Debate INTRODUCTION STYLES What is debate There are

Debate INTRODUCTION STYLES

What is debate? There are lots of different debate styles Debate is a process that involves formal discussion on a particular topic In a formal debating contest, there are rules for participants to discuss and decide on differences Debating helps you to develop essential critical thinking skills – the ability to make reasoned and well thought out arguments in addition to questioning the evidence behind a particular stance or conclusion Debating is a great way of practicing speaking and listening skills.

Pros vs. Cons Pros (in agreement with the statement) This is also known as the “Affirmative” Team or “Proposition” Cons (disagrees with the statement) This is also known as the “Negative” Team or “Opposition”

POI

Key Principles: ● Understand debates have a “for” and “against” — you must take a position ● Each side forms an argument for their position. The argument consists of one or more points they make to prove their position. Point – A short sentence that explains why you support/oppose a topic ● Each point needs an explanation. Explanation – How and why your point is true. Structure your arguments using point/explanation format. Make sure each point has a “because…” explanation

Do’s ● Prompt each other for explanations by asking WHY, then allow the response that begins with BECAUSE. . . ● Listen to your opponents and defend your side of the debate. ● As you listen, you should be able to state why you disagree with their points — separate from your own points. “They said… but I disagree because… My own argument is… ● Be able to see/argue the other position

Rebuttal a refutation or contradiction, denial Like saying “your idea is the opposite of true” or “wrong” because… Examples of Rebuttal: Those who argue that school uniforms would create more school unity and pride have a compelling argument. However, school uniforms also undermine personal creativity and individuality for students.

Moderator A moderator has a timer and a bell or indicator of some kind to help the speakers know when they are finished speaking

Tips: How To Be A Good Debater 1. Keep Calm. This is the golden rule of debating 2. Act Confident. This point applies not just to debating but also to life 3. Maintain Proper Body Language 4. Know The Form Of The Debate (more details later) 5. Use Of Debate Jargons 6. Work On Emotions 7. Speak Loud And Clear 8. Keep The Topic On Track

What is an "argument" position? In debate, often you are presented with a question, and you need to think up an opinion that you can defend with points called arguments. Sometimes it is easy if you agree or disagree and have lots of ideas, but sometimes, research may be required. Let's start by practicing making points and sharing opinions. Thinking about your position and make arguments "For" and "Against" in response to the questions or statements

Styles Alley Style Balloon Style Where do you stand? Town Hall Meeting

Alley Debate Style Learning Objectives: To be able to structure an argument using a point & explanation. Understand that debates have a for/against structure. The students should form two lines of equal length, facing each other (an easy way to ensure the lines are equal is to ask everyone to high-five the person opposite them, and adjust as needed). Explain that one line is “for” the statement they will be given; the other is “against”. You aren’t allowed to change lines! Give the students a topic for the debate. Explain they now have 1 minute to think about a short statement in defense of their side of the debate. It should have a point and an explanation. Demonstrate with an example if needed.

Alley style continued… Starting with the “for” team, ask each student in turn to give their argument, alternating between “for” and “against” until you reach the end of the alley. If you have time for another topic, this time, ask students to reply to the person who spoke before them, before giving their argument. “They said… but I disagree because… My own argument is…” ***For less able students you can provide some suggested points that they can provide explanations for. OR Students can work in pairs to generate arguments before the debate. Use a mixture of ‘short preparation’ and ‘long preparation’. Some clubs and competitions like to use ‘short preparation’ debates, where students hear the topic/motion as little as fifteen minutes before debating it. This encourages quick, creative thinking. Other clubs and competitions like to use ‘long preparation’ debates, where students can have days or weeks to research the topic using the library or internet, and prepare their speeches in advance.

Balloon Style Learning Objectives: To be able to structure an argument using a point & explanation. Recap the need for justifying opinions. Use the ‘Why? Because…’ prompt to reinforce this. Introduce the vocabulary of ‘Point + Explanation’, linking them to ‘Why? Because…’ 4 -6 volunteers should come to the front of the class/find a clear space. Each one should choose a person that they will play during this game. You may want to restrict them using a theme, e. g. “famous people from history“ or “characters from Harry Potter”.

