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Debate Unit

By: Nikki Myers

Grades 7-8

Estimated Unit Time: 4 weeks

Table of Contents

Page #

WEEK 1:

Day 1: Introduction to Debate………………………………………………….4-5

-Debate Unit Schedule…………………………………………….……6-7

-Debate Unit Grading………………………………………………...…8

-Debate Rubric………………………………………………...………..9

Day 2: Active Listening………………………………………………………..10

Activity 1: Group Juggle………………………………………….…….11

Activity 2: Stop and Continue……………………………………….…12

-Journal #1……………………………………………………………...13

-Active Listening Quiz…………………………………………………14

-Listening tips handout…………………………………………………15

Day 3: How to take good notes………………………………………………....16

-Tips for Note Taking/Flowing………………………………………….17

-Activity 3: Fun with Lists………………………………………………18

-Activity 4: Summarizing Content…………………………………..…..19-20

Day 4: How to Research………………………………………………………...22

-4 Steps to Locating Information on the Internet…………………..…...23-24

-Activity 5: Computer Lab Practice Research…………………….…….25

-Homework: Lab practice…………………………………………….…26-27

Day 5: Understanding Decorum in Debate………………………………….….28-29

-How to Avoid Emotional Outbursts in Debate…………………..….…30

WEEK 2:

Day 6: How To Build Arguments………………………………………….…..31

-Lecture on A.R.E. and Logical Fallacies……………………….……..31-33

-Logical Fallacies handout……………………………………………..34

-Activity 6: Fallacy Commercial…………………………………….…35-36

-Homework: Complete A.R.E worksheet………………………………37

Day 7: Structure of Debate……………………………………………………..38-39

-Debate Notes Template…………………………………………….….40

-Debate Format……………………………………………..…………..41

Day 8: Choosing topics and teams……………………………………………..42-43

-Team Sheet…………………………………………………….………44

Day 9-10: Starting Research…………………………………………………....45

WEEK 3:

Day 11: Share Research and Continue…………………………………………46

Day 12: Last Day to Research………………………………………………….47

Day 13-14: Connective Information to Points and Rounds………………….…48

-Blank A.R.E Sheet……………………………………………………..49

-Group Member Expectations………………………………………………...50

Day 15: Write up outlines for your debate and organize material……………………51

-Basic Outline Template……………………………………………………...52

WEEK 4:

Day 16-18: Debates………………………………………………………………….53-54

-Calculated Estimated Time for Debates…………………………….………55

-Judge Evaluation Sheet……………………………………………………..56-58

Day 19: Discussing the Debate and Reviewing for Test……………………………59

Day 20: Debate Test…………………………………………………………….…..60-64

Bibliography……………………………………………………………….……….65-66

WEEK 1: Day 1

Lesson Plan Title: Introduction to Debate Unit

Concept: Introducing and showing students how debate is inspiring and useful.

Specific Objectives: Give the students a good understanding about debate.

Required Materials: -Computer projector system, Computer, debate syllabus, debate journal, intro to debate handout

Lead in: We are going to start the debate unit in class. Debate will give you all a fun and structured outlet for argument that they can use to their advantage. It will also indirectly improve listening skills, note taking, research skills, effective note taking, public speaking, critical thinking, how to argue, and how to and the importance of debate.

Definition of Debate: Definition of Debate: A debate is a discussion in which participants articulate, justify, and clarify their positions on an issue. In this informal debate plan, rebuttals attempt to refute statements made by the opposing side.

Into. To Debate Handout:



Video:

These are scenes from the inspiring movies “The Great Debaters” and “Love and Debate.”

Intro to Scene: In this scene from “The Great Debaters”, the characters named James Farmer Jr. and Henry Lowe perform an inspiring debate about State Welfare.



Intro To Scene: -In this scene from the Great Debaters, the character Samantha Booke is debating against Harvard University about how African Americans should be able to attend state universities.

6/12 from 3:06 to 7:19min.



Into to Scene: In this scene from Love and Debate the main character Jordan and her debate partner both from Harvard are debating against Michigan State about the US aid to foreign countries.

Scene from Love and Debate (can be found on netflix) scene starts at 1:14:00:



Closure for Scenes: All of these scenes are an example of debate. Although we may not be following the exact method as some of these scenes (for example the scene from “Love and Debate” used a form of debate where they talk face in their for and against arguments), you all are going to debate some serious issues that you propose as important to you and your peers.

Student Discussion: Write down and brainstorm and share known examples of debates or debates you have seen. Can be from a movie, television show, past classes. If you haven’t had any, describe a debate or an argument you have had with someone and it’s topic.

Purpose: For me to learn if they have had any past experiences of debate that I can work with for future lessons.

After: Hand out syllabus and go over it with the class. Discuss what the journals are for, individual lessons, the debate, and the test.

|Debate Unit: Syllabus |

Tentative Schedule:

Day 1: Learning Debate

-Watch videos

-Understand why debate is important

-Journal #1: Write about debate experiences

-Review syllabus

-Debate Unit Grading

-Debate Rubric

Day 2: Active Listening

- Share yesterday’s journal with the rest of the class voluntarily.

-Why it’s important to be an active listener

-How it will help your everyday life

-How it helps in debate

-Active listening exercises

-Day 2 homework- Journal #2:

-Take Active Listening Quiz

-Experiment with active listening at home and with friends

-Reflect on actively listening at home and with friends.

Day 3: How to take good notes

-Tips for Note Taking/Flowing

-Activities to help note taking

Day 4: How to Research

-4 Steps to locating information on the internet

-activity in computer lab

Day 5: Understanding Decorum in Debate

-Flip board brainstorm on rules

-How to Avoid Emotional Outbursts in Debate

-Journal #3: Past arguments and how they could have gone differently

Day 6: How To Build Arguments

-A.R.E. and Logical Fallacies

-Logical Fallacies Handout

-Activity: Fallacy Commercial

-Journal #4: Complete A.R.E worksheet

Day 7: Structure of Debate

-Lecture of the components of our debate

-Debate Note Template

-Debate Format

-Journal #5: what debate do you want to do?

Day 8: Choosing topics and teams

-Team Sheet

Day 9-10: Starting Research

Day 11: Share Research and Continue

Day 12: Last Day to Research

Days 13-14: Connective Information to Points and Rounds

-Blank A.R.E Sheet

-Group Member Expectations

Day 15: Write up outlines for your debate and organize material

-Basic Outline Template

Days 16-18: Debates

-Notes on other group’s debates

-Journal #6: After Your Debate Reflection

Day 19: Discussing the Debates and Reviewing for Test

Day 20: Debate Test

Debate Unit Grading

Journal : You will be responsible for completing debate journal entries. In these entries you will be reflecting on your experiences, processes, troubles, thoughts, and feelings regarding the debate unit. I will be doing a journal check at the beginning of the next class to make sure that you have competed your journal assignment. At the end of the unit these journals will be collected.

