Think of a simple debate topic with lots of pros and cons, or an open ended topic.
Ex. Do you think students should wear school uniforms?
Ex. If we had a school shop, what should it sell?
- Put the students in groups, and give them the paper debate worksheet. Ask them to write their opinion on the top half where the lines are.
- Once everyone is ready, swap the paper with another group.
- The students should read the other team's opinion and find one reason to disagree with it. Even if they actually agree with the other team's opinion, the skill here is finding a counter point. They should write their counterpoint in the "disagree" box. This is the challenging part for students, so I recommend offering guidance here where needed.
- Pass the papers back to the original teams, and have them read the counter point. Now, this team should find a counter to the counter point!
- Fill in the rest of the worksheet "Some people think that "other team's counterpoint". However, we think that "their own counter to the counterpoint"
- Students can now read their debate like a speech, and have a better understanding of debating an opinion.
Simple example with the "school shop" topic.
Team 1: We think the school shop should sell ice cream, because students really like it.
Team 2: Disagree The ice cream will melt and make a mess
Team 1: Some people think that "the ice cream will melt and make a mess." However, we think that we can put ice cream in a cup, not a cone. That way there is no mess. Therefore, we think the school shop should sell ice cream.
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