New
New
Year 6
Motions that matter
I can design my own motion to debate an important topic.
New
New
Year 6
Motions that matter
I can design my own motion to debate an important topic.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- The motion is the name for the belief or proposal that is being debated.
- The motion in a debate always starts with the words 'This house ...'.
- There are different types of motion: beliefs ('This house believes that ...') and proposals ('This house would ...').
- A debate motion is most effective when it is relevant to the lives of the people in the debate and the audience.
- An effective debate motion will encourage critical thinking and mature discussion.
Keywords
Motion - the name for the belief or proposal that is being debated
Proposal - the action of proposing a plan or suggestion
Belief - a firmly held opinion about something
Common misconception
Pupils may find it challenging to come up with suitable motions.
Pupils could work in small groups for this task. As a class, come up with some ideas of what you might change or discuss related to the different aspects and have these visible for children when coming up with their motions.
You may wish to use more examples of motions that are particularly relevant to your school setting.
Teacher tip
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
True or false? A debate is a structured argument between three teams.
Q2.
What is the name for the team that agrees with the motion in a debate?
opposition
chairperson
Q3.
Which role in a debate involves signalling the time each speaker has left?
chairperson
judge
Q4.
True or false? The speakers from each team take turns to deliver their own speech and then the summary speakers summarise what their teammates have said.
Q5.
A winning team can be decided by which of these methods?
rolling a dice
Q6.
True or false? A successful speech will follow a set structure, which is used to help a speaker organise their argument.
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Match each keyword to the correct definition.
the name for the belief or proposal that is being debated
the action of proposing a plan or suggestion
a firmly held opinion about something
Q2.
What makes a good debate motion?
It is a boring topic.
It is irrelevant to the speakers and audience.
Q3.
Which of the following are good debate motions?
This house believes that sweets are healthier than vegetables.
This house believes that boys are better than girls.
Q4.
In schools, debates can be used to discuss topics that ...
are only about politics.
are about adults.
Q5.
Which of these debate motions are proposals?
This house believes adults should have more breaks at work.
This house believes that schools should start an hour later.
Q6.
Which of these debate motions are beliefs?
This house would make after-school activities compulsory for all children.
This house would ban children over the age of 9 from using public parks.