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Quick Debates/ Hat Debates
A hat debate requires the teacher to break the class into two teams: “For” and “Against”. The “For” team should sit in an outward-facing circle. The “Against” team should sit in a larger inward-facing circle with each member facing a member of the opposite team. A variety of debate topics are to be written on small slips of paper and placed in a hat. There should be one speaker “for” and one speaker “against” the topic. It’s just a one-minute argument. One circle should rotate and then the teacher draws a new topic from the hat. Participants in this kind of debate have a minimal (or even no) time to prepare.

1. Goal: To practice spontaneous thinking and arguments

2. Equipment needed: Mini debate topics written on pieces of paper put into a hat to be picked out at random. Chairs for the kids to sit on (but they could also stand).

3. Debating proficiencies exercised/taught in the activity: Coming up with arguments quickly and spontaneously.

4. Syllabus topic that this activity is placed in: This could be used to practice English for COBE or for practicing debating in the 11th grade Unit 2 Diplomacy curriculum.

5. How this activity will tie into the rest or your curriculum: This can be held to practice at anytime really to get students moving and speaking, but it can also tie into the Diplomacy curriculum in preparation for a debate, or a speech, or to practice creating arguments for a SEET essay.

6. Why you chose this activity – according to what criteria? I thought it took the idea of  speed dating, which I like, and gave it a spin. Thinking on your toes is a challenge, and I also liked it because they get to discuss many topics without doing a lot of research, which I also know they like.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/debate-activities-classroom-farah-najam

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The students are going to have a list of topics in a Padlet wall. Each pair will choose one topic. They will have a few minutes to discuss it, express their opinion, give some explanations , examples and arguments.
This is a great effective way to improve their oral skills for the COBE

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Devil’s Advocates                               A teacher divides the class into three groups:1) Agree 2) Disagree 3) Devil’s Advocates. T writes a debate topic on the board and assigns a point of view to groups 1 and 2. (They should put their own views to one side for this task). Group 3 are the Devil’s Advocates and so it’s their job to provoke discussion, encourage various points of views and ensure the debate continues. Each speaker from each group has 2 minutes to speak before rotating so that all students in each group are participating.                                 Goal: To practice structuring arguments and brainstorming alternative ideas. Equipment: board, markers. Debating proficiencies exercised: ensures that no single position dominates the discussion and encourages the development of additional alternatives. Syllabus topic: can be connected to a unit from the course book. How this activity will tie into the rest or your curriculum: 10th grade “Keep talking” program

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Devil’s Advocates                               A teacher divides the class into three groups:1) Agree 2) Disagree 3) Devil’s Advocates. T writes a debate topic on the board and assigns a point of view to groups 1 and 2. (They should put their own views to one side for this task). Group 3 are the Devil’s Advocates and so it’s their job to provoke discussion, encourage various points of views and ensure the debate continues. Each speaker from each group has 2 minutes to speak before rotating so that all students in each group are participating.                                 Goal: To practice structuring arguments and brainstorming alternative ideas. Equipment: board, markers. Debating proficiencies exercised: ensures that no single position dominates the discussion and encourages the development of additional alternatives. Syllabus topic: can be connected to a unit from the course book. How this activity will tie into the rest or your curriculum: 10th grade “Keep talking” program

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Yunona Kondratyeva

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Post different topics on posters and put them on the classroom walls or have the topics in a Padlet file. Ask students to choose the topic they like the most. Let them research the topic and make a list of vocabulary. Ask students to write short clashes and start speaking without preparing. Make a switch. Students move between the groups and continue speaking and preparing. Every few min ask them to come to the front and practice speaking.

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How to Politely disagree
Have a student (with a ball in hand) give a clash and a claim.
student throws the ball to another student who needs to politely disagree and give a counterclaim (I understand what you are saying however....).
This goes on until no more claims can be made.
Start a new clash.

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Role Play Debate

In a role play debate, students scrutinize different points of view or perspectives related to an issue. For example, a debate about the question “Should students be required to wear uniforms at school?” might yield a range of opinions. Those might include views expressed by a student (or perhaps two students – one representing each side of the issue), a parent, a school principal, a police officer, a teacher, the owner of a clothing store, and others.

