Discovering definitions

Learn how to define the topic in a primary school debate 

Student debating and public speaking resource developed by The Arts Unit

Years 5 and 6 debating

Your students will:

• define a debating topic

• analyse their definition

• present their definition

• reflect on their presentation. 

English K-10 Syllabus

• EN3-1A: communicates effectively for a variety of audiences and purposes using increasingly challenging topics, ideas, issues and language forms and features.

• EN3-2A: composes, edits and presents well-structured and coherent texts.

• EN3-7C: thinks imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically about information and ideas and identifies connections between texts when responding to and composing texts.

• EN3-9E: recognises, reflects on and assesses their strengths as a learner.

Collection of student work 

• Google Form: create a Google form with activities and/or questions. Students can also upload any files they create. Email this form to your students with the Creative Class link and all your student responses will be combined in a Google sheet.

• Google Classroom Assignment: create an assignment or a quiz in your Google Classroom with activities and/or questions. Students can also upload any files they create.  

• MS Teams: create a quiz or assignment in your class team drive where students can submit responses and upload any files they create. 

• Email: ask your students to email you any responses and files they create.

• Flipgrid: a website that allows teachers to create 'grids' to facilitate video discussions. Each grid is a message board where teachers can pose questions called 'topics'. Students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display. 

• Jamboard: an interactive whiteboard which can be used for class feedback.

For further support on how to create these resources

• Get started with Google Forms

• Create a Google Classroom Assignment

• Assign quizzes to students  through Microsoft Teams 

• Create an assignment in Microsoft Teams

• Educators – getting started with Flipgrid

• Get started with Jamboard