Debate Club
Upper Elementary School Debate
Are video games beneficial or harmful? Should skateboarding be allowed in public places? Should students be required to have good grades to qualify for team sports at school? Which is better- the Harry Potter movies or the books they were based on? Project LEAD’s Debate Club: Upper Elementary School Debate curriculum empowers students with the tools for developing self-confidence, public speaking skills, building a powerful vocabulary, and learning the finer points of language arts through interactive debate workshops.
Project LEAD’s Debate Club guides our novice debaters through the power of persuasion and the importance of practicing empathy, respectful debate, diplomacy, and civic mindedness at a younger age than ever before. Working off a foundation of voice, speech and diction, Debate Club uses games, hands-on activities, questions and answers, age appropriate topics, and positive engagement to teach kids the fundamentals and finer points of debate. Children learn the foundational skills and components of debate through a series of exciting workshops including Wordplay and Vocabulary Building, Art of Public Speaking, Agree to Disagree, Debate Structure, Debate of the Day, and Round Table Discussions.
Some of the many learning outcomes students take away from Project LEAD’s Debate Club include: further developing critical thinking skills, learning how to discern and adjudicate multiple sides of any topic, organizing and articulating ideas, developing listening skills, and learning how to debate without arguing in a fun, safe, and non-competitive environment.
Project LEAD’s Debate Club curriculum empowers children with valuable academic and leadership skills that they can apply to debate teams and sports in middle school, high school, and beyond. Kids will have the opportunity to join leadership and debate programs with these foundational skills already ingrained in them as they begin to see themselves as capable of creating change and as having a voice that needs to be heard.
Current Phase Of Debate Club Curriculum Development
Debate Club Curriculum Package Options
Weekly Curriculum
Elementary School
Age Range:
3rd - 5th Grade
Class Duration:
10 Weeks
Class Frequency:
Weekly
Lesson Duration:
1 Hour
Day Camp Curriculum
Ages 9-12
Class Duration:
2 Weeks
Class Frequency:
Daily, Monday-Friday
Daily Duration:
9am-3pm, or 6 hours total
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.5. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.7
Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.4
Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.3.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.1, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.5.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.