Fundamentals of Debating

In the first session, the students will take part in some debate-related introductory activities to become more familiar with their squad, and then recap the Debate Mate speech structure, followed by putting it into practice.

In Week 2, the students will observe different famous speaker styles such as Martin Luther King Jr. and will use these to imitate their style, and use this to develop their own unique method of approaching style. They will take part in activities to put this into practice.

Week 3 will contain activities both on the PEEL structure, and then investigating Stakeholders in detail. This concept can be complicated, so the students will take part in a variety of activities and games to help facilitate this understanding.

In this session, the students will discuss a motion focusing on the Stakeholders involved, as well as using all the techniques they have used so far in this programme and their previous debating knowledge. They will receive specific and targeted feedback from their mentors so they know what they are doing well and what to focus on as the term progresses.

In week 5, the students will be introduced to PERMS to help them create a foundation for creating and expanding upon their arguments. After a short debate putting PERMS into practice, they will learn about different styles of POI and how to apply them in debates.

The students will spend the first part of the session learning about how to use Strategy in their arguments, then they will put this into practice in another debate. They will receive specific and targeted feedback from their mentors so they know what they are doing well and what to focus on as the term progresses.

In week 7, the students will be introduced to the Debate Mate Judging Criteria so that they know what they should be focusing on. They will then have an opportunity to apply this in a short debate in the second half of the session.

The students will use a target-setting criteria to help them self-assess and create targets for their own progression. These targets will be noted by mentors so they can be monitored, and then students will use these in a school and politics-themed debate.

Week 9 will go into detail about defining the Motion and being the Summary Speaker. These roles are imperative to a debate and they will be covered in detail so that the students are ready to use them for the competition. There will be multiple activities to make sure the students fully comprehend these topics.

The tenth session of the term will see students debating the motion covered in the previous session. The students will have already begun thinking about this motion so mentors will focus on the content aspect of their speeches, as their arguments should be well thought out and prepared.

In the eleventh session of the term, students will complete a full debate focusing on all of the individual aspects needed to win a debate, which can be categorised into content, style and strategy. Students will reflect on their targets from previous weeks and have a chance to practice specific skills.

In the final session, the students will have the chance to show off their debating skills in a competition amongst students at their level in other clubs. They will be judged according to Debate Mate’s Judging Rubric, on which they will have been briefed prior to the competition, and they will be able to use all the techniques covered over the previous weeks of the course. At the end of the course, students will receive a participation certificate and you will receive a detailed report of your child’s progress.

In this high-energy introductory session, students will meet the other students in their club. They will practice making effective arguments using PEEL while learning more about the Environment. Students will explore issues around the Environment and develop contextual knowledge in preparation for a debate.

In the first half of this session, the students will review their knowledge of Stakeholders in a short activity before a debate. They will prepare, debate and receive targeted feedback on a motion about the Environment. Feedback will be focused on making, developing and prioritising arguments.

Students will practise the various ways to respond to arguments while exploring the topic of Human Rights. The activities will be centred around the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and there will be various activities discussing this. Students will develop their contextual knowledge and understanding of the subject while reinforcing their learning on rebuttal and Points of Information.

In this session, students will prepare, debate and receive feedback on a motion about Human Rights. Feedback will focus on rebuttal and responding to arguments.

Students will revise and develop their understanding of various debate strategies used to win competitions, including Stakeholders and PERMS. Using the topic of Sport, students will develop their knowledge and understanding of current issues on the topic.

In this session, students will prepare, debate and receive feedback on a motion on Sport. The preparation time should be mostly if not fully independent of mentor input by this point. Feedback will be focused on teamwork and strategy.

This session will focus on how to best rebut arguments and how to deliver convincing speeches using specific elements of style. Using the topic Science students will develop their knowledge on pollution, threats to life and how the government funds different causes.

In week 8 students will be given the side of the debate they are on, prepare, debate and receive feedback on a motion on Science. Feedback will focus on all aspects of the judging criteria including content, style and strategy. This feedback should be useful in the run-up to the End of Term Competition.

This session will focus on how to actively listen to your teammates and the opposing team during the preparation time and the debate. Students will explore the topic of Technology whilst improving their inference and analytical skills. Active listening is looked fondly upon by debate judges; these skills are invaluable.

In session 10 students will take part in a full debate on the topic of Technology. They will work in teams to prepare and focus on active listening during the debate to ensure they offer the most effective rebuttals and points of information.

Session 11 will see students reflecting on their own strengths and weaknesses in debating. They will receive both peer and mentor feedback and have a chance to focus on their areas of improvement ahead of the competition in week 12.

