The motion is the name for the belief or proposal that is being debated.

The team that agrees with the motion is called the proposition.

The team that disagrees with the motion is called the opposition.

A rebuttal point is a counter-argument made against something specific that the opposing team has said.

Learning the roles in a debate and making a rebuttal

English

In ‘Introduction to Debate’, the pupils learn to justify their opinions with reasoning. In the Year 5 unit ‘Persuasive letter writing’, the pupils will build on this by using their justification skills to make a persuasive argument. 

In ‘Speeches’, pupils learned how to articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions, using a set structure to support them.  In this unit, they will build on that skill by learning how to prepare and participate in debates.

Introduction to debate

The _________ is the name for the belief or proposal that is debated in a debate.

What is the name of the team who agrees with the motion in a debate?

What is the name of the team who disagrees with the motion in a debate?

Which **two** of these are roles in a debate?

to summarise which team is doing the best

What is the name for a counter-argument made against something specific that the opposing team has said?

'Proof' in a debate can be defined as something that is ...

helps to persuade those who may be undecided

forces the audience to agree with the speaker

Which **two** of these are benefits of using proof in an argument? 

In the PEPS structure, where would a speaker add proof to their argument?

conduct research, either online or by asking other people

Which **two** things could a speaker do to generate proof for their argument?

Anecdotes can work well in a speaker's proof. What are anecdotes?

the most important parts of their argument

how their team is better than the opposing team

What should a speaker be summarising during the summary part of their speech?

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Learning the roles in a debate and making a rebuttal

Lesson outcome

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.