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Debate in Classroom

 

Debate in classroom - Cyprus

 

Methodology

 

1. Firstly, we tried to teach children how to express their opinion by using three steps:
a) Express their opinion on an issue
b) Use an argument (say why), use a second argument
c) Have a conclusion

 

2. Working in teams, we suggested words and expressions  that we can use to express our opinion.
- I would like to mention that…
- I believe that…
- In my opinion…
- I think…  
- e.t.c.

 

3. We wrote them in our vocabulary - exercise book.

 

4. We asked the children to write or express orally their opinion (by using the proper words) for different situations.
For example: Do you believe that school uniforms are necessary?

A girl wrote:

“In my opinion we have to wear school uniforms because in this way we look and act like students. When everyone is dressed the same, worrying about what you look like isn’t so important. So, we have to wear school uniforms. 

 

5. The appropriate vocabulary was written on pink tabs and put on the whiteboard of the classroom.

From this stage, we were ready to get our students to use their critical thinking skills in different subjects (History, Geography, Language lesson e.t.c).

 

6. After, we chose different controversial topics:
- Children should be able to watch television more than two hours a day (Language Lesson)
- Homework should be banned in all schools (Language lesson)
- Over the years, people of Stone Age have evolved (History)
- Afternoon tutorials are essential (Language lesson)

- Students also read fairy tales that challenge them to think about honesty, right and wrong.
- The literary texts in the language book gave us the opportunity to discuss the reactions and
the situation in which a person is located.

 

7. Classroom Debate Format


There are many different formats that you can use for your classroom debate. We used  the following.
We were ready for a debate.

Randomly select a handful of students to come sit in front of the classroom in a half-circle facing the students. Pose a question or a statement to those selected students and ask them to discuss it. The rest of the classmates ask a question to the panel.

This debate got students up and moving while using their critical thinking skills. Students were given a topic, then they had to decide if they agree or disagree. Next, students moved to the side of the classroom according to their position. Once students moved to their side, they got 10 minutes to discuss their thoughts. Then they started expressing their opinion.