Objectives: The students will (a) learn key debate terminology, (b) learn
the origin, history and format of a Lincoln-Douglas debate, (c) research a
controversial issue, (d) work in groups to formulate arguments, and
(e) compete against classmates in a Lincoln-Douglas debate. 

Georgia Professional Standards: ELA10RL2, ELA10RC2, ELA10RC3,
ELA10RC4, ELA12W1, ELA12W2, ELA12W4, ELA12C1, ELA12LSV1, ELA12LSV2

1.	Review debate terminology.  The student have previously had lessons on the origin of forensics (a.k.a. debate) and on the key debate terminology.  Briefly review this material to activate students’ prior knowledge.  The key terms are: Proposition – a statement of the issue to be debated Resolution – a statement of your position on the issue Affirmative – “yes” Negative – “no” Premise – something that must be true in order for you to make your point; there are three types of premises: facts, policies, and values Argument – a reason to support your side of the debate Evidence – facts that help prove you are right Case – the sum total of arguments per side of the debate Brief – an outline of the affirmative and negative cases Constructive – the speech at the start of a debate during which the affirmative and negative sides build their case Cross-Examination – the time during a debate when one side is questioned by the opposing side Refute – to provide evidence that shows your opponent is wrong Rebuttal – providing evidence that further shows you are right after your opponent has attempted to show you were wrong Fallacy – anything you can prove is not true Format – the rules and procedures that govern a debate While reviewing these terms with the students, the teacher should show relevant clips from the major motion picture The Great Debaters.  These clips include those times when the debaters are debating.  After reviewing the film and the key debate terminology, administer a pop quiz.
2.	Teach the origin, history, and format of a Lincoln-Douglas debate.  A Lincoln-Douglas debate is one of the most popular types of debates in high school debate competitions.  It gets its name from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, which were a series of debates between Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and Stephen Douglas (Democrat) as they fought each other over a seat to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.  The major issue of these debates was slavery.  More specifically, the debates focused on whether new states should make slavery legal or illegal.  Douglas favored the idea of “popular sovereignty,” or leaving it up to the states to make their own decisions about whether or not to allow slavery.  Lincoln, on the other hand, who was a staunch abolitionist, thought that slavery should be outlawed in the new states simply on the grounds that slavery was morally wrong. In other words, Lincoln defended himself with a value. Today, competitive Lincoln-Douglas debates are also called “value debates” because they are about moral issues, human rights, and philosophical matters.   For this project, students will follow a modified Lincoln-Douglas debate format.  The order of speeches is exactly the same, with the addition of a closing statement at the end, and the times have alsobeen slightly adjusted.
3.	Pair students. Discuss with students how they feel about having to defend something they may not necessarily agree with.  Explain that in competitive debate, teams are randomly assigned an issue because the contest is about the debate skills, not personal beliefs.  Give each student a list of propositions and get a sense of which ones they have ethical issues defending. Then, randomly draw names out of a hat to put students into pairs and let them discuss together which issues excite them the most.
4.	Assign resolutions. In a bag have already cut out affirmative and negative resolutions depending on the interests and number of students in the class.  One of my classes has twenty-four students, so I would choose thirteen propositions and cut out thirteen affirmative resolutions and thirteen negative resolutions for each proposition.  A list of sample affirmative resolutions are as follows: Resolved: Inaction in the face of injustice makes an individual morally culpable. Resolved: On balance, violent revolution is a just response to oppression. Resolved: Laws which protect citizens from themselves are justified. Resolved: Rehabilitation ought to be valued above punishment in the U. S. criminal justice system. Resolved: Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified. Resolved: A nation's citizens' rights ought to take precedence over its security. Resolved: The pursuit of scientific knowledge ought to be constrained by concern for societal good. Resolved: The primary purpose of formal education ought to be to impart knowledge. (NCFL Grand Nationals 2005) Resolved: In matters of collecting military intelligence, the ends justify the means. Resolved: When in conflict, an individual's freedom of speech should be valued over a community's moral standards. Resolved: Judicial activism is unjust in a democracy. Resolved: A just society ought not use the death penalty as a form of punishment. Resolved: In the United States, plea bargaining in exchange for testimony is unjust. Resolved: It is just for the United States to use military force to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by nations that pose a military threat. Resolved: Hate crime enhancements are unjust in the United States. Resolved: That secondary education in America should value the fine arts over athletics.
5.	Research both sides of the issue.   Iterate to students the importance and purpose of gathering background information on both sides of the issue they are debating.  Sources of information should include famous quotes, facts, statistics, and scientific research.  Provide students with a list of resources that can be found in the library or on the internet. Some examples of these resources are as follows: Wikipedia.  http://www.wikipedia.org International Debate Association.  http://www.idebate.org Debatepedia.  http://wiki.idebate.org/index.php/Category:Moral Fact Monster.  http://www.factmonster.com                        Learn About Debating. http://debate.uvm.edu/learn2.html
6.	Preparing arguments.  Each team should prepare a list of at least five arguments.  Remember, an argument is just a reason for supporting your side, and reasons should always be supported by facts and evidence.  Each argument should be approximately one-paragraph in length.
7.	Writing the constructive. The constructive is your opening statement.  It is a short speech that identifies and briefly describes each of you very best arguments.  Keep in mind that there is a three-minute time limit when delivering your constructive.
8.	Prepare for cross-examination, refutes, and rebuttals.  A good debate team always anticipates the opponents’ arguments.  Knowing what your opponent might say helps you prepare a list of cross-examination questions, points to refute, and rebuttals to use during the debate.  You won’t have enough time to think quickly enough on the fly, so it’s crucial you bring good notes with you to the debate.  Good notes include (a) pre-written constructive, (b) summaries of affirmative and negative arguments, (b) list of cross-examination questions, and (d) lists of quotes, facts, statistics, evidence, examples, etc.
9.	Practice, practice, practice.
10.	Debate!

Project (see Rubric)
Debate Test
Feedback from Students

#3: The teacher will demonstrate the ability to plan and evaluate materials appropriate for instruction. Each time in the past when I have done this project, I have had the students provide me with feedback on the project and make adjustments for the future based on what they say. For example, the first time I did the project the students felt I interrupted them too much while they were debating; so the next time I was extra careful not to be overly participitory, and scaffold their learning more implicitly. One thing the students said the most recent time I did this project is that the amount of time they had to speak during the debate itself was too much, so one thing I will adjust for next time are the time requirements.

#9: The teacher demonstrates critical and reflective thinking skills. Insofar as I read and analyzed feedback from students after each time of doing this project, I critically thought and reflected about.

#11: The teacher will demonstrate classroom management using a variety of techniques. Without effective classroom management skills, an in-class debate would be impossibile. Students would yell at each other and argue away without any rhyme or reason. When it came time for the students to actually debate each other, I exercised a variety of classroom management techniques including the use of signs to indicate time limits and regulate volume control without having to shout, the use of a debate format to govern the order in which students speak so they don't shout at each other in unison, and the use of intrinsically motivating the students to be interested in not only their own debates but their peers' as well, so that they were naturally well-behaved, on-task, and attentive throughout the process and presentation of the debates.

#16: The teacher will demonstrate appropriate assessment and evaluative techniques for student success. Insofar as students' knowledge of the skills and strategies of debate was measured by means of a project, paper-and-pencil test,
and self-assessment of the process, the combination of authentic assessments attests to my appropriate use of assessment and evaluative techniques for student success.