Points worth: 5 points for each journal on day check…………………..30 points

Homework:

Computer Research Practice—5 Points

A.R.E Worksheet—5 Points …………………………………………..10 Points

Debate……………………………………………………………...….30 Points

Test……………………………………………………………………..30 Points

Unit Total: 100 Points

Debate Rubric:

| |Excellent |Good |Average |Fair |Poor |

|Proof of Research |Resources were |Resources were used |Resources were |Resources were used |Resources were not |

| |clearly presented on |on most of the points|sometimes used on |once or twice to |used to prove points |

| |every point in the |in the debate. |points in the debate.|prove point during |during the debate. |

| |debate. | | |debate. | |

| | | |5-4 Points |3-2 Points |1-0 Points |

| |10 Points |8-6 Points | | | |

|Round 1 and 2: |Had 3 good arguments |Used three arguments |Used two arguments |Used 1 argument |Arguments did not use|

|Number of Arguments |used in their |during the debate, |during the debate. |during the debate. |the A.R.E format and |

| |arguments using A.R.E|but they were under |Arguments needed |Arguments didn’t |were not well |

| | |developed. |work. |follow A.R.E |developed |

| | | | | | |

| |10 Points |8-6 Points |5-4 Points |3-2 Points |1-0 Points |

|Rebuttal: |Tied in all 6 of the |Tied in a majority |Tied in a few points |Tied in only one |Did not tie in points|

|Number of Tie in Points |points in Rounds 1 |(5-4) of the points |(3-2) from Rounds 1 |point from Rounds 1 |from Rounds 1 and 2 |

| |and 2 |from Rounds 1 and 2 |and 2 |and 2 | |

| | |8-6 Points | | | |

| | | |5-4 Points | |1-0 Points |

| |10 Points | | |3-2 Points | |

|Good Note Taking During Debate |Notes were taken and |Notes were taken and |Notes were taken but |A few notes were |No notes were taken |

| |used during the |a few were used |not used during the |taken, and were not |and no points were |

| |debate to debunk or |during the debate to |debate to prove |used to provide |made countering the |

| |prove several point |prove a point or two.|points. |points. |other team’s debate. |

| |for your team. | | | |1-0 |

| |10 Points | | | | |

| | |8-6 Points | | | |

| | | | |3-2 | |

| | | |5-4 | | |

*Highlighted points depend on which part of the debate the student was responsible for. Whether they were responsible for the 1st round 2nd round or the Rebuttal portion of the debate.

Total: 30 Points

+5 Points Extra credit for the winning teams

Day 2:

Lesson Plan Title: Active Listening

Concept: The students need to understand the importance in active listening and how to actively listen. [If this lesson is too long it can continue into day 4.]

Objectives:

-Play games that emphasize active listening

-Discuss the importance of active listening

-Students learn strategies to actively listen

-Learn how to focus on a speaker

-Benefits to active listening

-Learn how to use active listening to your advantage in a debate

Required Materials: space for the activity- all desks need to be cleared

-A soft ball to throw around to students

Lead In: Today we are going to participate in some active listening exercises that will help enforce the importance of active listening. In order to be good debaters we must learn how to actively listen to our opponents.

How Active Listening is important to Debate: Mini Lecture

Fun Listening Facts:

•We spend between 50 and 80 percent of our waking life communicating

• On average, half of that communication time is spent in listening.

• Despite all this, listening is the “poor relation” of is communication training

I. Debate teaches the importance of being prepared to listen.

A. In a debate you must listen to the points of the other group

a. Weakness in their logic

b. Their supporting material and key points

B. To listen effectively you must eliminate distractions and concentrate on the speaker

II. The mind thinks faster than a human can talk, so don’t worry about not being able to listen well enough to be successful in debate.

A. Debate teaches you to pay attention to what people have said.

III. Being a good listener takes time and practice

A. Try the active listening skills we discussed today at home.

ACTIVITY 1:

Introduction: This activity is used as a warm up activity to active learning. In this activity the desks need to be cleared away.

Activity 1: Group Juggle

1st Round: In the first round the teacher is to pass the ball to a student by saying the student’s name then passing it to him or her. Then that student is to pass the ball to another student announcing their name first.

2nd Round: In this round it gets a little more challenging. The students are to disguise their voice or change their pitch or volume. Students need to pay a lot more attention so that they can hear their name being called. If the student does not catch the ball-they are out.

3rd Round: Now all of the students that have been called out because they didn’t catch the ball are to be making background noises like tapping on desks and stomping feet. This will make it harder for the students to hear their names being called out.

4th and Final Round: In this round the students that are out are to talk amongst themselves loudly, so that the students playing the game have an even harder time hearing their names being called in order to catch the ball.

Activity 1 Discussion:

The students are to reflect on how hard it was to pay attention to their name being called.

Activity 1 Importance:

This activity is to show students how hard it is to listen when there are so many different things going on in the room. The noise in the room can also be related to the internal noise people have inside their mind. Sometimes when a person is supposed to be actively listening, they have other thoughts on their mind that distract them from actively listening.

Activity 2:

Introduction: In this activity we are going to address actively listening to what each other is saying in order to fully understand and comprehend the overall message.

Activity 2: Stop and Continue

First students are to come up with topics that would like to discuss with each other. The first topic could be fun and easy to speak on, which can then be followed by more difficult ones. Once the discussion ensues, the teacher will stop the speaker in the middle and ask any other student to continue the discussion from the same point where the previous speaker has left off. Once everyone gets a hang of the activity, the teacher can randomly pick any of the students and ask him/her to continue speaking.

This activity should last about 10-15 minutes.

Activity 2 Discussion:

-What it hard to continue on with what the other person was saying?

-For the people who first started the topic…did it go where you thought it would?

-How do you think this relates to actively listening in the classroom?

-Do you often internally assume what people are going to say when they are talking to you? (Put words in their mouth)

Activity 2 Importance:

This activity is a fun and challenging way to get you all to think about how to actively listen to a speaker. When you all are debating, you must actively listen to the other speaker if you are going to win and be successful in your counter arguments.

Homework Journal:

In this journal you are to use the active listening tips in a discussion with a friend or family member.

-Take the active listening quiz:

-Are you an active listener?

-Reflect on your abilities to actively listen before the active listening exercises.

-Discuss how you personally can improve your active listening skills.

-What are your personal issues with actively listening?

Name:_______________

Active Listening Quiz

Adapted from The Coach U Personal and Corporate Coach Training Handbook, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005, page 134

Rate yourself on the following ten elements of listening. For a richer assessment, ask the people to whom you listen to rate you independently.

| |Never |Sometimes |Often |Usually |Always |

|I consciously clear my mind of personal worries and other | | | | | |

|concerns before entering the conversation. | | | | | |

|I stay tuned in even when the other person is overly | | | | | |

|detailed or verbose. | | | | | |

|I remain focused on the other person’s conversation even | | | | | |

|when I do not think it is relevant to the topic at hand. | | | | | |

|I wait for the other person to finish before thinking about | | | | | |

|my response. | | | | | |

|I am comfortable with silence, and allow space for the other| | | | | |

|person to think. | | | | | |

|If I don’t understand, I ask the other person to repeat or | | | | | |

|clarify what he or she said. | | | | | |

|I don’t finish the other person’s sentences for them. | | | | | |

|I don’t interrupt, even if I think I know what the other | | | | | |

|person is saying. I let them finish. | | | | | |

|I don’t multi-task. All of my attention is on the other | | | | | |

|person. | | | | | |

|I can continue to listen, even if the other person presents | | | | | |

|information that is disagreeable to me. | | | | | |

If you answered “usually” or “always” to most of these questions, you are probably a pretty good listener.

