Journal:
What do you already know about
debates? How do they work? What is
expected of the participants?
How could some of the topics dealt with
in the movie work as debate topics?
Make Up Speeches
Where have you
already
encountered
potential debate
topics?
What is the
basis of
debate?
Policy Debate:
This looks at governmental
policies and opens up
debates about the
effectiveness of those
policies.
How does it
work?
Can include whether they
need to be changed,
whether they actually work,
or if a policy should be
considered for
implementation.
Tend to be more in depth
and time consuming than
other types of debate.
Public Forum:
Also deals largely with
governmental choices and
policies.
Deals more with theoretical
choices or options for
dealing with public issues.
Think of town hall meetings.
Large difference is the time
and depth that this debate
takes when being held.
https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=In9oSjjltOs
 Be respectful of your team members and your opponents, as well as the
teacher and judges.
 Be responsible for your part. Debates require many different pieces to
come together to be successful. You will be working in teams, and if any
one member does not complete their piece the team as a whole will not
be successful.
Rules and
Expectations
 Be mature – there will likely be topics or opinions that come up that are
controversial or that you do not agree with. Every topic and opinion
should be treated with kindness and respect. Any disrespect/immaturity
will not be tolerated and will automatically disqualify you and,
subsequently, your team. This will result in a failing grade, as well as
other possible disciplinary action depending on the offense.
 Be a team player. In addition to being responsible for your part, be
willing to work with your team members and take their ideas into
account when making decisions. Your team members will also be
assessing you at the end of the debate, so make sure they can only say
good things about you!
TED Talk
Example
 https://www.ted.com/talks/debate_does_the_world_need_nuclea
r_energy
 What do you notice about how they handle
themselves during the debate?
 Who do you feel “won” the debate?
After Watching
 What did that person do better than the other
that made you view them as the winner?
 What did they each use in their argument to be
successful?
 Do you think that you are capable of doing
what they did?
The Structure:
Policy Debate
2 people per team at a time
 Prep Time (5 minutes per team)
 Affirmative Constructive Speech (8 minutes)
 Negative Cross Examines Affirmative (3 minutes)
 Negative Constructive Speech (8 minutes)
 Affirmative Cross Examines Negative (3 minutes)
 Affirmative Constructive Speech (8 minutes)
 Negative Cross Examines Affirmative (3 minutes)
 Negative Constructive Speech (8 minutes)
 Affirmative Cross Examines Negative (3 minutes)
 Negative Rebuttal (5 minutes)
 Affirmative Rebuttal (5 minutes)
 Negative Rebuttal (5 minutes)
 Affirmative Rebuttal (5 minutes)
 74 minutes total
The Structure:
Public Forum
2 people per team at a time
 Prep Time (2 minutes per team)
 Team A Person 1 (4 minutes)
 Team B Person 1 (4 minutes)
 Crossfire (3 minutes)
 Team A Person 2 (4 minutes)
 Team B Person 2 (4 minutes)
 Crossfire (3 minutes)
 Team A Person 1 Summary (2 minutes)
 Team B Person 1 Summary (2 minutes)
 Grand Crossfire (3 minutes)
 Team A Person 2 Final Focus (2 minutes)
 Team B Person 2 Final Focus (2 minutes)
 37 minutes total
Additional
Information
for Both
 Prompting from team members while debating is allowed,
however it is highly discouraged and will result in a drop in your
points.
 You can use your teams notes and seek help from them when you
are not on the floor.
 Time keeping for yourselves is suggested, however it is not
required.
 Laptops are permitted, however there are laptop guidelines (see
next slide)
 Plans are not permitted (a formalized, comprehensive proposal for
implementation)
Laptop
Guidelines
 Laptops can be had and used during your debates,
however you must follow these guidelines:
 Laptops cannot be used for communication
 The only acceptable uses of the laptop during the
debates are to access sources, notes, or outlines
 Laptop screens should be shared with teacher
through LanSchool prior to the start of the debate,
or else the team will not be eligible to participate
 Each team will have to
conduct research similar to
what you did for your
argumentative speech.
Research
 For the policy debate you will
know ahead of time what
side of the argument you will
be researching and debating.
For the public forum you will
have to research both sides
of the argument, and a coin
will be flipped before the
debate to decide which side
you will argue.
 Get into teams of 4
 Debate the following topic – 2 people should be for
the topic, 2 people should be against the topic.
Practice
 TOPIC: Every student should be required to take a
performing arts class in high school (band, chorus,
theater).
 You do not have to conduct any research for this topic,
just debate for or against it based upon your personal
ideas and experiences. You may not necessarily agree
with your side of the argument, but it is your job to still
make your group members believe your argument.
 You have 2 minutes to prepare your thoughts, then 8
minutes to debate, 2 minutes per person. Every person
MUST talk, but it is your job to time yourselves.
Why aren’t political
debates “real” debates?
Let’s analyze one of the
debates
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx1mjT73xYE
(Start around 35 minutes)
TED Talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_sandel_the_lost_art_of_
democratic_debate