APIEClass activity: Quill Lane Challenge Stems
Philosophy and critical thinking
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Quill Lane Challenge Stems
A Fast-Paced Debating Club Game for Noun Clauses & Logical Fallacies
Rules of the Game
👩🏫 Teacher Setup & Execution
For Teacher- 1 Divide the class into debating teams of 3 or 4 students.
- 2 Hand out one set of 6 Claim Cards and a challenge sheet to each team.
- 3 Appoint one dedicated scorekeeper per team to track points accurately.
- 4 Instruct Team A to read a claim aloud, while Team B gets exactly 60 seconds to complete the stem.
- 5 Keep time strictly and consult the Teacher Key for word order and scoring rules.
🎓 Student Round Mechanics
For Students- 1 Goal: Challenge weak reasoning using correct noun clauses and unit vocabulary.
- 2 One member reads the Claim Card clearly to the opposing team.
- 3 The responding team has 60 seconds to construct a coherent noun clause completion.
- 4 Use statement word order (Subject + Verb). Never include auxiliary do or does!
- 5 Win 2 points for correct word order, 1 point for minor order errors, plus 1 bonus point per Unit word used.
Timed Plan (25 Minutes Total)
Hand out the cards, set up teams of 3-4, and assign a scorekeeper.
Teacher models Card 1 with the whole class to demonstrate scoring and word order.
Round 1: Teams challenge each other using Cards 1 to 3 (60 seconds per stem).
Round 2: Teams switch roles and complete Cards 4 to 6.
Scorekeepers tally total points including unit vocabulary bonus points.
Class wrap-up: Discuss the best responses and review key word-order mistakes.
6 Claim Cards
"Every swan on the pond is white, because the five we saw were white."
What worries me is whether...
"Our club is the best in the city, because all its members say so."
It is not clear why...
"Crime fell after new street lights went up, so the lights stopped it."
We should ask what else...
"People who drink tea live longer, says a survey of twelve tea-lovers."
No one has explained how...
"The manuscript is from the 1500s, because the paper looks old."
Whether [clause] ... is the real question.
"The old well is magic, because the water never dries up."
Why [clause] ... remains to be explained.
Scoring System & Challenge Sheet
Correct Word Order
Sensible challenge with statement word order (Subject + Verb). No auxiliary do/does/did inside the clause!
Flawed Word Order
Sensible critical response, but contains a minor word order slip (e.g., using question word order inside the clause).
Unit Word Bonus
Earn +1 extra bonus point for every target C1 vocabulary word correctly embedded into the response sentence.
📊 Team Scoring Sheet (Peer Checklist)
| Card # | Responding Team | Word Order (0-2 pts) | Unit Vocabulary Bonus (+1/word) | Round Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card 1 | Team _____ | ☐ 2 pts ☐ 1 pt | ☐ +1 ☐ +2 ☐ +3 | _____ pts |
| Card 2 | Team _____ | ☐ 2 pts ☐ 1 pt | ☐ +1 ☐ +2 ☐ +3 | _____ pts |
| Card 3 | Team _____ | ☐ 2 pts ☐ 1 pt | ☐ +1 ☐ +2 ☐ +3 | _____ pts |
| Card 4 | Team _____ | ☐ 2 pts ☐ 1 pt | ☐ +1 ☐ +2 ☐ +3 | _____ pts |
| Card 5 | Team _____ | ☐ 2 pts ☐ 1 pt | ☐ +1 ☐ +2 ☐ +3 | _____ pts |
| Card 6 | Team _____ | ☐ 2 pts ☐ 1 pt | ☐ +1 ☐ +2 ☐ +3 | _____ pts |
Sentence Starters (Grammar + Vocabulary Bank)
Use these 6 high-level model sentence starters during debate rounds. Each item incorporates target C1 critical thinking vocabulary alongside wh-/whether/if noun clauses:
"What worries me is whether this basic premise is actually plausible."
"It is not clear why the author relies on such a flawed assumption."
"We should ask what else could explain this, since the inference has no coherent rationale."
"No one has explained how this single survey avoids a logical fallacy."
"Whether looking old proves anything requires more rigorous scepticism."
"Why the water never dries up is a classic paradox that needs study."
Teacher Key & Assessment Guide
📌 Grading Criteria & Flex Guidelines
Any sensible critical challenge that preserves standard statement word order (Subject + Verb) inside the clause is FULL MARKS (2 pts). Note that Cards 5 & 6 require subject clauses positioned directly before the printed verbs (is / remains).
"What worries me is whether five swans are enough to prove it."
(Alt: "whether this premise is plausible.")"It is not clear why member opinions count as a coherent rationale."
"We should ask what else changed that year."
"No one has explained how twelve tea-lovers represent a rigorous sample."
"Whether looking old proves anything is the real question."
"Why the water never dries up remains to be explained."
Mistake to Hear & Correct Immediately
Listen out for students using question word order inside embedded clauses, e.g.:
❌ Incorrect: "We should ask what did else change."
✅ Correct: "We should ask what else changed."
Activity Variations & Differentiation
Warm-Up Mode
Give teams 30 seconds of quiet prep time to write down their noun clause before speaking it aloud.
Standard Rules
Strict 60-second timer per claim. Fully spontaneous verbal responses with no writing allowed.
Philosophy Expert
Require every answer to contain at least two C1 Unit words to earn the full 2 base points.
Creator Challenge
Fast teams invent 2 original flawed claims and write matching stem cards to challenge adjacent teams.
Closing Discussion Questions
Wrap up the session by discussing these 3 critical reflection questions as a whole class:
Which claim card contained the most obvious logical fallacy, and why?
(Encourage students to spot the idea that one thing caused another just because it came first in Card 3, and the mistake of trusting too few examples in Cards 1 & 4).
How does using a noun clause help us express scepticism in a formal debate?
(Focus on academic distance, objective tone, and avoiding aggressive direct attack language).
What is the difference in tone between asking a direct question and using a subject noun clause like 'Whether... is the real question'?
(Subject clauses elevate focus onto the argument itself rather than demanding an instant answer from the speaker).
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