ACTIVE LISTENING TIPS

Show interest:

The best, easiest and most effective way of

showing interest is:

• listen to what they are saying

• Focusing on what they are

saying as opposed to planning our own reposts and anecdotes

Be Aware of Body Language

• Listening to the words spoken as well as the body language will make you a ‘whole’ rather than a ‘part’ listener

• Be aware of your own body language too

• Your own body-language part in the conversation will also have a significant impact on you and your perceptions.

• If you are bored, and act bored, your speaker will become even boring!

• If you are bored, and act more interested, the speaker will become more interesting

• It is you who helps create the dullness or excitement of whatever you are listening to.

Tune-in and Train Your Mind to Focus

Focus on what you want – not what you don’t want

• If you think about how much the distractions are interfering with you concentration, you will magnify them, and they will interfere all the more!

• If you increasingly focus on who and what you are listening to, you will magnify that sound and fade to nothingness all the background noise.

• Play listening games in your daily life. When you are out walking, ‘tune-in’ to the different ‘sound stations’ around you –the bird channel, the human voice channel, the traffic channel, the rain channel, and so on.

• Try to isolate only those sounds you want to hear; you will become adept at filtering out unwanted noise.

• You will strengthen your listening skills and gain a much wider and greater appreciation of the surround-sound world in which you live.

Bad Listening Habits:

1. Pretending to pay attention when you are not

2. Trying to do other things while listening

3. Deciding the subject is uninteresting

4. Getting distracted by the speaker’s way of speech, or other mannerisms

5. Getting over-involved and thus losing the main thread of the arguments or thoughts

6. Letting emotion-filled words arouse personal anger and antagonism

7. Concentrating on any distractions instead of what is being said

8. Taking linear, one-color notes

9. Listening primarily for facts

10. Avoiding anything that is complex or difficult

Day 3:

Lesson Plan Title: How to take good notes

Concept: It is important in debate and in other classes how to take good notes. When listening to the opposing side’s proposition, they must accurate notes in order to counter argue.

Big picture: Most students are not taught how to take good notes, so they may not understand how to make good notes and what good notes look like.

Required Material: print and cut out the 6 short stories

-Students need paper and pencil

****Check Journal Entry for Credit

Lead in: Taking good notes will help you with your debate. You must take notes o the opposing side so that you can counter argue their points with yours. This also involves active listening like we discussed yesterday.

Lecture Notes:

I. Good notes help in debate by

a. Help you keep track of how arguments relate

b. Help you compare and contrast their arguments with yours

II. Flowing- the system we are going to use to take notes for our debates

a. Flowing helps because it keeps the arguments organized across the page

b. Provides a map of the debate and the points and how they relate to each other

c. Keeps track of what was said

d. Helps you plan specific counter arguments

III. What not to do:

a. Do not write down everything your opponents say

b. Use abbreviations and short hand in order to make notes shorter

c. Rephrase what was said so that it is shorter

Hand Out: Tips for Note Taking/Flowing

Complete Activities

Debate Notes Template: The debate notes template is to show students the sheet they will be given to take notes on. The do not have to use this sheet if they do not want to, but it is a suggestion to make things more organized.

Tips for Note Taking/Flowing

1. Shorten each word to 1-2 syllables.

2. Eliminate vowels when abbreviating.

3. Use abbreviations when necessary (chat speak or text language)

4. Use the minimum number of notations, but make sure you can understand what

you have written.

5. Use lines and arrows to connect arguments for both debaters.

6. Make sure you stick to the main points. You don’t need to write down everything that is said, so write down the more important ideas

7. Listen carefully- use your active listening tips in order to listen to what is said, so you can write them down efficiently with out being distracted.

Activity 3: FUN WITH LISTS

Procedure:

Have students prepare to take notes. Explain that you will read a series of lists to them

and that they should try to write down as many of the list items as they can. Begin with

the simpler lists, on the left, and proceed to the more complex lists on the right. After

each list, stop and ask students to repeat back the items on the list in order.

|List 1 |List 2 |List 3 |List 4 |List 5 |

|5 |Toyota |Orange |50 Cent |Barack Obama |

|54 |Honda |Suburban |Oprah Winfrey |Volvo |

|32 |Kia |12 |Lady Gaga |26 |

|46 |Mitsubishi |Friends |Drew Barrymore |Banana |

|3 |Chevrolet |Internet |David Hasselhoff |Christmas |

|22 |Mercedes |45 |Paris Hilton |Fruit Loops |

|676 |Ford |Acura |Justin Bieber |42 |

|9 |Cadillac |Yellow |Tom Cruise |Chihuahua |

|23 |Ferrari | |P. Ditty |Lamp |

Activity Purpose: This activity is to help students take down notes in a timely manner. Although the notes that they will be taking in the debate will be more complex, it’s important to start as simple as possible so that the process is understood.

Activity 4: Summarizing Content

Procedure:

In this activity the class is split into five or six small groups.

-Each group is given a short story.

-The groups read the stories aloud.

-Then the group is to read aloud the story again, but this time after the story is read the group members are to summarize the story.

-After the groups are done they are to read their summaries out loud inside of the group.

-The group is then to vote on which summary is best and why.

-The groups are to read aloud the summary that was voted best.

Activity Purpose:

This activity helps the students exercise their active listening and summarization skills. These skills are important to exercise in order to take effective note summaries during the debates. During the debates they will not be able to hear the propositions a second time, so stressing the importance of listening effectively and translating it into notes is very important.

Short Stories for Activity 2:

The Zoo

Last Wednesday we decided to visit the zoo. We arrived the next morning after we breakfasted, cashed in our passes and entered. We walked toward the first exhibits. I looked up at a giraffe as it stared back at me. I stepped nervously to the next area. One of the lions gazed at me as he lazed in the shade while the others napped. One of my friends first knocked then banged on the tempered glass in front of the monkey's cage. They howled and screamed at us as we hurried to another exhibit where we stopped and gawked at plumed birds. After we rested, we headed for the petting zoo where we petted wooly sheep who only glanced at us but the goats butted each other and nipped our clothes when we ventured too near their closed pen. Later, our tired group nudged their way through the crowded paths and exited the turnstiled gate. Our car bumped, jerked and swayed as we dozed during the relaxed ride home.

