Barbell

Use a barbell to Help students
resolve conflicts

Students having a hard time compromising?

It's a regular occurrence in school for two students to get in conflict with one another about opposing views. Teachers often talk a lot about find a compromise, using some of one person's idea and some of the other's—and this is great! But it may also be a lot for some students to process exclusively verbally. 

Use a barbell to show students two sides of an argument, and how they may be able to meet in the middle.

For example, two students are working together on a group project and can't agree whether to use a black marker or a red one for the title on their math poster. Neither side will budge! 

Sketch out a barbell with the two opposing sides written, and draw arrows toward the middle that show a possible compromise, like writing the words in red and underlining them in black. 

Thanks, Lauren Hough Williams, for the inspiration!