Debates
We had the debates again this year. The students were grouped into 4 or 5 with 2/3 for the Pro/Yes and 2/3 for the Con/No side for the 7th grade, but the groups for the 8th grade had only two, with one for the pro and one for the con. The subjects were chosen to be of interest to the students. Each group had two weeks to look up information to support their viewpoint before the debates began and I showed a 3-minute video and explained what I wanted them to do.
The first person for the Pro/Yes viewpoint was to stand at the podium, state her/his name and list all the reasons why he/she supported their viewpoint. Then that person would clarify one or two reasons from the list. The next person on the Pro side would then clarify the rest of the reasons from the list. This would be repeated by the Con/No side - The first person for the Con/No viewpoint was to stand at the podium, state her/his name and list all the reasons why he/she supported their viewpoint. Then that person would clarify one or two reasons from the list. The next person on the Con side would then clarify the rest of the reasons from the list.
After both sides had stated all their viewpoints, the Pro side began the debate. The debates for the 7th grade were on such questions as:
Should the government rate music?
Should schools have dress codes?
Should laws be stricter for teenage drivers?
Are teen curfews a good thing?
Should teen criminals be locked up in adult prisons?
Should you change the way you dress because of what other people might think?
The debates on the 8th grade were on such subjects as abortion, stem cell research, animal testing, etc.
After the students heard some good debates, they really enjoyed this. I filmed these and it went much better this year than last year. I still have to work on the sound and have been working with the Technology Dept. for the county to try to find a solution. The films that could be heard were put on the school website under "Students' Work - Projects - Debates".