The State Bank

This morning at 8:33, someone robbed the State Bank downtown. The thief entered the bank and stated that he wanted all their money. The thief smiled but looked very tired. The tellers seemed worried. The thief received the money he requested, asked to be excused, then stormed out quickly as the door revolved. He dashed down the street and screeched away in a damaged car that rattled, squeaked and smoked. It appeared that he really needed the money. The police soon arrived. They barreled and chased down the street. They searched and questioned bystanders, but the thief vanished. The police failed to catch him. Investigators abandoned the case and neglected to do anything else. The money was never recovered and the thief was never identified the report of the incident ended.

FIVE MINUTES by Matt Barton

The masked man put it simply: "I'm going to kill you in five minutes," and since James had heard him say the exact same line to three of his friends--and noted with some alarm that the man had carried through on each occasion--he knew exactly what lay in store for him. He was tied down with barbwire to a rough sawed plank, but comfort mattered little now. After all, the last thing he wanted to do with his last five minutes was think about how uncomfortable he was on that stupid board. You'd think, though, that someone would've at least sanded it down a bit. And why barbwire? Was that really necessary? Why couldn't he have been killed by a killer who preferred soft nylon rope? And why, for that matter, had he been positioned facing the wall, with nothing interesting to look at? He was the only one of his friends who'd been put this way. Nothing to see but cheap woodgrain paneling. It was maddening. What an insult! And, to make matters worse, he had to pee. He didn't mind not getting a "last cigarette." He didn't smoke. But he did have to pee. Jesus Christ, what a lousy way to spend five minutes.

A SIMPLE DIVERSION by Bill Loguidice

Jack tried to speak, but failed, the tears beginning to well. Angie tried to speak, but also failed, her face becoming flush. "W-W-W-hat do we do now?" Jack finally stammered. "Don't know," Angie responded, barely audible. The two sat staring for a long time, sharing a stunned silence, not really hearing the gentle clicking in the background. How had they reached this point? What went wrong? All had been wonderful just a few moments ago, as they worked as one to reach new levels of success. Then, without warning, it happened, "Disk Error", flashing repeatedly. Though it was like "Game Over" from so many times before, those words now took on their true, sinister meaning. Having nothing left but time to reflect, Jack and Angie called it a night.

 INSPIRATION by Davy Kelly

He was bored. So bored. His great intellect, seemingly inexhaustible, was hungry for new challenges but he was the last of the great innovators - society's problems had all been solved. All seemingly unconnected disciplines had long since been found to be related in horrifically elusive and contrived ways and he had mastered them all. He lay back in the dark and tried to relax. He longed for the challenges of the past when his racing mind prevented him from sleeping. It was tortuous at the time, but he now looked back on those times enviously. Then it hit him. Since he couldn't be presented with a challenging problem any more, all he had to do was to create a problem of his own design; so complicated and with so many interrelated complex relationships that only he could untangle them and calculate the ultimate outcome. But where to start? Then it hit him. He opened his eyes in the dark and said, "Let there be light".

SARAH by Bill Loguidice

Sarah was excited by the prospect of jumping back into the holographic synthesizer. Living long-term aboard a space station was not her idea of paradise, but the pay was irresistible, if not the atmosphere. Now her turn was again up to get away from it all, if only for a few hours. As usual, she wanted to simulate a nighttime float in the creaky row boat on the small lake by her old Earth-bound Florida home. The last time she did it, she just laid back and, though the irony was palpable, simply looked up at the stars. While she loved the light breeze that gently rocked the boat, she did not appreciate the simulated insects, with their all too real bites and buzzing about; Sarah had been on that sterile space station a very long time now. Whoever determined that virtual reality would truly fool the senses only if there was genuine environmental interaction, Sarah thought, probably needed to actually get out more. In any case, this time Sarah bent the rules more than a little by getting one of her programmer friends to hack the system for her and override life simulation on her program. Now she could really relax, just her, the boat and those very distant stars. Sarah happily entered the room, ran the program and within a few seconds, ceased to exist.

Day 4:

Lesson Plan Title: How to Research

Concept: Teach the students how to find good useful information from reputable sources

Materials: -Computer in the classroom to start

-Computer lab access

Big Picture: In order for the students to find useful and legitimate information for their debates, they need to know how to tell if a website is useful and appropriate for their topic. Students will need to learn how to research and pull information from well-written sources and understand what it makes a source reliable and useful.

Lead In: In order to get good material for your debates, you need to understand how to research the material. Everything on the Internet is not always fact, so it is important to use reputable sources and it is important to read the information with a critical eye.

Hand Out 4 steps: Review the steps with the class.

Show how: The teacher should show the students an example of research on Classroom Computer Doc Camera. Go to scholar. or show the students how to just use regular google search in order to find show how to tell if it is a reputable source.

-Go down the checklist on a few websites as an example

Computer Lab: The students are then to go down to the computer lab in order to do the research activity.

Four Steps to Locating Information on the Internet

Step One:

Define and refine the research question

Narrow the topic to several specific questions

Keep refining research questions. It is easy to get off on a side track and waste time on topics that are related, but don't really address the question that you are researching

Graphic organizers and outlines are useful

Develop a list of key words for your research questions

Step Two

Locate Sources:

Utilize Multiple sources - Don't forget print!!

Going on the Internet:

• First choice: Student Start Pages - content sites previewed by teachers

• Second Choice: Reference Start Page

• Third Choice: Student Search Start Page

Look first for good sources, don't just start taking notes from the first thing that you find.

Step Three

Check the source of the information that you find:

• Who posted this information?

• Is this a reliable source?

• Is this a biased source?

• Is this site trying to sell you something?

Always confirm information found on this page with another source on or off the Internet.

Step Four

Look at Content

• Does the information on this page address my research question?

• easy to read?

• subheadings?

• table of Contents?

Write down the Web address so you can credit the source information in your work.

Activity 5: Computer Lab Research Practice

Procedure:

- Students are to get onto the computers in order to come up with reputable resources for sample topics.

- Students have their Four Steps to Locating Information in front of them.

-Students use the steps in order to find good sources.

-Students then write down the sources on the paper provided.

-At the end of the class the students are to hand in their worksheets to the teacher to check.

Activity Purpose: The activity is supposed to get students to understand how to use the computer in order to conduct research. This is an active exercise to get experience with researching on the Internet.

Name:______________________

Computer Lab Research Practice

In order to do this research activity, you need to take the topic given and shorten topic into a keywords. Then you must write down the name of the website, the author, and the website URL. All most be reliable resources. Make sure you go down the Four Steps to Locating Information for help.

*the first line is an example

|Topic: |Keywords: |Name of Website: |Author: |Website URL: |

|Cell phones |Cell phones in |Cyberbullying in |QING L. | |

|should be allowed|middle school |Schools | | |

|in middle | | | | |

|schools. | | | | |

|Cigarettes should| | | | |

|be banned. | | | | |

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|toys for their | | | | |

|children | | | | |

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|Students should | | | | |

|be punished for | | | | |

|failing to report| | | | |

|cheating. | | | | |

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DAY 5

Lesson Plan Title: Understanding Decorum in Debate

Concept: In debating the most important aspect is arguing the issue. In order to be an effective arguer students must learn how to use decorum to have a civilized and well thought out debate.