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Each group of 3 comes up with a unique new idea to help the enviorment . They will have to start in front of the class and introduce their idea. They will have to convince the class why their idea is the best. The best idea will get a prize. This activity takes a few lessons and usually most of the student's come with some bright ideas.

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Ruty  Dan                             Alley Debates Learning Objectives••                             To encourage quick thinking skills• To encourage rebuttal speaking and listening skills. Alley Debates are a fun and quick way to introduce debating to a class . They emphasise quick thinking and rebuttal skills.Activity :     Divide the class into two groups and form two lines a few yards apart facing each other. Set a motion for the Alley Debate – these can be fun or serious .An Alley Debate should be an ‘either/or’ motion along the lines of ‘Should I buy Fair Trade goods?’ Assign one side of the topic to one line and the other side of the topic to the otherline.The teacher then stands halfway between the two lines. They should turn to the first speake rwho is in favour of the motion and ask for a reason why they should buy fair trade goods. If the point is convincing the teacher should take a step towards that side. If the teacher is no tconvinced, stay in the middle.Then ask the first speaker in the other line why you should not buy fair trade goods andrepeat the process. The teacher should work their way down the lines until they reach the final speaker.Possible Alley Debate Topics                               Should I buy fair trade goods or not?                              Should people become vegetarian?                     Should we stop taking flights to help save the environment?   Reasons why i chose this activity: I liked the idea that the teacher is active in the debate .  No need for early peperation. It's fun for the students.                       

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Ruty  Dan                             Alley Debates Learning Objectives••                             To encourage quick thinking skills• To encourage rebuttal speaking and listening skills. Alley Debates are a fun and quick way to introduce debating to a class . They emphasise quick thinking and rebuttal skills.Activity :     Divide the class into two groups and form two lines a few yards apart facing each other. Set a motion for the Alley Debate – these can be fun or serious .An Alley Debate should be an ‘either/or’ motion along the lines of ‘Should I buy Fair Trade goods?’ Assign one side of the topic to one line and the other side of the topic to the otherline.The teacher then stands halfway between the two lines. They should turn to the first speake rwho is in favour of the motion and ask for a reason why they should buy fair trade goods. If the point is convincing the teacher should take a step towards that side. If the teacher is no tconvinced, stay in the middle.Then ask the first speaker in the other line why you should not buy fair trade goods andrepeat the process. The teacher should work their way down the lines until they reach the final speaker.Possible Alley Debate Topics                               Should I buy fair trade goods or not?                              Should people become vegetarian?                     Should we stop taking flights to help save the environment?   Reasons why i chose this activity: I liked the idea that the teacher is active in the debate .  No need for early peperation. It's fun for the students.                       

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Carrousel:                        Great game for a starting unit about debating and formal speech. This game is called Carrousel. Divide into 2 groups. One group sits in an inner circle and a second group sits in an outer circle with its face to it. The teacher says a topic or asks a question that every couple should talk about. After a few minutes the teacher applauds and the outer circle moves one chair to the right and the participants should talk about the same issue, which was given, with the new partner.The goals of this activity are to have fun with speaking, get to know each other and also to practice it in pairs, where pupils can feel more confident to speak. 

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Carrousel:                        Great game for a starting unit about debating and formal speech. This game is called Carrousel. Divide into 2 groups. One group sits in an inner circle and a second group sits in an outer circle with its face to it. The teacher says a topic or asks a question that every couple should talk about. After a few minutes the teacher applauds and the outer circle moves one chair to the right and the participants should talk about the same issue, which was given, with the new partner.The goals of this activity are to have fun with speaking, get to know each other and also to practice it in pairs, where pupils can feel more confident to speak. 

