At the end of Term 2, to conclude their Geography curriculum, the grade 7s had four debates to sum up their learning. The four motions were:
- British Columbia should stop cutting old growth forests for lumber
- Commercial fishing should be banned in Canada
- Ontario schools should only serve plant-based meals
- The number of tourists should be controlled at Canadian National Parks
The eight teams did detailed research and created beautiful slides for each of their key points. In the process, they learned research, organization, teamwork and graphic design skills.
On the day of the debate, the most sought after position happened to be the chairperson role where the student commanded the stage: introduced rules of the debate, signified the beginning of speech for speakers and managed the audience’s behavior. After this, they had a new appreciation of what it takes to classroom-manage a whole class!
The debaters were on fire! Each had research-backed arguments, powerful rebuttals and razor-sharp questions. Audiences from the floor were allowed to ask questions during the open debate session which was full of fireworks each time. Each debate was concluded with debaters crossing the floor to shake hands to show friendship and sportsmanship.
Congratulations to all teams for showing a high level of skill and being able to learn how to debate in a short period of time!