In my class at school I used to make up our own 6th grade Inequalities Worksheet and we used to call it the Awesome Work-In-Progress-Sheet, or AWIP-Sheet. This worksheet made use of several key elements, which were designed to help students get a handle on how their peers were doing. Some of the components included sorting the students into several different groups that they could be grouped with based on performance in a previous year’s tests.
Other elements included demonstrating how each of the Inabilities fit into the four areas of Intelligence, Knowledge, Expression, and Responsibility. On the right side of the page there was a test that the students took. Students got four choices: A) Mostly Incompetent, B) Slightly Incompetent, C) Entirely Incompetent, or D) Completely Incompetent. We then sorted the students by their score on this test and placed them into the groups accordingly.
While we were doing this, we also discussed what certain roles a student would have during their classes. After the students completed the AWIP-Sheet they came back and presented to me with their written assignments. We would assign a small piece of homework, which was derived from the other tests they had taken and which we used to help them sort out which group they would be in for the rest of the year.
The list that we constructed for these Inabilities consisted of special, honors, and AP classes that each student would be in. We considered an independent, special education, gifted, and a particular degree as examples of the Inabilities which were being covered.
We talked about the effects of the Inabilities as well. First, we discussed the problems in the classroom that could be caused by having an Inability in any of the areas. Next, we looked at how students might deal with the Inabilities.
We discussed how students could get the Inabilities worked into their vocabulary and this is something that I would suggest that you do. When students were given the vocabulary which was the opposite of the one that they had an answer for, they felt that it was easier than it actually was, and this is something that we should consider.
Lastly, we looked at the Inabilities in the world and how to control them. In this way we helped create a society that was based on responsibility and self-control.
I hope that you will consider using this sheet for your class. There are plenty of other tools that can be used to help create Inequalities in your class as well.
