October 23 – Game!

Hey guys,

This will be our last getting to know each other game. I hope you will all show up!

I Couldn’t Disagree More

Learning Objectives

• To help improve general communication skills

• To help improve confidence

• To encourage quick thinking skills

• To encourage listening skills

• To encourage & improve rebuttal skills

Activity

‘I Couldn’t Disagree More’ is a useful and quick game that can help students practice rebuttal techniques and helps develop the ability to deal with points of information.

One pupil makes a statement (this statement could be serious, silly, topical, controversial or obvious).

The next person has to reply to the statement by saying ‘I couldn’t disagree more’ and then give a reason why.

Here’s an example:

Pupil A – ‘’I believe that politics is a waste of time’’

Pupil B – ‘’I couldn’t disagree more. Politics is incredibly important as politicians make decisions that affect every aspect of our lives’

Now it is Pupil B’s turn to make a statement:    Pupil B – ‘I believe that we should introduce road pricing in the UK’

Pupil C – ‘I couldn’t disagree more. In early 2007, over 1.8m people in the UK signed a petition saying that they didn’t want it.

As a classroom activity, this game can be modified so statements have to be about a certain topic area for example ‘The Environment’.

October 9 – Game!

Hey guys,

Today’s meeting will be a debate-style game that will help us get to know each other and get comfortable speaking in class. Here are the rules of the game:

I Couldn’t Disagree More   

Learning Objectives   

• To help improve general communication skills 

• To help improve confidence 

• To encourage quick thinking skills  

• To encourage listening skills 

• To encourage & improve rebuttal skills   

Activity

‘I Couldn’t Disagree More’ is a useful and quick game that can help students practice rebuttal techniques and helps develop the ability to deal with points of information.   

One pupil makes a statement (this statement could be serious, silly, topical, controversial or obvious).

The next person has to reply to the statement by saying ‘I couldn’t disagree more’ and then give a reason why.   

Here’s an example:   

Pupil A – ‘’I believe that politics is a waste of time’’   

Pupil B – ‘’I couldn’t disagree more. Politics is incredibly important as politicians make decisions that affect every aspect of our lives’    

Now it is Pupil B’s turn to make a statement:    Pupil B – ‘I believe that we should introduce road pricing in the UK’   

Pupil C – ‘I couldn’t disagree more. In early 2007, over 1.8m people in the UK signed a petition saying that they didn’t want it.   

As a classroom activity, this game can be modified so statements have to be about a certain topic area for example ‘The Environment’. 

Debate Training + Survey + Last Meeting

1. You may have heard this in the announcements, in your English class, and/or at Debate Club itself, but we are having international debate coach Dena Tabyanian (Google her – she’s pretty cool) coming to the Riverside Library this Friday, June 7 after school. This is an excellent opportunity to learn all about debate and arguing straight from an expert. We highly encourage all of you to attend, as well as bring anyone you know who may be interested. This is not a chance to pass up; for simply an hour of your time on a Friday afternoon, you can learn tons of incredibly useful skills that you would normally have to pay to know. See you there!

2. As you know, the year is coming to an end, but we are currently working on figuring out Debate Club for next year. Part of this process is asking you for input directly. To do this, I have made a Google Form with some questions for you to answer. It can take anywhere between 30 seconds to 10 minutes to fill out – that all depends on how much criticisms you would like to provide. This is your chance to tell us what you want to change about Debate so that the team can be beneficial to everyone. The form is anonymous (we can only see your responses, not your name) so feel free to be as truthful and candid as possible. However, if you would still like to talk to Nighina or me directly, you are free to do so by contacting us directly. Please fill out the form as soon as you can. Here is the link to the form: https://forms.gle/viNE8H5AfDLCcykS9

3. We will have the last debate meeting on June 12. Even if you have not come to meetings in a while, I would love to see you all there.

May 29 – Cross-Examination

Remember that there is a meeting TOMORROW, Wednesday May 29. This is the last meeting we will be focusing on cross-examination.

You have the easiest assignment possible: come up with an argument, any argument, about something that you know a lot about. Be prepared to be cross-examined by the group.

Also, if you have not already, please book off June 7 after school in your calendars. The opportunity to be taught by an international debate coach is incredibly valuable, and we encourage you to invite your friends and other classmates who may be interested. We will be asking for a degree of commitment for it (literally just sign up) as we would rather this not go to waste.

 

See you tomorrow!