Debates! Here’s how they work

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday, we had a great conversation about the positive and negative impacts of technology on young children. Here are some of the points you made during our in-class discussion:

  • Technology is being used in positive ways by children to communicate with one another, to make change, and to interact with their world.
  • Some people become addicted to technology for a variety of reasons, and the World Health Organization has identified it formally as a potential addiction disorder.
  • While some people are addicted, which means they just can’t ever stop being on digital technologies and playing video games, others are just staying too long on the computer. There was general agreement that people need to monitor how long they are on devices.
  • Being on a device for too long can have an impact on your body (posture, eye strain, eye development, etc.) and on the sleep you need to help your body.
  • We need to be aware of balance between computer activities and other fun entertainment. You all identified many ways you like to have fun other than sitting in front of a computer, like swimming, reading, drawing, playing with friends, biking, and more!
  • Some video games can be violent and we need to be aware of how our systems can be sensitive to the stimulation. Violence in video games does not necessarily make a person violent according to research.

I was impressed how many of you took a look at the UNICEF document I pointed out before. Great job reading the articles from the blog! If you want to see those links again, here they are.

So, how do we get started on a debate?

  • We create a statement we can debate, which is called a resolution.
  • Our statement is: Be it resolved that the use of technology by young children should be more limited as it has a negative impact on their development.
  • We then form teams of two.
  • All team members will make research cards that either support the resolution or go against the resolution.
  • One team member will make a positive paragraph about the topic, and the other one will make a negative paragraph. Or, the two team members can work together on both.

During the actual debate, what do we do?

  • We flip a coin to determine which team is positive and negative.
  • Positive team goes first with an opening statement – 3 min. max
  • Negative team goes second with an opening statement – 3 min. max
  • We pause and think. Teams think about what has been said during opening statements and look for evidence in their collection that will help make a counter argument and prove their case! – 5 min.
  • Positive team provides a rebuttal — 1 min.
  • Negative team provides a rebuttal — 1 min.
  • Positive team sums up their arguments – 1 min.
  • Negative team sums up their arguments – 1 min.

Evidence Cards:

Use the model I gave you. You can put your evidence on index cards. You could also collect the evidence in a list online, but it makes it harder to see it all during the debate. Each index card should have:

  • Title to say if this is negative or positive evidence, and what kind of argument
  • Name of where you found the evidence and the date
  • Quote directly from the evidence, in quotation marks

Marks and Judging:

  • Each person will be marked on a rubric for their completion of evidence, their public speaking skills used, and their overall thinking about the topic
  • Teams will be evaluated in the first rounds by Ms. D and the class. Final rounds will be evaluated by guest judges.
  • Everyone participates in minimum one round. Some people may do more if they win their rounds.
  • Winning does not impact your mark. Public speaking, being prepared, and completing your evidence does.

Thank you!

Ms. D