the question.

For example, anecdotal evidence and speculation.

And it is a good idea to use tentative phrases when evidence is not verified or anecdotal.

So hopefully this lesson has given you lots of ways to help you when you are feeling uncertain in a discussion.

So hopefully you no longer don't know what to.

Never be in a situation where you don't know what to say in a discussion because you can always draw on that intelligent speculation or that anecdotal evidence.

Okay, I'm gonna stop talking now, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon, goodbye.