Day 3: Debate and Capstone
Argue a case, answer the other side with respect, and deliver your persuasive speech.
Today's goal
By the end of today you can build and rebut arguments in a simple World Schools style debate and deliver a 3 to 5 minute persuasive speech.
Agenda
- Warm-upThe most useful object10 min
- LearnHow a World Schools debate works15 min
- ActivityBuild your case20 min
- LearnRebuttal and respectful disagreement10 min
- ActivityRebuttal ping-pong15 min
- BreakBreak15 min
- CapstoneCapstone preparation: your persuasive speech20 min
- CapstoneCapstone delivery: speeches30 min
- CapstoneCapstone delivery: the mini-debate30 min
- ReflectSelf-review against the rubric10 min
- QuizDay 3 quiz5 min
The session
The most useful object
Adapted from the English-Speaking Union's 'Zombie apocalypse' activity, which shows there is always something to say.
- Each person picks a household object from the bag.
- Imagine you are stranded at a remote desert camp overnight with only these objects. In 30 seconds, argue why yours is the most useful.
- Use one PEEL point: headline, why, example, link.
- The group votes for the most persuasive case, not the most useful object.
Solo
Argue for three objects in turn on camera, then decide which argument was strongest and why.
Group
Pods of 4 to 6, as in the ESU activity, about 10 minutes in total.
How a World Schools debate works
World Schools style is used at the World Schools Debating Championships. Here is the full format and the shorter camp version you will use today.
- Two teams: Proposition (for the motion) and Opposition (against). Three speakers per team speak in a round.
- Full format, from the World Schools adjudicator guide: each team gives three 8-minute speeches, alternating and starting with Proposition, then one 4-minute reply speech each, given by the first or second speaker, with Opposition replying first. Teams may have 3 to 5 members, but only three speak in a round.
- Points of Information (POIs): short interruptions of up to 15 seconds from the other side, allowed only between the 1st and 7th minute of main speeches. The first and last minutes are protected. Speakers should generally accept at least one.
- Judging weights: Style 40 percent (how you deliver), Content 40 percent (what you argue), Strategy 20 percent (why you chose it and how you used your time).
- Camp version: three speeches of 3 minutes each per team, POIs allowed only in the middle minute, and a 2-minute reply per team. Total about 25 minutes.
Related lessons: Disagreeing Well and Changing Your Mind
Build your case
Use the ESU's prep-time questions to prepare one side of a motion.
- Pick one motion. Suggestions: 'This house would ban smartphones in secondary school classrooms', 'This house believes every teenager should have a part-time job or volunteering role', 'This house would make cooking and budgeting lessons compulsory'.
- Teams are assigned by coin toss: you argue the side you are given, not the side you prefer.
- Answer the ESU prep questions: Why is the motion good or bad? Who does it affect? Have we considered every word? What would the world look like if it happened? What will the other side argue?
- Agree two or three main arguments and write each as a PEEL card.
- Split roles: Speaker 1 sets out the case, Speaker 2 extends it and rebuts, Speaker 3 rebuts and sums up. Decide who gives the reply: in World Schools it must be Speaker 1 or Speaker 2.
- List the two strongest arguments you expect from the other side.
Solo
Prepare both sides of one motion: two PEEL cards for Proposition and two for Opposition.
Group
Teams of three. Spare students become judges and timekeepers, or a second debate runs in parallel with another adult.
Related lessons: Claims, Evidence and Weak Arguments
Rebuttal and respectful disagreement
Rebuttal means answering the other side's argument, not attacking the person. Hamilton College's debating guide gives a clear method.
- Four steps: state the opponent's argument fairly, give your counterargument, support it with evidence, explain why your position is stronger.
- Challenge arguments on three grounds: definitions (vague or undefined terms), logic (weak links, over-generalisation, assumed cause and effect, bias) and grounds (missing, thin or misread evidence).
- Restate their point in words they would agree with before you answer it.
- Use phrases such as 'My opponent made a fair point about..., however...' and thank the other team at the end.
- Disagree with ideas, never with people. You can lose a debate gracefully and still change your mind later.
Related lessons: Disagreeing Well and Changing Your Mind, Speaking up: assertiveness, I-statements and saying no
Rebuttal ping-pong
Fast practice in answering an argument on the spot.
- Partner A states one argument in 20 seconds using a PEEL card.
