Fairy Tale Debates!

Here is some more information about your debate on ethics and fairy tales. We will be working with our teams on the following steps and then presenting the debates around February 21st:

  • Step One:  Brainstorming Ideas (individually and with our team, using the PRO/CON worksheet I gave you)
  • Step Two:  Organize Ideas (which ones are important; give each argument a 3 word name)
  • Step Three:  Structure Our Speeches (Create a 1 minute speech that has an introduction, statement of your position, and arguments to support your position)
  • Step Four: Make Arguments REAL (Reason, Evidence, Analysis, Link)
  • Step Five: Present in front of the class

What will our debate format look like?

  • Team 1: One Minute Speech with arguments for person 1 (Captain)
  • Team 1: One Minute Speech with arguments for person 2
  • Team 2: One Minute Speech with arguments for person 1 (Captain)
  • Team 2: One Minute Speech with arguments for person 2
  • 10 minute break to prepare rebuttals/response
  • Team 1: One Minute Rebuttal for person 3
  • Team 2: One Minute Rebuttal for person 3
  • 3 minute break to prepare Conclusion
  • Team 1: Conclusion (one of three team members)
  • Team 2: Conclusion (one of three team members)
  • VOTE: Who won? Ms. D and the class will vote together

Where should you look for info to support your debate?

  • News Articles (facts versus opinions)
  • Personal Stories (of your own or of others – anecdotes)
  • Stories/Books (chapter, picture books and short stories)
  • Other fairy tales
  • Movies (especially non-fiction)

If you are looking online for evidence, where should you look? (Some examples)

  • News websites: Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, Province, NY Times, CBC, NPR, The National, Global TV, CTV News, CHEK News, or news collections on Google News
  • Education websites that end in .edu or Government websites that end in .gov — for other stories that support your question
  • News Magazines: Wired, Popular Science, Fortune, Economist, Forbes, Time
  • Human Rights Websites: Amnesty International, Unicef, United Nations
  • Sports Articles on: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and other newspapers
  • Celebrity Stories may work: People, Time

What kinds of things should you avoid for evidence?

  • Blogs (wordpress, blogger) and opinion pieces/editorials in newspapers, which are opinions versus facts
  • Wikipedia – great for looking up quick facts, but not for research or deeper information generally
  • Lists of things — a list won’t be helpful
  • Sites ending in .com, which are businesses
  • News organizations which may be overly biased (for example, Fox News tends to be conservative, and Huffington Post tends to be liberal — they aren’t bad news sources and can be used, but be aware they have a specific point of view.)

We will continue working on this in class. More to come!