Debate Prep!

Do now: The argument is whether or not fast food should be served in the cafeteria. Choose a side and make a claim about why they should or should not. Back it up with evidence: “Because I like it.” is not evidence. “More students will eat lunch at school” is evidence.

Role: opener You must post a 2-3 minute speech. This will be the actual speech that you will give in the debate. Make sure to time yourself reading it to make sure it really fills 2-3 minutes. Also be sure to consult the handout on what your speech needs to contain.

Role: question asker: You must write 2-3 probing questions for EACH of the other groups (10-15 questions total). Make sure these fit the weaknesses you see in their position. You do not know which of these you will need to use in the debate, so prepare as many as you can for each.

Role: Question Answerer: You must prepare 7 probing questions you think you will get from other groups and a RESPONSE to EACH of those anticipated probing questions. Think of the arguments other groups are most likely going to make against your group since you don't know which ones they will actually use. Remember that you will be judged on having some planned defenses that connect to the Opening Speaker's main warrants.

Role: Closer: You must post an outline for a 2-3 minute closing speech. You won't know everything that will go into your speech since you'll need to respond to the other groups, but you should submit a basic idea of where you think your speech will go and what image you want to leave the committee with as a final impression of your group. Make sure to refer to the handout for your role to see what needs to be included in your outline. Also remember that you will be judged on having a speech that shows that you collaborated with your teammates.

Role: Committee: You each need to submit an average of two questions per group (feel free to divide it up differently such that one person writes all questions for a single group, etc, but the number of questions turned in should be the same for each person: 10). Additional Committee jobs: the following four roles must be fulfilled within the debate. You may either assign a committee member to fulfill each role for the entire debate, or you may share the responsibilities by having different people fill them for different segments of the debate, but they must all be completed:

Committee Roles: Committee Chair—this person runs the debate and calls on everyone to speak and cuts them off if necessary when they are over time. This person must be paying close attention to time and must be fair in giving everyone time to speak. Time Keeper—this person tracks the time for all portions of the debate and informs the committee chair and the teacher when time limits are up. The Time Keeper also records how long each person’s speech is and tells this to the teacher at the end of the speech (since filling time appropriately is part of a speaker’s grade!). Attacks/Questions Tallier—this person takes notes on both the Question Askers and the committee members, tracking how many questions or probing questions each person asks. This person reports to the committee chairperson if an Question Asker has not been called on or if on Question Asker has been called on twice. Question Askers cannot be called on a third time until every other Question Asker has been called on twice. Similarly, committee members cannot ask a third question until all other committee members have asked two questions.

Claim should have Your assigned claim An introduction to your claim 3 pieces of evidence, with reasoning, for your claim

Introduction should Have: A hook An overview of what judging criteria you think the judges should use to decide what makes a good essay

Evidence should include: An example from your research with citation to a reliable source Examples of counterclaims against your

Reasoning should include: How this proves your claim from your introduction. References to your research to prove your point-make sure it’s cited Why it’s important that your claim is true- what does it mean to the families and children.

Keep in mind as a group: Decide what strengths your assigned topic has that you should keep coming back to. Decide what strengths your topic has that everyone will need to guard against.

Keep in mind as a group Decide what common ideas from your opening you want to carry through the whole debate: What ideas can the Question Asker repeat? What ideas can the Question Answerer keep coming back to in the defenses? What ideas should we make sure the Closing speaker refer back to at the end of the debate?

Individual Debate Preparation (must complete your role’s assignment to get an individual grade)

Do I need to…? Make a powerpoint? Turn anything in? Write something? Remember you only have 2-3 minutes. You make incorporate visuals in OTHER ways. Turn anything in? Write something? Yes. See Website or handout. Speak? Yes. If you are uncomfortable speaking in front of the class please come see me privately.

Sentence Starters “Your claim states, ___, however research according to [reliable source here] shows ____” “Your company claims ____, but wouldn’t [suggestion here] be more effective/healthier” “Some may say _____, but our company believes ____.” “Research shows that [insert research]”

Sentence starters “Does your company believe that [insert statement] when research shows ____” “You bring up a valid point, but according to [source], ____” “Our research shows that [research], which means [explanation of why it’s important].” “Our company believes [statement that shows your claim]”