Big Picture: In order to have civil and safe debates in class, students must learn that although many of the topics are going to be hot button issues, they still need to keep their cool and remain calm.

Check Computer Research Practice for Credit

Lead In: Through out the past 4 days we have been viewing examples of debate, learning about active listening, note taking, and research. Now we must learn about understanding the rules of debate, so that our debates will be an effective learning experience.

Materials: Computer projector system, Computer

Lecture- How to act during a Debate:

I. As people we are often arguing with one another every day. Whether it’s with your parents or arguing with a friend on what video game to play, which can also be a form of debating. Trying to persuade another person to take your side of the argument. Often these arguments become heated, which we are going to try to prevent today.

II. The type of debate we are going to be using in our class Parliamentary Debate where we will have three debaters on each side. One side is for the topic and the other debates against the topic.

III. Debates can also be inspiring and evoke emotions from the audience from anger to passionate agreement.

A. Through out our debates we are going to remain civil and respectful.

Video on heated about Immigration:

Video heated debate from Larry King:



Question to Class: When debating what should we do differently from the video?

On a flip board: have the students come up with rules they should use during their debates.

Journal: Done in class.

Journal: In today’s journal entry, write about a time where you lost your cool during an argument. Did you wish you could have played it cool? How well do you think you will do in keeping your cool in the debate?

How to Avoid Emotional Outbursts in Debate

1.) Avoid emotionally charged words

EX:

• Liberal!

• Tax and spend!

• Conservative!

• Politically correct!

• (The opponent) is spouting! his (whatever)!

• All pejorative names for races, sexual preference, ethnic groups, or religions

• Baby killer!

• Socialist!

• Hippy!

• Fascist!

• Saying that your opponent trots out his argument

2.) Avoid offensive language or assumptions

EX:

-Women are more emotional than men.

-Rich people don’t like the idea of welfare

3.) Avoid clear bias

EX:

-Some news websites are bias to one side. Like CNN is a conservative news channel, so their information will be bias.

4.) Don’t ridicule your opponent

EX:

“That idea was stupid”

WEEK 2: Day 6:

Lesson Plan Title: How To Build Arguments

Concept: Teaching the students how to use argument sufficiently and effectively in debate.

Big Picture: Having the students learn how to argue helps increase ability in reading comprehension as well as media literacy. Learning how to build arguments also increases students’ critical thinking abilities.

Lead In: In order to have a successful debate, you must learn how to argue. Many of you maybe good at arguing topics, but you need to understand process and strategy in order to be a successful arguer in your debates.

Materials: Logical fallacies print out

For activity: paper bags, five random objects, print out of the names of fallacies

Lecture Notes:

Introduction: In order to build an argument, students need to learn A.R.E and Logical Fallacies.

I. The acronym A.R.E will help you build an argument that can be used in your debates.

A. In the acronym A.R.E, A stands for Assertion.

Assertion is described as a claim about the world or a simple statement. EX: “Homework should be banned.” or “Poverty is harmful.”

a. Assertion isn’t an argument alone

b. Assertion by itself is just a claim that needs the other parts of A.R.E to complete the claim.

B. In A.R.E the R stands for Reasoning

a. Adding reasoning is important to an argument

b Reasoning is the “because” part of the argument.

EX: “Homework should be banned because it interferes with effective learning” or “Poverty is harmful because when

families are poor, they cannot regularly feed their children.”

C. In A.R.E. the E stands for Evidence.

a. Evidence is important because it gives proof to your assertion and reasoning.

b. The most common form of evidence is example E

EX: “Homework should be banned because it interferes with effective learning. For example, students have to stay up late to finish their homework, and this makes them tired in class so they can’t pay attention.”

“Poverty is harmful because when families are poor, they cannot regularly feed their children. For example, often poor families have to choose between paying their rent and buying food.”

II. If reasoning goes back you need a back up plan, which is Logical Fallacies

A. It is important to learn the difference between good reasoning and bad reasoning.

B. Sometimes reasons that at first seem solid are really not.

C. “Logical Fallacies” means incorrect conclusion that comes from fault reasoning.

D. 5 Most common logical fallacies:

a. Appeal to tradition: When an argument is justified because of tradition. When people give the reasoning that something is a certain way because it has always been that way. Just because it is a tradition doesn’t mean it is true or right therefore it is not a good argument.

EX: “School uniforms are good because we have a tradition of having school uniforms.”

b. Appeal to authority: When claims are not backed up with the exact statistics, the argument can be seen as faulty. Good arguments offer exact evidence. Good authority example: Centers for Disease Control that showed that teenagers were 33% less likely to wear seatbelts in cars. Bad example: “teenagers were dangerous drivers, and Time magazine said so.”

c. Fallacy of False Cause: When a speaker says that one thing happened, and then a second thing happened, so therefore the first caused the second. So if A happened, then B happened, therefore A caused B. EX: “The sun rises every time I get out of bed. Therefore, by getting out of bed, I make the sun rise.” It is not reasonable to assume that one event caused the other to happen.

d. Fallacy of Composition: When someone uses the logic that what is true of the part is true of the whole. For example one member of a debate team may be smart, and every member of the debate team may also be smart. This may be true, but you cannot be completely correct.

e. Fallacy of Division: Opposite of fallacy of composition. Just because something is true of the whole, doesn’t mean that it is true of its parts. EX: “You might read a story that says that the average American family has 2.3 children. Does this mean that the Jones family (an average American family) has 2.3 children? What would it mean to have .3 of a child?”

Conclusion: By learning how to build an argument and understanding what a fault argument looks like, it will improve your argumentative and debating skills.

[Print out Logical Fallacies sheet for the students. Logical Fallacies sheet is the main points of the Logical Fallacies lecture so pass them out after the lecture.

Logical Fallacies

Appeal to tradition:

When an argument is justified because of tradition. When people give the reasoning that something is a certain way because it has always been that way. Just because it is a tradition doesn’t mean it is true or right therefore it is not a good argument.

EX: “School uniforms are good because we have a tradition of having school uniforms.”

Appeal to authority:

When claims are not backed up with the exact statistics, the argument can be seen as faulty. Good arguments offer exact evidence. Good authority example: Centers for Disease Control that showed that teenagers were 33% less likely to wear seatbelts in cars. Bad example: “teenagers were dangerous drivers, and Time magazine said so.”

Fallacy of False Cause:

When a speaker says that one thing happened, and then a second thing happened, so therefore the first caused the second. So if A happened, then B happened, therefore A caused B. EX: “The sun rises every time I get out of bed. Therefore, by getting out of bed, I make the sun rise.” It is not reasonable to assume that one event caused the other to happen.

Fallacy of Composition:

When someone uses the logic that what is true of the part is true of the whole. For example one member of a debate team may be smart, and every member of the debate team may also be smart. This may be true, but you cannot be completely correct.

Fallacy of Division: Opposite of fallacy of composition. Just because something is true of the whole, doesn’t mean that it is true of its parts. EX: “You might read a story that says that the average American family has 2.3 children. Does this mean that the Jones family (an average American family) has 2.3 children? What would it mean to have .3 of a child?”

