An informal debate
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can take part in an informal debate.
Key learning points
- A debate often involves speakers disagreeing with each other.
- The motion is the name for the belief or proposal that is being debated.
- The PEPS structure stands for: point, explanation, proof, summary.
- In a debate, a speaker will make a point and then explain it.
- Adding proof gives credibility to an argument.
Keywords
Point - an idea or reason to support your opinion
Explanation - giving reasons to help someone understand an opinion
Proof - refers to the evidence used to support an opinion
Summary - a brief recap of the main parts of a speech
Common misconception
Pupils may feel unprepared for the debate as the tasks leading up to Task C are verbal discussions.
Plan an additional lesson where pupils prepare their speech using the PEPS structure and give them time to rehearse and write down their ideas. Then, conduct the debate in a separate lesson.
Teacher tip
As this is an informal debate, you can choose to structure your debate in a way that works best for your class or group. The Year 5 unit 'Introduction to debate', introduces a more formal structure, which includes the official terminology and roles.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is a debate?
Q2.What is an opinion?
Q3.What is reasoning?
Q4.An opinion must be justified in a debate with which of these?
Q5.Which of the following is a suitable counter-argument to this opinion? 'Maths is more fun than writing because it involves numbers.'
Q6.It is important to speak clearly and loudly in a debate so ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is structure?
Q2.Which of these are reasons why is it important to follow a structure when making a speech in a debate?
Q3.Starting with the first, order these parts of the PEPS structure.
Q4.What is the purpose of the explanation part of the PEPS structure?
Q5.Finish this sentence: Proof can be defined as ...
Q6.What is the purpose of the 'summary' part in the PEPS structure?
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: An informal debate, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 English lesson on: An informal debate, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the Getting ready to debate unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.