Debate and Public Speaking Camp Level #3: Congressional Debate
In this eight week program, students will continue to advance their skills in public speaking and debate through the event of Congressional Debate. Each week features writing legislation, practice debates, and advanced debate skills.
Erik, Professor, J.D, MS, BS
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4.9
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What's included
8 live meetings
8 in-class hoursHomework
2-4 hours per week. 1. Speech and Debate Assignments. Each student should spend 2-3 hours a week on their speeches and/or debates. 2. Recommendation: Students should be reading current events on a weekly or daily basis. But this is not a prerequisite for this course.Assessment
1. Speech Practices! Each class students have a short speech due on a different topic. We will review these speeches at the beginning of class. 2. Debate Practice Day! Each class features debate practices. 3. Speech Evaluations! Students and myself will be providing feedback on speeches on Chat, on your Flip Speeches, and/or sending to you after class. 4. Khan Academy Assessments! We will be using Khan Academy which has its own internal assessment as well as a mini review game at the beginning of each class on Civics & AP Government in relation to Congress. 5. Other Games! We play several games in class (Kahoot, Gimkit, Blooket, Quizlet) which are also mini-assessment activities to track progress throughout the course.Class Experience
US Grade 6 - 9
Intermediate - Advanced Level
CLASS DESCRIPTION In this class we focus on the national debate event of Congressional Debate. Students will learn beginner, intermediate and advanced skills in Congressional Debate. The class is structured into four parts: (1) Congressional Debate Skills, (2) Congressional Debate Practice, (3) Congressional Fun Facts, (4) and Congressional Theory & Advanced Placement American Civics & Political Theory! Congressional Debate Students! This class will definitely level up your skills in competitive debate and speaking as well Not to mention you might want to run for Congress, State Legislature, City Council or other legislative position some day! Other Speech and Debate Competitors! If you are participating in other speech and debate events, the skills of this class will definitely benefit you. And you may want to try Congressional Debate as a Supplemental Event at tournaments. I started out as a Policy Debater but my most successful event ended up being Congressional Debate! Advanced Placement Students, History Students, Political Science and Civics Students! You don’t have to be a debater to participate in this course! This class is a crash course in American Government, Civics, and Congress. Thinking about maybe trying the Advanced Placement US Government and Politics course and/or exam? This class previews the entire AP course with weekly reading assignments, exercises and practice games in class each week. CLASS SCHEDULE: Lesson #1: Introduction to Congressional Debate & Refutation Skills, Part 1 Lesson #2: Congressional Debate Refutation Skills, Part 2 Lesson #3: Writing a Bill, Authorship Speeches Lesson #4: Writing a Resolution Lesson #5: Writing a Constitutional Amendment Lesson #6: Congressional Procedure and Roberts’ Rules of Order Lesson #7: Congressional Debate Competitions and Model United Nations Lesson #8:Congressional Debate Public Speaking Skills HOMEWORK AND CLASSWORK ASSIGNMENTS : Assignment #1: First Speech Assignment #2: Rebuttal Speeches Assignment #3: Writing & Speaking & Questioning on Your Bill Assignment #4: Writing & Speaking & Questioning on Your Resolution Assignment #5: Writing & Speaking & Questioning on Your Constitutional Amendment Assignment #6: Writing Your Authorship Speech Assignment #7: Writing Your Rebuttal Speech Assignment #8: Writing your MUN Resolution CLASS PREREQUISITE: Students must have enrolled in at least my Debate Camp Level #1 and/or Debate Camp Level #2 Classes. See the class links below to sign up for these. This is for several reasons. (1) The curriculum is sequential. Each class builds on the previous and there are many review activities and reference points where students new to the curriculum may be lost. (2) We use many Apps in this class and so students must be proficient in these Apps. (3) Teaching style. My teaching and curriculum is unique and so definitely should be okay with this before signing up! DEBATE CAMP CLASS SEQUENCE Beginners Speech and Debate Camp Level I (Beginners) https://outschool.com/classes/middle-school-speech-and-debate-camp-edkFYUzZ?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Beginners Speech and Debate Camp Level II (Beginners): Debate Skills & Events This is the next step for Debate Camp Level #1 students. In this class we learn advanced debate skills and different debate formats. https://outschool.com/classes/middle-school-speech-and-debate-camp-level-ii-TeSFoFwy?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Speech and Debate Camp Level III (Intermediate): Congressional Debate (THIS CLASS!) This is an Intermediate/Advanced Debate class that focuses on the popular debate event of Congressional Debate. Students will learn all aspects of Congressional Debate from writing Resolutions, Bills, Amendments and Authorship Speeches to running for the Presiding Officer position. https://outschool.com/classes/debate-and-public-speaking-camp-level-3-congressional-debate-3MkF7GLQ Speech and Debate Camp Level III (Intermediate): The Speech Events! This is the next step for Debate Camp Level #1 & #2 students. In this camp we will focus on the speech events, speechwriting and advanced public speaking skills. Highly recommended for debaters as well, since public speaking and audience adaptation is the #1 debate skill. https://outschool.com/classes/middle-school-speech-and-debate-camp-level-ii-the-speech-events-8AJXuexH?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Speech and Debate Camp Level III: Model United Nations This class continues our debate skills but focused exclusively on international topics. And you’ll learn a different debate event which you can do in elementary, middle, high school, college and career! Half of the class is devoted to Model UN speeches, debates and other skills. The other half of the class is devoted to UN Debate Topics and the latest global current events. https://outschool.com/classes/model-united-nations-club-and-conference-6J6E8cjx?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link OTHER MIDDLE SCHOOL COURSES OFFERED: Current Events Club https://outschool.com/classes/current-events-club-debate-speech-advocate-change-the-world-2QgX0MtZ?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link FOLLOW MY OUTSCHOOL PROFILE FOR UPDATES! Follow my Outschool Profile for any new classes & updates! https://outschool.com/teachers/eriktheteacher
Learning Goals
1. New Debate Event! Students will learn about the debate event of Congressional Debate as well as advanced skills they can use in Congressional Debate.