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Tal Dahan

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Fun Task for Classroom Debate
Quick Fire
Each student chooses a slip of paper with one topic. Now everyone stands, they have 2 minutes to give their opinion on that topic to a class mate, using the target language, such as "I somewhat agree with you", "I completely disagree" "I think very differently", depending on level and lesson objective. When two minutes are up, students move on to a different classmate. I listen for mistakes, correct on the spot and monitor if they have taken my correction on board.

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Project presentation
Speech activity
activity goals:
Improve students' speaking ability and audience standing skills.
Scene: Each student chooses a topic that interests him and wants to explore it, after researching the topic under my guidance and understanding why they chose the personal topic. Each one creates a personal podcast in which he introduces himself and the topic he has researched plus an explanation and appropriate highlights. In a creative and interesting way While preparing the podcast the students work on presenting things correctly such as: organizing things, clear thoughts, emphasizing that the message goes well as well as adhering to loose body language, eye contact, believing what I say, and clear speech..
Equipment required: cell phone or recording device with video.
Syllabus Topic: Textbooks: Our World in 5th Grades. After learning to present themselves in the first unit as well as presenting a favorite dish and a favorite meal they will learn through the project to present to their classmates a personal topic they have chosen to explore.
The reason for choosing this activity: Raising self-confidence while improving abilities and skills in the English language. Having experienced success in previous activities I am sure that This activity will serve as a lever for improving their capabilities in the future

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speaking activity: improving oral presentation of supported arguments for the COBE essentially but not only.
Equipment needed : debate game on Baamboozle website  offering flash cards with various debate topics. Activity played in teams.
Debating Skills involved: structure of an argument : argument, explanation , example. + being able to formulate counter arguments.
Link to the curriculum: this activity is clearly  related to the COBE but also helps the opinion composition for module G.
Reasons for choosing this activity:
the game format stimulates the student to speak in order to win. The baamboozle format with points; giving  points to opposed team or winning points make them have fun during an important activity.
I tried it several time and it worked in a class that is not always willing to speak.

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Project presentations with questions from the audience:  Goals of the activity - to improve the student's ability to speak in English on a prepared topic. Equipment needed - a phone or other recording device. Debating proficiencies exercised/taught in the activity - research and speaking on point, counter-argument. Syllabus topic - COBE / Let's Talk . How this activity will tie into the rest of your curriculum -  Speaking in English is now a more central part of the English curriculum.  Why you chose this activity – my  students write a project at least once a year, in addition to book projects. Having presentations with audience participation helps to gently push the student into "thinking on their feet" and "talking off the top of their heads".  This will obviously be age and level appropriate. 

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Project presentations with questions from the audience:  Goals of the activity - to improve the student's ability to speak in English on a prepared topic. Equipment needed - a phone or other recording device. Debating proficiencies exercised/taught in the activity - research and speaking on point, counter-argument. Syllabus topic - COBE / Let's Talk . How this activity will tie into the rest of your curriculum -  Speaking in English is now a more central part of the English curriculum.  Why you chose this activity – my  students write a project at least once a year, in addition to book projects. Having presentations with audience participation helps to gently push the student into "thinking on their feet" and "talking off the top of their heads".  This will obviously be age and level appropriate. 

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Wendy Weiss Simon

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I would like to try the ‘Balloon debate’ in middle school classes .In this activity 4-6 volunteers should come to the front of the class. Each one should choose a character from one of the movies that we talked about, that they will play during this game. The scene: All these students are in a balloon, but unfortunately it is leaking. To save ourselves, we will have to throw someone overboard! Each student will give a 30 second explanation of why their character should be allowed to stay in the balloon, using a point and an explanation. After these arguments, the rest of the group should vote on one person to throw from the balloon. This should be repeated until only one person remains in the balloon.

Goals : To be able to structure an argument using a point & explanation .critical thinking.

No equipment needed.

Debating proficiencies exercised: Content- talk to the point, demonstrate& give examples .Delivery- fluency, high vocabulary, posture, eye contact.

Syllabus topic-unit about movies +movie reviews

This activity will be held at the end of the unit, to sum up the material.

I chose this activity since it seems like a fun activity which can be used as an introduction to debating, no need for early preparation and also appropriate for younger ages.