Activity 6: Fallacy Commercial

Preparation:

-Before class cut out all of the logical fallacy names and put them all in a brown paper lunch bag.

-Put the five random objects five paper bags.

Procedure:

-Have the students split up into five groups.

-Each group picks out randomly a logical fallacy from the brown paper bag.

-The groups are then randomly given a bag with an object in it.

-The students are then to create a commercial using the logical fallacy they received.

-Students then present their commercial to their classmates.

Activity Purpose: This activity is to get students to understand and learn the different logical fallacies. By using the fallacies in a fun and interesting way, hopefully they will remember each one better.

Discuss After Activity: Discuss the importance of logical arguments

Cut outs for Activity:

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|Appeal to Tradition |

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|Appeal to Authority |

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|Fallacy of False Cause |

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|Fallacy of Composition |

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|Fallacy of Division |

Name:________________

Homework:

-In this assignment you are to complete the A.R.E building argument work sheet, so that you become more familiar with how to complete your arguments for your debate. You will need Internet access to complete the evidence.

*The handouts from last week’s research lesson will help you gather your evidence.

| |Assertion |Reasoning |Evidence |

|1 |The minimum driving |Raising the driving age will |16-year-old drivers have three times |

| |age should be raised to |save lives by reducing accidents. |as many crashes |

| |18. | |as drivers aged 18 and 19. |

|2 |Television is a bad influence. |Television shows too much | |

| | |violence. | |

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|3 |The United States | |Since 1973, 108 people in 25 states |

| |should not have the | |have been released |

| |death penalty. | |from death row because they were found|

| | | |innocent. |

|4 | |Eating junk food is bad for |Junk foods are high in fat and sugar. |

| | |your health. |Too much fat and |

| | | |sugar puts you at risk for diabetes |

| | | |and heart disease. |

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|5 | |Allowing younger people to | |

| | |vote would increase their involvement | |

| | |in politics and society. | |

|6 | | |Incidents of school violence have |

| | | |shown that students |

| | | |use their cellular phones to notify |

| | | |police and parents. |

|7 |Schools should not use | | |

| |animal dissection in | | |

| |classes. | | |

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Day 7:

Lesson Plan Title: Structure of Debate

[collect homework at beginning of class]

Concept: In order for students to understand what they are doing in the debates, they need to understand the structure. Students need to understand the terms proposition, opposition, and rebuttal.

Big Picture: For the students to start their debates, they need to brainstorm and decide which side of the debate they want to be on. They also need to be aware of the different components of the debate.

Materials: Doc camera and teacher’s computer in order to show the video examples of debate.

Collect A.R.E Homework

Lead in: Today we are going to talk about the structure of the debate you are all going to be participating in. And discuss the different components you will need for your debates.

Lecture:

I. In this class debate we are going to have three debaters on each side of the two sides. Each debater is responsible for their part of the debate and will argue their points. I will be the judge, and I will be taking notes on each debate and at the end I will decide a winning team.

A. One side of the debate is going to be the Proposition Team, which is for the topic, and the other side is going to be the Opposition team that is against the topic of debate. EX: For Animal testing= Proposition Team and Against animal testing=Opposition Team.

B. In the proposition team one person is in charge of the 1st proposition, one person is in charge of the second proposition, and the last person is in charge of the Rebuttal. The same goes for the Opposition Team.

[Show the Debate Notes Template in order to get the point across]

a. In the first proposition and opposition the person is to make his/her main points of argument of their debate. Make sure to use A.R.E.

i. At this time the person that is in charge of the second opposition and proposition are to make notes on the other team’s information writing down logical fallacies and issues with his/her points. Also look at your research to find counter points.

b. In the second proposition and opposition it is this person’s responsibility to counter argue the first proposition or opposition’s points and make points of your own.

c. Rebuttal: In the rebuttal the person in charge is to summarize his/her teammate’ points. They also need to make the best case for the team stressing the main points and why the team is the winning team. But REMEMBER NO NEW INFORMATION CAN BE MADE

[Show the Debate Format]

As seen in the debate format, groups will have one minute in between the first and second team speakers in order to brain storm possible flaws in the opposing team’s A.R.E or logical fallacies that could be used in the second speaker’s speech poking wholes in the other team’s arguments. Also during this time the teams can ask each other questions to clarify information.

Video Introduction: We are now going to watch an example of debate from a junior high class. Make sure to write down the main points of each side of the debates and write down observations and tips that could be useful to your debate. Also write down questions you may have about the debate and the debate process.

Video:

[Unlike the video we are not going to be interrupting the speakers with questions. The questions will be asked after each speaker presents]

End Video Discussion: Share what was written down about the debates with each other. Questions and comments.

Journal: Write down a list of topics you would like to debate on. Make sure you want to debate both sides of the argument.

Debate Notes Template:

|1st Proposition |1st Opposition |2nd Proposition |2nd Opposition |Rebuttal |

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Debate Format:

|1st Speaker, Proposition Team | 3 Minutes |

|1st Speaker, Opposition Team | 3 Minutes |

|Groups prepare for 2nd speaker | 2 Minutes |

|2nd Speaker, Proposition Team | 3 Minutes |

|2nd Speaker, Opposition Team | 3 Minutes |

|Rebuttal Speaker, Proposition | 2 Minutes |

|Rebuttal Speaker, Opposition | 2 Minutes |

Total Debate Time: 18 minutes

Day 8:

Lesson Plan Title: Choosing teams and topics

Concept: Students need to figure out what topics they would like to debate on in order to start their research.

Big Picture: By allowing the students the chance to choose their topics and group members, they will have a sense of responsibility and ownership of their team and their topics.

Materials:

-List of possible topics just incase

-Number of Students

-flip board to write down the different topic ideas [not on white board because the topics need to be kept for future reference.]

-Colored tickers for each student

Blue= 1st choice

Red= 2nd Choice

-Numbers 1-5 cut out and in a paper bag

Lead in: Today we are going to break up in groups for the debate. We are going to first discuss the topics you all brainstormed in last night’s journal, and come up with five topics that we all agree on. Then we are going to break up into five groups of six. 3 people in the group are going to be proposition and 3 are going to be opposition. Then the groups are to decide who gets what role in the debate i.e. 1st round, 2nd round, and rebuttal.

Process to creating group topics:

Start out with Discussion:

Everyone in the class is going to take out their journals from the night before and take turns listing their topic proposals. Hopefully some of the topics will be repeated, so that there won’t be 30 topics to choose from. Talk through the topics with the class to narrow it down to 8 choices.

Vote:

Students are to place their stickers on their first and second topic of choice.

REMEMBER: tell the students to choose wisely. Do not vote on something just because you want to argue one side. Make sure you chose a topic that you wouldn’t mind arguing proposition or opposition.

The teacher is then to decide who gets which topic. (Make sure to talk it out with the students so that everyone is happy.) These processes will also break the class up into teams.

Proposition or Opposition?

