Roaming cats – diamond ranking
How do people perceive their relationship with animals? How do labels like ‘pest’ or ‘pet’ put animals in categories or assign rules to the ways we interact with them?
This activity uses the vexing question: Should cats be allowed to roam freely? Students consider nine statements and use a diamond ranking strategy to prioritise their viewpoints.
Diamond ranking strategy
Diamond ranking is a strategy to arrange items in order of priority. The first choice or the most important concept is placed at the top. The least desirable choice or concept is placed on the bottom.
Prior to conducting this activity, teachers may find it useful to read the article Managing classroom discussions. It provides helpful tips for creating a positive climate for discussion.
In this activity, students prioritise their viewpoints regarding cats and their freedom to roam. Students begin the activity by making individual rankings and then complete the rankings again as part of a group.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
read a variety of statements about cats and their freedom of movement
rank the statements from highest priority/first choice at the top to the lowest priority/last choice at the bottom
select and use scientific information and mātauranga Māori to develop and justify their views
consider multiple perspectives and respect the views and values of other people
explain if, how or why their thinking has shifted as a result of doing this activity.
Download the Word file (see link below).
