The Arts Unit Creative Teachers
Embedded Files
Using these resources: a lot of competitions (such as the NSW Premier's Debating Challenge) do not allow students to bring paper or resources with them into a debate or prep room; these templates and activities are for training purposes only.
Lessons: Some of the resources below are from Creative Classes. Select the hyperlink in each section if you would like to view the interactive lesson that the resource is from.
Becoming a debating coach
Becoming a debating coach
We understand that taking on a new role (such as becoming a debating coach) can be challenging.
You may like to consider:
Participating in face-to-face professional learning, student training days and online learning before you commence coaching.
Connecting with other coaches in your region. You could connect with coaches when you participate in training days or when you visit schools for a debate.
Seek out a mentor. This could be someone from your school or it could be someone who supports you virtually.
Often, some of the best advice comes from your fellow teachers. Watch the video to hear some from teachers who are successful debating coaches!
Coaching strategies for primary debating
Duration: 04:55Developing a training program
Developing a training program
Training plan and learning sequences
Training plan and learning sequences
Debate coaches need to put aside time each week to work with their team, just as you would a sports team.
Timing and frequency of training sessions will depend on teacher availability, the number of coaches, school timetables and the needs of your students.
It is important to note that training must be flexible. Whilst you might have a program or sequence of learning activities written down to refer to, you will likely find that your training sessions will change throughout the year in response to the needs of your students.
Keep in mind that an adjudicator will give your team feedback after each debate and this often provides you with areas for improvement which you should address in your training. You are also likely to spend whole training sessions participating in mini debates or discussing your most recent debate.
Training plan and learning sequences
(Word doc file, 53KB)
Debate training plan - example 1.docxTraining plan and learning sequences - accessible screen reader version (Word doc file, 50KB)
Printable resources
Printable resources
Debating vocabulary and the role of each speaker
(PDF File, 90KB)
Debating definitions activity @The Arts Unit - Roles and rules of debating.pdf(PDF File, 282 KB)
Speaker roles jigsaw activity @The Arts Unit - Roles and rules of debating.pdfNote: These activities are from the Roles and rules of debating lesson.
Defining the topic
Defining the topic
Practising a definition activity
(Doc file, 326 KB)Defining a topic in a primary debate template.docxContext and definition activity
(Doc file, 324 KB)Giving context and defining the topic in a primary debate.docxNote: These activities are from the Discovering definitions debating lesson.
Writing arguments and rebuttals
Writing arguments and rebuttals
(Doc, 308KB)
PEEL palm card templates.docx(Doc, 592KB)
Rebuttal palm card templates.docxNote: These templates are linked to the lessons on writing arguments and writing rebuttals.
Preparing for a debate
Preparing for a debate
Overview of speaker roles
A summary of the roles of each speaker and the order they speak in.
(PDF file, 109 KB)
Overview of speaker roles.docxOverview of speaker roles - accessible screen reader version (Word doc, 34KB)
My team's planning
Template for students to record a summary of their team's planning session.
(Docx file, 54 KB)
My team's planning.docxMy team's planning - accessible screen reader version (Word doc, 40KB)
Download and print speech templates for each speaker.
Note: many competitions do not allow students to bring paper or notes into the preparation room. These templates should be used for training purposes only.
Template for each affirmative speaker:
1st Affirmative (Doc, 81KB)
2nd Affirmative (Doc, 82KB)
3rd Affirmative (Doc, 81KB)
Affirmative Team Advisor (Doc, 79KB)
Template for each negative speaker:
1st Negative (Doc, 83KB)
2nd Negative (Doc, 82KB)
3rd Negative (Doc, 81KB)
Negative Team Advisor (Doc, 79KB)
Note: Learn more about each speaker role in the Roles and rules of debating lesson. Learn about how to prepare for a debate in the Ready, prep, debate! lesson.
Interactive lessons
Interactive lessons
The Arts Unit have a number of interactive step-by-step debating lessons available for you to use. These can be done with a group of students (using an Interactive Whiteboard) or students can complete these lessons independently.
For your convenience, they have been organised into two categories:
Foundation activities (for students new to debating)
Extension activities (for more experienced debaters)
Third party games and resources
Third party games and resources
News resources for kids
News resources for kids
If you are interested in helping your students gain a more comprehensive understanding of world events and current affairs, have a look at some of the following resources.
You may like students to research one interesting piece of news that they can share with their team each week. This helps students become more knowledgeable about current affairs. Students can then give accurate real-world examples when they are making an argument or rebutting in a debate. You may like to allocate topics for research (e.g. health or education).
BTN is an educational news program aimed at 10-13 year olds. It unpacks and explains news and current affairs to young people in a relevant and engaging manner.
There are weekly episodes and online content. A range of opinions are presented so students gain a greater awareness of differing points of view. BTN also helps students develop an understanding of complex political, economic, environmental and social issues.
Kids News is supported by News Corp Australia. Articles are based on content from News Corp Australia publications.
News content is written into educational news stories in child appropriate language and is censored to remove any inappropriate content or imagery. The site does not link to any outside news sources or sites. The website is intended for students in Years 3-8.
Debating, talking and listening resources
Debating, talking and listening resources
If you are looking for additional games, resources or activities for your debating students, you may want to consider some of the following. These might also be useful for students to use at home.
Please note that The Arts Unit have no partnerships with any of the below companies or products and do not necessarily endorse these titles or their content. They are, however, food for thought about some of the resources that are currently available.
Smash Boom Best is a debate podcast for kids. It is a fun and silly podcast where professional debaters go head to head arguing which is best out of two options. Some episodes include 'Robots vs Aliens', 'Noodles vs Rice' and 'Cheetahs vs Sloths'.
Keep in mind that this podcast is from the USA and the presenters do not use the same debating style we use in Australia. However, it is entertaining, educational and encourages out-of-the-box thinking! Smash Boom Best is designed for primary school students.
Books
There are a number of books available on debating, public speaking and persuasive writing. They may be a useful resource.
One notable text is the 'The Australian Schoolkid's Guide to Debating and Public Speaking'. This book was the runner up in the 2016 Educational Publishing awards. The author, Claire Duffy, is a former English teacher from Sydney. The 'Teen's Guide to Debating and Public Speaking' is intended for high school students and is also written by Claire Duffy. You may also find texts about persuasive writing are useful.
Board Games
There are a number of board games that encourage critical thinking, quick thinking, persuasiveness and/or talking and listening skills. These skills are all relevant to debating and are a fun way to learn! Game companies often release multiple versions of the same game, so make sure you proof game cards and content before students commence playing.
Teaching resources for persuasive writing and speaking
If you have a subscription a resource website such as Teach Starter, Teach This, Teachers Pay Teachers or Twinkl, you may already have access to a wide variety of persuasive writing and speaking resources! For example, Teach Starter and Twinkl both have printable persuasive writing topic cards. You may also have access to slideshows, games and worksheets that are relevant to debating.
If you have any questions about debating, please get in contact by emailing debating@det.nsw.edu.au
For more information about debating at The Arts Unit, visit our website.
Third-party content attributions
Third-party content attributions
Teach starter persuasive writing topic cards image - https://www.teachstarter.com/au/blog/10-ways-use-persuasive-topic-cards/
English K-10 Syllabus, © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2016, copied under s113P, accessed 20 February 2021.
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