-In the groups the students are to discuss together who wants to do proposition.

-Each group is to fill out a Team Sheet to decide who does what in the team.

-Team Sheet is to be turned in at the end of class.

When Students Go:

Students are to pick a number from the paper bag, and that is when their team debates.

1&2=Day 1

3&4=Day 2

5= Day 3

Team Sheet

Topic:

Names of All Members:

________________________________ ____________________________

________________________________ ____________________________

________________________________ _____________________________

Proposition Members:

1st Round: ________________________

2nd Round: ________________________

Rebuttal:__________________________

Opposition Members:

1st Round:_________________________

2nd Round:_________________________

3rd Round:_________________________

Day 9-10:

Lesson Plan Title: Starting Research

Concept: Students are to start researching their topics in order to gather information for their debates.

Big Picture: Students will take their research skills taught earlier on in the unit to gather information for their debates.

Materials: Computer lab access

-Handouts on research

Lead In: Today we are going to start researching for your topics. Everyone on the proposition side and opposition side of each topic need to make sure to sit away from each other in the computer lab. Everyone in proposition work next to each other, and everyone in opposition need needs to work next to each other.

Tips for Students:

-Everyone needs to refer back to their research checklist handed out during that portion of the unit.

-It may be a good idea to research your side of the topic and find some information on the other side of the topic in order to prepare yourself for what points they may come up.

-Today and tomorrow is going to be about gathering and printing quality information that can be sorted out later in your groups.

Day 11:

Lesson Plan Title: Share and Continue Research

Concept: When researching in the mini-teams, students need to be aware of everyone’s research to make sure no information is repeated.

Big Picture: Students will be working together in the groups in order to make a finished product, which is the debate. Students will learn how to use their research to their advantage and learn how to critique the quality of the research their partners have found. In the teams everyone is expected to do their own part, so they will all feel peer pressure to work efficiently and effectively.

Materials: At the end half of the class the students will need to computer lab again.

Lead in:

As you all know you have been doing research in order to support your side of the debate. Although the members of the group who are responsible for the rebuttal don’t need to find new information for the rebuttal, they are to share the information they have found with their group members to better their arguments.

Students: In the first half of the class the students are to come together to check each other’s research. Make sure that the research qualifies as quality research given the checklist from the research part of the unit. The students are to then brain storm and loop wholes they have in their information and what they need to research more as far as information.

Teacher: During this process the teacher needs to go around the classroom, make sure everyone is on task, observe the progress of the teams, and add additional advice.

Back to Research:

In the second half of the class period students are to go back to the computer lab to do additional research.

Day 12:

Lesson Plan Title: Last Day of Research

Concept: Students are to use the entire class period to do the last of their research.

Big Picture: Hopefully students will have had enough time to gather information for their topics.

Materials: Computer lab access

Lead In: Today is going to be a day entirely of research. Make sure you use your time wisely because this is our last day for researching. If you have any questions or need help make sure to ask me. I will be making my way around the computer lab to ask your group questions.

Teacher questions/checklist for groups:

-What material do you have for your topic?

-Look at material to see if it is reputable research

-What are the key points your group is going to make?

-Do you have all of your bases covered?

-Do you have enough information for round 1 and 2?

Student brainstorm for next class:

-For the next class think about how your team should end your debates.

Days 13-14:

Lesson Plan Title: Connective Information to Points and Rounds

Concept: Students are to gather their information and connect it with A.R.E for their debates.

Big Picture: Students learn how to properly connect their research material to a real argument, which is the end result.

Materials:

- Students are to be in the regular classroom split up into their groups of 3

-Students need their printed out research

-Blank A.R.E paper for students

Lead In:

For the 13th

-In class we are going to connect your research material with making arguments. In order to make a good argument we need to refer back to A.R.E. Assertion, Reasoning and Evidence. With your research hopefully you have your evidence, and now you need to plug in your assertion and reasoning.

For the 14th

-Continue working on your points. Students need to fill out A.R.E sheets for both round 1 and 2.

Make sure A.R.E. are available for students

Teacher: Go around the classroom helping students with their arguments.

- Each group member is responsible for their own parts of the project in the expectations hand out. Go over and make clear the expectations of the debate.

|Assertion |Reasoning |Evidence |

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Group Member Debate Expectations:

First Proposition Speaker:

-At least 3 arguments for the topic

-Use A.R.E to support each argument

-Speaker must know exactly what they are going to say during this speech.

First Opposition Speaker:

-At least 3 arguments against the topic

-Use A.R.E to support each argument

-Speaker must know exactly what they are going to say during the speech

CROSS QUESTIONING

Time is given to come up with questions, and then both groups will be able to ask questions about the first round. Everyone in the group can ask these questions.

Second Proposition Speaker:

-At least 2 arguments for your side

-Use A.R.E to support argument

-Use additional information written during the first rounds to support and argue your side.

Second Opposition Speaker:

-At least 2 arguments for your side

-Use A.R.E to support argument

-Use additional information from first round to support argument

Rebuttal for Proposition:

-Tie in why your position is the right position

-Recap on the overall points of your group members

-End your speech with a memorable and powerful statement

Rebuttal for Opposition

-Tie in why your position is the right position

-Recap on the overall points of your group members

-End your speech with a memorable and powerful statement

Day 15:

Lesson Plan Title: Write up outlines for your debate and organize material

Concept: In order to have a successful, clean, well organized debate, students need to gather and organize their thoughts and materials.

Big Picture: Students will learn how to organize their material, so that they will be able to have it in hand. Learning organizational skills and how to make an outline is important for their futures as students.

Materials: Laptops or computer lab

Lead In:

Today in class we are going to make rough outlines that we are going to use in the debate. We are also going to organize the resources we have collected so that they can be easily accessed during the debate. These outlines need to be made for every part of the debate i.e. first round, second round, and rebuttal.

Lecture:

Pass out and explain outline template. Students should be listening to your lecture and plug in what you say for their individual outline sheet, so that they all can refer back to it when typing up their outlines

I -In the outline templates each student in the groups have their different points filled out.

II. Each one of their A.R.E points should be represented in the template.

III. For the proposition and opposition members for both round 1 and 2

A. need to have argument represent point I.

B. and A.R.E represent the sub points A.B.C

IV. For the rebuttal group members

A. Point I. is the reason why their position is the right position

a. Why in sub points

B.Recapping on overall points

a. Individual arguments in sub-points

C. Last point should be a memorable closing statement

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In the Computer Lab: Each member needs to plug in their information into their own outline.

Class End: Remember the debate is starting next week. So make sure you do all of your finishing touches or work that still needs to be done during the weekend.

Basic Outline Template

I. _____________________________________________________________

A.__________________________________________________________

a. Additional information about the A.R.E point ________________________________________________________

b.________________________________________________________

c.________________________________________________________

B. Reasoning of the argument ______________________________________________________

C. Evidence of the argument_________________________________________________

II. 2nd Argument ____________________________________________________________________

A.______________________________________________________________

B.______________________________________________________________

C.______________________________________________________________

III.____________________________________________________________________

A._______________________________________________________________

a._________________________________________________________

b.________________________________________

WEEK 4:

Days 16-18:

Lesson Plan Title: Debates

Concept: Students are to start their debates.

