Good afternoon, families and great debaters! Today was our introduction to the ancient philosophical tradition that brings us the art of debate! In the morning session, we learned a bit about each other and discussed what we already know and want to learn about how to debate well. We also brainstormed together about what successful and unsuccessful practices and strategies of debate might look like and learned about low-stakes and high-stakes debate topics. We watched a video that introduced us to Aristotle and some of his theories on the uses of the rhetorical triangle, and we created debate rules and learned about the difference between logos, pathos, and ethos and how we can use reason, logic, and credibility to build convincing arguments. Next, we warmed up our speaking skills with a rousing game of TABOO – a game where you must use language and vocabulary, plus quick strategy, to get your teammates to guess a word. But be careful! There is a whole list of no-no BUZZ words that you can’t use in your descriptions!

We also learned new vocabulary words, such as rhetoric, adjudicator, and vernacular, as we discussed using language to persuade and created rubrics for debate evaluation. Next, it was time to put some of the foundations that we learned into analytical practice as we watched a real middle school classroom debate on universal healthcare. Some of the debate team members did very well and were able to make clear points and easily form rebuttals. Some of the students had a more difficult time contending with their interlocutors, and we discussed what they could have done better and how we ourselves plan to approach feedback and build educational toolkits over the week.

Finally, we were introduced to an Island Adventure game that we will continue throughout the week. In this team game, we will have to have many different types of debates and will have to present our plans, strategies, and survival decisions to other teams to convince them to join us. Who will survive in this battle of wits, where constructing good arguments and persuading others will keep us alive remains to be seen!

Each day, I will share a bonus hint in the blog for our review trivia the next day. Please let your student read the treasure hunt clue with you so they can get survival points the next day!

Treasure hunt hint to share with your debater for a trivia bonus question tomorrow: There is a new vocabulary word in this blog that we haven’t discussed yet. Can you find it? Do some research into what it means in the context of debate for the bonus tomorrow.