Well thought out research lesson with debate

The author created a research project with an authentic final assessment of a structured debate. She begins by noting how hard it is to get students to base their opinions on facts instead o... See More

The author created a research project with an authentic final assessment of a structured debate. She begins by noting how hard it is to get students to base their opinions on facts instead of feelings and I totally sympathize with That! Then she provides details on how she used a debate structure to show students how to present arguments based on evidence. I have tried to use debates and discussions in my class over issues, but I have not had any training in debate. I found this article very useful because it provides a step-by-step method I can use to improve my initial instruction to lead to a useful debate. This would also be a great way to start the year because when students can verbally present claims with real evidence, it will carry over to their inquiry lab reports. I look forward to trying this lesson out in my class with a debate on weather issues!