- Partner B rebuts in 30 seconds using the four steps.
- Partner A rebuts the rebuttal in 20 seconds.
- Swap and repeat with a new argument. Do at least four rounds.
- Each partner names which ground (definitions, logic or grounds) worked best.
Solo
Record one argument, play it back, then pause and record your rebuttal to it. Repeat with the other side.
Group
Pairs facing each other across a table. The facilitator calls time on each turn.
Break
Rest before the capstone.
- Water, stretch, fresh air.
- Run your pre-speech routine from Day 1 once.
Capstone preparation: your persuasive speech
Finalise your 3 to 5 minute persuasive speech from last night's plan.
- Check your claim is one clear sentence.
- Check every main point is PEEL and has evidence you can name the source of.
- Mark where you use ethos, pathos and logos.
- Add your 90-second story if it fits, and mark two deliberate pauses.
- Reduce your notes to key words on no more than three index cards.
- Rehearse once against a timer and adjust to land between 3 and 5 minutes.
Solo
Do one full rehearsal on camera and watch only the first 30 seconds: fix the opening if it is weak.
Group
Rehearse quietly in pairs, giving each other one suggestion only.
Related lessons: Public speaking and presentations, Interviews: preparing, the STAR method and common questions
Capstone delivery: speeches
Deliver your persuasive speech to your pod or your camera, in Arabic or English.
- Use your pre-speech routine, then begin with your hook.
- Timer shows green at 3 minutes, amber at 4 minutes and red at 5 minutes.
- After each speech, one listener gives a 1-minute evaluation using the sandwich.
- The Ah-Counter shares the filler count privately with the speaker.
Solo
Record your speech in one take, without stopping, as if to a live audience. Do not re-record until after your self-review.
Group
Pods of 5 to 6 with an adult present, so each speech plus feedback fits in about 6 minutes. Only the speaker films, on their own phone, with consent.
Capstone delivery: the mini-debate
Run the camp-version World Schools debate on your motion.
- Order: Proposition 1, Opposition 1, Proposition 2, Opposition 2, Proposition 3, Opposition 3, each 3 minutes. Then Opposition reply and Proposition reply, 2 minutes each.
- POIs allowed only in the middle minute of each main speech, 15 seconds maximum; stand or raise a hand to offer one.
- Judges score Style, Content and Strategy using the 40, 40, 20 weighting and give a short decision with reasons.
- Both teams shake hands or place a hand on the heart and thank each other, whichever each person prefers.
Solo
Record a 3-minute Proposition speech, then a 3-minute Opposition speech that rebuts it, then a 2-minute reply for the side you think won. Be honest about which side was stronger.
Group
Two teams of three plus judges and a timekeeper. Run parallel debates for larger groups, each with an adult present.
Related lessons: Disagreeing Well and Changing Your Mind
Self-review against the rubric
Look back at three days and set your next step.
- Score yourself from 1 to 4 on each rubric line: structure, content and evidence, persuasion, delivery, rebuttal and respect, timing.
- Write your biggest strength and one next step for your growth as a speaker.
- Compare your nerves rating now with Day 1.
Solo
Watch your speech recording once, with the rubric beside you, before scoring.
Group
Share your next step with one partner, then each pod shares one highlight with the whole group.
Day 3 quiz
Five questions on debating and rebuttal.
- Answer on your own.
- Read the explanations.
Block timer
Your journal
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Day 3 quiz
Score 80% or more to complete Day 3.
1. In the full World Schools format, how long is each main (substantive) speech?
2. When are Points of Information allowed in a World Schools main speech?
3. How are Style, Content and Strategy weighted in World Schools judging?
4. What is the first step of a rebuttal in Hamilton College's guide?
5. Which is a valid ground for refuting a claim, according to Hamilton College?
Overnight challenge
Within the next week, use one camp skill for real: volunteer to answer first in class, give a short speech at a family gathering, or join your school's debate or Model UN club. Note what happened in your journal.
Sources
- English-Speaking Union: Skill sets, Reasoning and Evidence
- World Schools Adjudicator Guide (hosted by the National Speech and Debate Association)
- Hamilton College Oral Communication Center: Debating
- Toastmasters International: A Recipe for the Evaluation Sandwich (Toastmaster magazine, November 2018)
- Toastmasters International Pathways: Vocal Variety and Body Language