Big Picture: Students are using their public speaking skills, and other skills taught during this unit to debate their issue.

Materials:

-Desks need to be set up where seven desks are in the front of the room. 3 together --1 in the middle-- and 3 together.

-All of the other desks are to be facing the desks in the front

Class Configuration for Debate:

[pic]

Lead In:

Class: We are now going to start the debates, everyone in the class is expected follow each debate group and write notes in their journals.

Teams: Remember, you don’t get marked down for not winning, but you don’t get the extra credit.

Judge: [fill out Judge’s Sheets for teams]

Introduce the individual sizes of the debate.

-Structure of the debate- First we are going to hear from the proposition size that is represented to the right.

At the end debate: Judge explains the points of observation written down in the judge’s notes then declare a winner.

Journal: Reflecting on Your Debate

After your debate, you need to write a reflection on your debate process. Are you happy you won? Sad you lost? Why did you think you won or lost? What could you have done differently? Additional comments or thoughts.

Estimated group size and time needed:

For each topic:

30 Students = 5 groups of 6 people

Groups of 6= 3 for proposition 3 for opposition

Time of Each Debate:

18 minutes for debate

2 Minutes for Judging and Announcing

Total= 20 Minutes

Debates per day:

50-minute classes

2 debates a day

5 groups

Total= 3 days of debating

Judge’s Sheets For Debate

Topic Title: [pic]

[pic]

[pic]

Day 19:

Lesson Plan Title: Discussing the Debate and Reviewing for Test

Concept: Students will discuss their debates together, then we will review for the test.

Big Picture: After the debate it is important that the students discuss the process of the debate, whether or not they enjoyed it, and how the debate and the debate process helped their education.

Materials:

-Test review sheet to hand out to students

Lead In: Today we are going to reflect on our debates, and get ready for the debate test tomorrow.

Have the students fill out the debate discussion questions. Then discuss.

2nd half of class:

Review for test:

-The test will be 5 multiple choice questions, 4 short answer, and 1 essay question.

-The test is worth 40 points

-Make sure you study the handouts given to you in class

>Tips for Note Taking

>4 steps to Locating Information on the Internet

.How to Avoid Emotional Outbursts in Debate

>Logical Fallacies

-Make sure you know the team and team members’ roles and role names in the debate.

-You will have 50- minutes for the test

Ask Students:

Do you have any questions about the test?

Name:_________________

Debate Discussion Questions:

-Did you like the debate?

-Did you like the debate process?

-What do you think you would do differently if you could do it again?

-Do you want to continue debating?

-What was something new you learned about in the debate preparation lessons?

-Did you like the role you had in the debate?

Day 20:

Lesson Plan Title: Debate Test

Concept: To assess students’ knowledge on debate

Materials Needed:

-Test

-Extra piece of paper for essay question

Lead In: We are going to take the test. Remember you have 50 minutes. Take your time. Make sure to use complete sentences in the short answer and in the essay. Remember eye’s on your own paper.

Name:_______________________

Debate Test:

Multiple Choice Questions: 2 Pts each

1. Which of the following is NOT a bad listening habit?

A. Trying to do other things while listening

B. Listening primarily for facts

C. Eye contact with the speaker

D. Taking linear, one-color notes

2. Which is a good tip for taking notes?

A. Use all empty space on the page

B. Stick to the main points

C. Write every word said by the speaker on paper

D. Write several days of notes on the same paper

3. What should you always do when checking a source?

A. Confirm information found on this page with another source on or off the Internet

B. Make sure has a title

C. Look at the address to see if it ends with .com

D. Make sure the website has a lot of information on the front page

4. Which of the following is an assumption?

A. In 2009 according to the center of disease control and prevention 25.5% of Michigan’s population is obese.

B. Obese people have more of a chance of developing diabetes

C. During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States.

D. Most Americans are obese

5. What does the acronym A.R.E stand for?

A. Assertion, Resources, Evidence

B. Assumption, Reasoning, Evaluation

C. Assertion, Reasoning, Evidence

D. Appeal, Resolution, Elation

Short answer 5pts each: (should be 1 to 2 paragraphs)

What are the three of the four active listening tips?

When researching on the Internet, what does it mean to “define and refine”?

What are 2 of the 5 logical fallacies? (Name and explain what they mean)

What are the two different sides of the debate? (Name and describe each player’s role)

Essay 10 Points : (Pick one of the following to answer. Answer should be one page. )

Make sure to use debate terminology your answer:

1.) Do you think debate is important to learn in class? Name and describe your favorite or least favorite part of the debate or debate process

(Make sure to use debate terminology)

2.) Why is debate important to society? What do you think would happen if there were no rules for debate?

3.) Which activity was your favorite during the debate unit? How did it help you with understanding debate? How could it help you with future classes?

Bibliography

Active listening activities. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Agentamerica (username). (2010). How to take good notes. Retrieved from

Burkhart, L. (2001, Feb.). To search or not search middle school students researching on the web. Retrieved from

Buzan T. “The Power of Social Intelligence”, Thorsons, 2002, Chapter 2, pp.28-42

CA HS Speech Association, Initials. (2004). Speaking across the curriculum : practical ideas for incorporating listening and speaking into the classroom. New York: International Debate Education Association .

Davis, J. (2008). D.s. debate solutions. Retrieved from

Dickerson, J. (Mediator). (2010). Immigration sparks passionate debate. [Web]. Retrieved from

Dodge, B. (2008). Four nets for better researching. Unpublished raw data, University of Derby Students' Union, United Kingdom. Retrieved from

Evaluating web pages: techniques to apply and questions to ask. (2010). Unpublished manuscript, Teaching Library Internet Workshops, UC Berkeley, California. Retrieved from



High School Public Debate Program , Initials. (Photographer). (2007). Hspdp sample debate: abolish the death penalty. [Web]. Retrieved from

Larry, K. (Producer). (2010). Heated debate over the racism among teabaggers. [Web]. Retrieved from

Loguidice, B. (2007, Feb. 13). One paragraph short stories- every submission in one post. Retrieved from

Lynch, L. (2005). Using short paragraph stories to teach simple past in english- part 1. Ezine articles, Retrieved from

Meany, J., & Shuster, K. (2004). Speak out : a guide to middle school debate. New York: International Debate Education Association .

Myrick, P., & Pearson, S. (2010). Debates in the middle school classroom. Learn NC, Retrieved from

Scot, B. (2010, December 7). On debating. Retrieved from

Shurter, E. (1917). How to debate. United States: Harper & Brothers.

Shuster, K., Meany, J. (2005). Speak out!: debate and public speaking in the middle grades. New York: International Debate Education Association.

Teacher's guide to the middle school public debate program. (2005). Middle School Public Debate Program, Retrieved from

Washington, D. (Director). (2007) The Great Debaters. Boston: The Weinstein Company.

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