Balloon style Continued Now set the scene: all these people are in a balloon, but unfortunately it is leaking. To save ourselves, we will have to throw someone overboard! Each student will now give a 30 second argument of why their position — their character should be allowed to stay in the balloon — using a point and an explanation. After these arguments, the rest of the group should vote on one person to throw from the balloon. This should be repeated until only one person remains in the balloon.

Where do you Stand? Learning Objectives: To be able to structure an argument using a point & explanation. Recap the need for justifying opinions. Use the ‘Why? Because…’ prompt to reinforce this. Introduce the vocabulary of ‘Point + Explanation’, linking them to ‘Why? Because…’ Students should form a line in the middle of the room. Assign one end of the room as “For” and the other as “Against”. Students are currently standing “on the fence”, where you are neither for nor against. Give the students a topic. If they agree, they should move towards “for”; if they disagree they should move towards “against”. The more strongly they feel, the more they should move. Give students 30 seconds to ask someone standing near them why they chose to stand there.

Where do you stand? continued Ask a few students to explain to the group why they are for or against, using a point and an explanation. After each student has spoken, ask the whole class, to take one step towards for or against to show whether they were convinced. Make this accountable by following up, asking students which way they moved and why. Keep the discussion fresh by introducing new topics when needed. Encourage listening by asking students to comment directly on arguments other people have made. “Do you agree with X? Why? ” “X said… why did/didn’t that affect where you are standing? ” Encourage development of more complex ideas by asking students to build on each other’s contributions. “X said… can someone who agrees add an example of that? ” “X said… would anyone like to add to their explanation? ” Add challenge by swapping “for” and “against”, and asking students to defend the opposite of what they believe.

Town Hall Meeting TOWN HALL MEETING Learning Objectives: To think about an issue from multiple perspectives. To explore and balance different interests to reach a conclusion. This activity can be used as a non-adversarial way to encourage students to explore multiple perspectives and challenging viewpoints. It also serves as a good introduction to using the consideration of stakeholders’ interests to generate ideas for a more formal debate or policy discussion. Topics and relevant stakeholders for the town hall meeting , e. g. “Banning cars from city centres” shoppers, drivers, children, visitors, local business owners “Knocking down a library to build a football stadium” librarians, students, parents, footballers etc. Others could perhaps come from old ELA 30 -2 diploma exams. Divide the students into 5 or 6 groups. Each group represents a group of people. Give students a motion. E. g. “Banning cars from city centres”, where the groups might be shoppers, drivers, children, visitors to the area, local business owners, etc.

Town hall meeting continued… Ask each group to consider what their response to this policy might be, and give them some time to generate a short presentation to the group (2 -5 minutes). During this stage students should be encouraged to notice that not all shoppers, drivers etc. will have the same response to an issue! A compromise will be needed even within this group. After the presentations, divide the students into groups with a mixture of roles (one shopper, driver etc. in each group). Each group should discuss the presentations that they heard, and try to reach a decision about whether the town should pass the motion “banning cars from the city centre”. Tip for more complexity: Alternatively, groups can be given a problem, e. g. “congestion in the city centre”, and asked to develop their own responses. They can then be invited to try to form alliances with other interest groups, and negotiate joint policies to defend before a final policy is voted on.

1. 1 What are the Types of Debate? The debate is divided into four types. Each type is used for a specific type of debate and all of them are conducted differently and could take place for different purposes. Below are the four types of debate: • Lincoln-Douglas Debate • Rebuttal Debate • Oregon-Oxford Debate • One-Rebuttal Debate No matter what kind of debate you are planning, or participating, you will not need a unique or out of the box type of topic for it. Your topic should be interesting and relatable for your audience and this is enough to make your debate a winner.