DEBATING

DEBATING

While we were in our fourth mobility in Barbastro, 
we organised several debates where our students prepared for and against refutations.
There were three interesting topics to talk about:

• Do technologies make us more alone?
• Do people stigmatise others for simply being different?
• Does sport help to integrate?

Our real aim was to make pupils think there are other opinions 
and all of them can be as good as ours; mainly if they are given in a respectful way. 

How to Conduct a Class Debate 

Introduce the topic

All debates start with a topic, or resolution. Often, this resolution is a proposed course of action that one team will argue for and another will argue against. Choose a topic to which your students can relate and perhaps one with practical application. You can make the topic less serious (the cafeteria should include more international dishes on the daily menu) or more serious (the U.S. government should reform its visa application process). In any case, be sure that your students understand the issue and any specialized vocabulary that goes with it. 

Assign the Affirmative and the Negative 

There are two sides to any debate. Naturally, one will argue for and another against the resolution. It is better to group your students into teams to research and argue the issue rather than expecting one student to do all the work. This way one student does not have all the pressure to perform, and the other members of the group can help with comprehension and strategy. Ideally, break your class into four groups (at least three students in each group) and assign two groups to each of two resolutions. Then assign one of each pair of student groups to the affirmative. This group will argue for the issues being presented. The other two groups will be the negative and will argue against the resolutions. During the debate, the other groups will serve as the judges and decide which side presented a stronger case voting for the winners of the debate at its conclusion. 

Give Time for Research 

Your students will need time to research the issue. Not only that, they will also need additional instruction on the specific vocabulary that may be involved. Make sure all of your students understand any specialized vocabulary so the efficacy of their arguments does not depend on simple comprehension. Encourage each group to form a strategy as to who will do most of the talking during the debate though remind them that all of them are expected to participate in the research and strategy of the debate. Then, during the preparation time in anticipation of the rebuttal, your students should discuss with their teams the points the opposition made and decide how to refute them. 

Keep Track of Time 

If you are unfamiliar with formal debate, the speakers follow a set order. The following is the most basic of debate structure. 

First, the affirmative group receives two minutes to present their case to the audience. 

The negative group then receives two minutes to present their case. 

After both sides have a chance to speak, both teams receive two minutes to prepare a rebuttal and summary. The order of speech is reversed now and the negative side presents their rebuttal and summary for the first two minutes. 

The last to speak is the affirmative team who then presents their rebuttal and summary for two minutes. The debate is now concluded. 

There are other structures that you can follow for debate, and they may be useful once your class is familiar with the process and strategy of debate, but if this is the first time your students are formally debating, keeping things simple is better. 

Make a Judgment 

Usually in debate, the winner is the one who has presented the strongest case. But, the overall purpose of speaking is more important than the specific outcome of the debate. Still, your students will probably want to know who won. To determine the winner, have the audience vote on which team they thought made the most convincing argument. With this, weigh your own opinion as to who communicated clearly and refuted the opponent’s arguments best. This combination will identify your winners. 

Your grading process, on the other hand, does not have to name a winner and a loser. As long as your students were able to communicate clearly, use good grammar, and have good pronunciation, the debate was a success, and their grades should reflect that success. 

busyteacher.org 

                                     

Classroom Activities 

How to Hold a Classroom Debate 

By: Janelle Cox (www.teachhub.com) 

Are you looking for classroom activities to get your students to use their critical thinking skills? Then you should try having a classroom debate. Not only will you get your students thinking, but you will get them interacting and communicating as well. Using classroom activities like debates can also foster presentation skills, research, teamwork, and public speaking. So if you want to get your students excited about what they are learning, then try holding a classroom debate. Here’s how to get started. 

Classroom Activities: What to Debate 

The topic of debate will depend on the age of your students. You will need an interesting topic to really get your students engaged. Here are a few topic ideas. You can choose the one that best suits your students’ maturity level. 

Smartphones should be banned in school. 

Children should be able to watch television more than two hours a day. 

Wearing a bike helmet for all outdoor sports (bikes, hoverboards, skateboards, etc.) is mandatory. 

Homework should be banned in all schools. 

School uniforms should be required. 

How to Prepare 

After you have chosen your controversial topic, you will either have to present this topic and both sides to your students, or have the students take the topic and research both sides of it to find out what side their position is on. If you decide to have students listen to a statement, then decide if they agree or disagree with that statement. Then break them into groups. Once they are in groups, they can discuss their thoughts on the issue. If you decide to give students a topic, then send them off to research that topic. Next, have them work in groups to record information in support of their position. 

The easiest way for students to prepare for a class debate is to get their thoughts onto paper. There are many ways that they can do this. They can write an essay where they write supporting arguments and show their evidence. Another option is to write a position paper where they take a position and must support that position with factual evidence. A third option is to use a graphic organizer to find their particular position on a topic. With this option, students must develop arguments both for and against the topic. On the debate day, they must choose which side they most strongly are for, or against. A final option is to create an argument outline, which is a basic outline of their position on the topic with supporting evidence of how they feel about the topic. 

Classroom Debate Format 

There are many different formats that you can use for your classroom debate. Here are a few options: 

The Fishbowl Debate – Randomly select a handful of students to come sit in front of the classroom in a half-circle facing the students. Pose a question or a statement to those selected students and ask them to discuss it. The rest of the classmates ask a question to the panel or take turns taking their spot in the fishbowl, but they are not allowed to speak otherwise. This format is used when students have prior knowledge about the topic. 

Advocate Decision-Making Debate – Students are placed into groups of three and assigned a topic to debate. One person is in support of the topic, one is against, and one acts as the judge. The judge, or “Decision maker,” will create a list of questions to ask the advocates, which students will use as their debate outline. Then the judge will decide at the end of the debate who the winner is. This can be done in front of the class or in groups at the same time. 

The Four Corners Debate - This debate will get students up and moving while using their critical thinking skills. Students are given a topic, then they must prepare a well-supported paragraph stating their position (they may strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, or just disagree). Next, students will move to the corner of the classroom where they see their position posted on the wall. The strongly disagree position is posted in the right-hand corner, while the agree position is posted in the left-handed corner, and so on. Once students move to their corner, they get 10 minutes to discuss their thoughts. Appoint one person the note-taker and one person the speaker. At the end of the 10 minutes, invite each speaker to state her case on the topic. If at the end of the debate a student has changed his mind, he is allowed to move corners. Then students get another 10 minutes to discuss. After that point, students take their seats to write a new paragraph detailing their thoughts on the topic. 

Ball-Toss Debate – Students are given a topic and must take a side. Each student goes to the side of the classroom where their position is either for or against the topic. Move desks so that each side is facing each other. Have students sit on their desks and take turns tossing a ball to discuss their position on the topic. Only the student with the ball can speak. This debate is just like the mum-ball, except students are using it to debate an issue. 

Grading a Debate 

Grading a class debate can be challenging. The best way to get a grade is to use the outlines and persuasive essays from the students. You can also assign a paper after the debate. Grading can be as follows: 

A – Well researched, paraphrases, acknowledges or refutes a topic. 

B – Showed comprehension of topic, makes a good argument 

C – Participates and takes notes 

D – Does not participate in discussion, and shows minimum attentiveness 

F - Shows unwillingness to participate in class debate 

SELLO EUROPEO DE LAS LENGUAS 2014

European language label 

In 2014, Martínez Vargas High School received this award thanks to a project related to debating in a democratic way. A similar structure has been used with our Erasmus students in the four schools and in the last meeting in Barbastro (Spain) in May 2019. 

LINK TO "Sello Europeo de las Lenguas":    http://sepie.es/iniciativas/sello/index.html