Detroit Public Schools
Thank you for attending today’s session on Debate in the Classroom presented by the National Speech & Debate Association’s education and recognition coordinator, Lauren McCool. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email her at lauren.mccool@speechanddebate.org.
Links and Resources
- GoogleSlide Deck
- Argument Identifying Worksheet
- To Graduate, File A Fafsa, More High School Seniors Are Told By Ann Carrns Aug. 9, 2019
- You Are What You Watch? The Social Effects Of Tv By Jonathan Rothwell July 25, 2019
- States Listen As Parents Give Rampant Testing An F By Lizette Alvarez Nov. 9, 2014
- Disruptions: More Connected, Yet More Alone By Nick Bilton September 1, 2013 11:00 Am
- To Keep Teenagers Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In By Jan Hoffman March 13, 2014
- Putting The Guilt Back In Killing: Game Features Zombies With A Little Soul Chris Sullentrop May 8, 2012
- Ethos, Pathos, Logos Resources
- Sample Commercials for Student Review:
- Stephen Curry Infiniti commercial – https://youtu.be/ywBAaqS_OL8
- Drake Sprite commercial – https://youtu.be/mh6vHoyBs58
- Campbell’s Select Harvest commercial – https://youtu.be/ATZMFXocshU
- Budweiser Lost Dog commercial – https://youtu.be/TPKgC8KPBMg
- US Women’s Soccer Team / Nike – https://youtu.be/S29GZOR-k9U
- Colgate Water commercial – https://youtu.be/c-v3WfteGT4
- Our 100 Most Popular Student Questions for Debate and Persuasive Writing By Michael Gonchar via NY Time
- ProCon.com Debate Topics (great resource for brainstorming in general but should not be a source – treat it like Wikipedia!)
- Interesting Debate Topics: Social, Cultural, and Beyond from Udemy
- Skills Practice | Persuading An Audience Using Logos, Pathos And Ethos By Sarah Gross And Michael Gonchar January 17, 2014
- Ethos, Logos, & Pathos in Civil Rights Movement Speeches by Understanding Language (PDF) [REALLY excellent resource to extend this work with a deep rigor – also great for use beyond debate class]
- Sample Commercials for Student Review:
- Collaborative Activity – Resolution Creation
- SPAR Debate Resources
- SPAR (Spontaneous Argumentation) from Facing History and Ourselves
- SPAR Debate: A Format for Rigorous, Real, Ready-to-Go Debating in Class from ACE (Argument Centered Education)
- SPAR Debate Exercise (downloadable DOC) from MNUDL
- Basic SPAR Ballot
- Resources Created Other Organizations
- Debating Problems in History: Interventionists and Isolationists in WWII
- Teaching with the News – The Choices Program
- Structured Academic Controversy – Stanford History Education Group
- Consider using old APUSH DBQ’s as a resource packet! All Past Prompts
- Federalists vs. Anti-federalists Debate Doc 1, Doc 2, Doc 3
- Some shared ideas: 1) A debate on whether the founding fathers were heroic or greedy, 2) A women’s history debate where teams of students debate which woman in history had the most important impact, 3) A discussion regarding methods of MLK and Malcolm X, 4) A mock trial where Harry Truman is put on trial for the atomic bomb dropping, 5) A Socratic seminar/debate on whether the US should have done more to respond to the Holocaust, (6) I have the students prepare a brief of 5 options that deal with a current foreign policy issue that we recently studied in class, i.e. closing Guantanamo Prison. The students share this via Google Docs. Then they have to present it to me in cabinet meeting format where I act as the president. After everyone shares their option, that includes an operation name and historical validation where that action has worked in the past, the students then debate the validity of each other’s option for 2 days. They must say 4 things during the debate that are historically or statistically backed. On day 2, anyone not in the debate can ask a question of any panelist. At the conclusion of the debate, there is a google form to complete to evaluate the debate.