How to Hold a Debate

This lesson appears in the Unit Plan on The Law of Cause and Effect

Debate is a way of reflecting and contemplating the teachings. With debating you can look at a topic from different angles and with that deepen your understanding from it. It can challenge your own beliefs, make a topic more practical and relating to personal lives. It is also a fun activity in which a lot of teamwork and communication between each other is needed.

Learning objectives:

• By active analysis deepen the understanding of the topic
• Learn to communicate your understanding of the topic
• Learn to look at one thing from different angles
• Work together, learn from each others wisdom

How to do it?

1. Split the group into two groups, or even three or four when you have a big group. Choose four independent judges (they are not in a group)
   Put four chairs in a row for the judges.
2. The groups can sit together and think of a name for their group.
3. Pose the statement you are going to debate (depending on the topic you are working on). For example: ‘Distraction causes unhappiness’ or ‘Human beings are by nature selfish’ or ‘Everything changes’
   
4. Tell the respective groups if they are for or against the statement (they can not choose)
5. Each group has 10 minutes to find 3 good arguments for agreeing or disagreeing with the statement. It’s good if they can use examples from their live as a support.
6. In the meantime the judges can discuss what they find important in the debate, what are their criteria for a presentation of an argument.
7. After 10 minutes each group chooses one or three representatives (for each argument 1 child) to give their arguments.
8. The group that agrees with the statement starts, then the disagreeing group, then vice versa until all arguments are presented.
9. The judges have some time to discuss and then recap the arguments and pronounce their decision of who wins the debate, who was most persuasive and why.

Important: it’s not about winning here! And it’s not about who’s right or wrong, it’s about reflection and deepening the topic!

Photo by Paweł Czerwiński