In the final session, the students will have the chance to show off their debating skills in a competition amongst students at their level in other clubs. They will be judged according to Debate Mate’s Judging Rubric, on which they will have been briefed prior to the competition, and they will be able to use all the techniques covered over the previous weeks of the course. At the end of the course, students will receive a participation certificate and you will receive a detailed report of your child’s progress.

In this high-energy introductory session, students will meet the other students in their club. They will gain a deeper understanding of how the UK Government works including campaigning, voting and policies, and they will learn about conceding arguments.

In this session students will prepare, debate and receive feedback on a motion about the Government. Feedback will focus on debating strategies including Burdens and conceding arguments.

Students will deconstruct the speeches of other debaters in order to develop their own style further. Using the topic Fame, students will critically engage with issues such as social media influencers, wealth and aspirations. There will be interview-style activities to emulate different styles of speaking.

In this session, students will prepare, debate and receive feedback on a motion about Fame. Feedback will be focused on how the students are using style.

In this session students will work in teams exploring a prepared motion on the Environment. Students will consider stakeholders, argument prioritisation and other advanced debate strategies.

In this session students will use all the information they collated in the last session to debate the prepared motion from the previous session based on the Environment. They will receive feedback with this in consideration.

This session will teach students the skills required to create their own motions, such as the correct language to use and assessing the different points of view. Students will work independently and as part of a team to create their own motions on the topics most important to them. Students will vote on their favourite motion which will be debated in session eight!

The winning motion from week 7 will be debated by the whole group and targeted feedback given by their mentors.

Students will recap techniques such as Framing and Burdens and apply them to different points of view to ensure they are fully prepared for their approaching inter-club End of Term Competition week.

In session 10 students will take part in a variety of high-energy activities where they will put their debate skills to the test against the mentors! This will give students the chance to practice and develop any areas they feel less confident in.

Session 11 will see students reflecting on their own strengths and weaknesses in debating. They will receive both peer and mentor feedback and have a chance to focus on their areas of improvement ahead of the competition in week 12.

In the final session, the students will have the chance to show off their debating skills in a competition amongst students at their level in other clubs. They will be judged according to Debate Mate’s Judging Rubric, on which they will have been briefed prior to the competition, and they will be able to use all the techniques covered over the previous weeks of the course. At the end of the course, students will receive a participation certificate and you will receive a detailed report of your child’s progress.

Students will spend the first session of term getting to know their squad and their mentors. They will take part in a series of team bonding activities, reflecting on their personal strengths and weaknesses and planning how they can cooperate as an effective debate squad throughout the upcoming term.

In the second session of term students will take part in their first full debate! They will debate a motion on the relevance of debating to the national curriculum, and will be challenged to work collaboratively during preparation time, sharing ideas and arguments with their teammates.

In the third session, students will delve into a debate on the ethics and economics of tourism. They will be allocated a stakeholder at random and be challenged to think critically about how the stakeholder is impacted by the motion.

Session 4 will focus on human geography and comparative modes of living. Students will be tasked with drawing on personal experiences in order to create compelling and captivating persuasive arguments.

The Mid-Term Competition will be an extended session where students have the chance to debate against students from another club. They will combine their accumulated learning throughout the term so far to deliver articulate, persuasive and convincing speeches that successfully undermine the arguments of the opposing team. and successfully attack the arguments of the opposing team. There will be extra-time for detailed and constructive feedback from a new debate coach.

Session 6 will see students tackle the comparative benefits of studying art and music within a modern education system. Students will be supported heavily with their argument generation for this motion, allowing them to focus their attention on the style with which they speak. They will learn how to deliver fluent, engaging, captivating speeches, and will receive personalised feedback from their squad coach.

In Session 7 students will debate a topical motion relating to school work and discipline. They will recap the most effective strategies to challenge the ideas of others, and plan cutting Points of Information that successfully undermine the logic or question the relevance of the opposing team’s argument.

In Session 8, students will tackle an advanced motion related to language learning. They will look in detail at the political, economic, environmental, religious, moral and social implications of the motion, concentrating on generating unpredictable arguments that are difficult to rebut.

In Session 9 students will put their active listening and note-taking skills to the test in the penultimate debate of term. They will be challenged to tackle a complex, content heavy motion on the world of work, and will need to use all of their accumulated skills so far to deliver well rounded speeches. They will recap the judging criteria and use it to offer constructive peer feedback to their teammates and to themselves ahead of the end-of-term competition next week.

The final debate of term will be an extra-long session, where students will combine their learning throughout the term so far to take part in the ultimate debate. Student’s scores from across the Mid-Term and End-of-Term Debate Competitions will be combined to crown one club as the Spring 2023 Debate League Champions!