Learning Goal: Students will be able to defend one side of an argument in a debate.
Hook: What is there to Debate?
Before we begin our debate, we must understand why there is even a debate in the first place. We will watch the following two videos to see the two sides to the story of Christopher Columbus.
Researching the Issue
Any good argument is only as good as the research that has done to support it. For roughly 30 minutes, I would like you and your teammates to look through the articles that I have posted below. Use them to help you craft your argument for why or why we should not celebrate Columbus Day. *Aim to have at least 3 really strong points to back your side of the argument.
Is Columbus really an American Icon? Why or why not?
Debate: Should We Celebrate Columbus Day?
For the next 25-30 minutes we will have our debate! Before each team gets a chance to speak, I would like you to go over what your supporting points are for your side of the argument. Make sure that you have at least 3 strong points to back up your reasoning. Next, we will create our ground rules for conducting the debate. It is extremely important that you are respectful of one another during the debate so everyone may share their thoughts. Your side will have a better chance of winning if you understand the other side of the argument so you may counter their points. Best of luck!!
Reflection: What Did You Learn?
The purpose of debating is so that you may expand your understanding on a certain topic. Debates are meant to challenge our thinking and make us question our opinions. For this reason, it is always important to reflect after a debate. Please comment in the space provided about what you learned.
Please tell me in this space what you have learned from this debate? How has your thinking about Columbus changed? Did your opinion change after the debate from what it was at the beginning? What new questions do you have after this debate? **Please make sure you use your actual name (or N/A if you don't feel comfortable sharing who you are) when it asks for it before you comment as well as keeping your comments appropriate. This is a fun feature of the website that I would like us to be able to use more than once so we have to use it respectfully.**