2. Speechwriting Skills! Students will learn and practice speechwriting skills for the various legislation debated in Student Congress (Bills, Resolutions, Constitutional Amendments, Authorship Speeches, Refutation Speeches)
2. Debate Skills! Students will improve their understanding and practice of debate skills - note taking (flowing), constructing arguments, clash and refutation.
3. Extemporaneous Public Speaking Skills! Congressional Debate is a very advanced debate format in that most arguments should not be scripted but extemporaneous. Students will learn to incorporate outlines and notes rather than scripts in their argumentation.
4. AP Government and Politics! Students will be introduced to the Advanced Placement (AP Exam) in US Government and Politics. In order to learn Congressional Debate, you must also learn the fundamentals of the United States Congress and United States Government.
5. Fun! You can't have learning without fun. Fun Facts of Congress. Funny Videos of Congress. When it comes to the United States Congress .... there is a lot of comedy!
6. Tournaments! Students will be prepared to compete at Congressional Tournaments. We will also look at some of the best programs, tournaments, camps and other programs and opportunities if students are interested in pursuing Congressional Debate in tournaments.
Syllabus
Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum8 Lessons
over 8 WeeksLesson 1:
Practice Debate #1 & Introduction to Congressional Debate & Authorship Speeches
This lesson will begin with Practice Debate #1 and then an Introduction to Congressional Debate and Congressional Debate Refutation Skills. 60 mins online live lesson
1 assignment
Lesson 2:
Practice Debate #2 and Congressional Debate Skills
This lesson will begin with Practice Debate #2 and then we will continue reviewing and building upon Congressional Debate Refutation Skills, Questioning Skills, Bill Writing & Authorship skills. 60 mins online live lesson
1 assignment
Lesson 3:
Practice Debate #3 and Resolution Writing Skills
This lesson will begin with Practice Debate #3 and then we will learn about writing Resolutions in Congressional Debate. 60 mins online live lesson
1 assignment
Lesson 4:
Practice Debate #4 and Writing a Constitutional Amendment
This lesson will begin with Practice Debate #4 and then we will learn about writing Constitutional Amendments in Congressional Debate and also Evidence and Research skills in Congressional Debate. 60 mins online live lesson
1 assignment
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Debate Topics: This is an advanced debate class and students will be drafting legislation and speeches on the topics that they are interested in and/or in current events. So topics in the past have included controversial and/or mature topics - war, religion, politics, human trafficking, abortion, genocide, environment, etc. The same topics you will see in many middle school and high school speech and debate competitions. Students are free to select their own topics so long as they are respectful to all perspectives, back up their opinions with evidence, and of course there is zero tolerance for any hate speech or any type of discrimination.
Curriculum: We will be using some videos on Congressional Comedy from Saturday Night Live and other Late Night Comedy shows and News Comedians. So if not comfortable with political comedy or those shows, this will not be the right fit.
External Resources Statement: We will be using a variety of classroom tools, readings, links and other external resources including Kahoot, Gimkit, Blooket, and Quizlet. Please review the Materials section before signing up for this class. These resources are optional. No accounts have to be created. All these resources are free. All these resources have been vetted and used widely by students, schools and teachers.
Pre-Requisites
Students must have enrolled in at least my Debate Camp Level #1 and/or Debate Camp Level #2 Classes. See the class links below to sign up for these.
Supply List
I would recommend, but not required, is a secondary device to play the Apps. Sometimes if you use one device for the Zoom, Outschool, and App Games, it may cause some problems on some computers or is confusing. Most of the Apps we will be using can be played easily on a secondary device such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc. The Apps we will be using are listed in the Materials and External Resources section. But again, a secondary device is not required.
Joined September, 2020
4.9
1127reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
Bachelor's Degree in History from University of California, Berkeley
I have been involved in speech and debate as a student and educator my entire life. I learned more in my Speech and Debate Club than all my high school, college and law school classes combined. I joined the Speech and Debate Team at my middle school because I was very shy of public speaking. I have been hooked in speech and debate since!
I received my B.A. from U.C Berkeley, Jurist Doctorate from Hastings College of Law, and Masters Degree in Education at Pace University. In 2002 I was accepted to Teach for America and I have been teaching since. I have been a public school teacher for ten years with the New York City Department of Education and taught speech and debate classes for about ten years with thousands of NYC students. My debaters have gone on to win city, state and national champion titles. I currently serve as Professor at Baruch College in the Communications Studies Department. I teach Debate and Argumentation classes as well as Political Rhetoric.
As a teacher I helped to co-found the Big Apple Debate League which is now the NY Debate League. In 2011, I founded our city's Urban Debate League with the mission that every middle school and high school should have a debate team. I served as Founder and Executive Director from 2011-2019 building the league into the largest citywide debate league in the nation, serving thousands of students every year. In 2020, I left the nonprofit world, and I returned to my passion as a full time teacher!
I have received numerous awards in education including the United States Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers Fellowship, Fund for Teachers Fellowship, Plank Foundation Fellowship, and Teach for America Innovation Award Finalist.
I love teaching. My grandparents, parents and my brother are all educators. There is nothing more fun than sharing your passion with others.
My philosophy of teaching is learning should be fun and challenging. My lectures are interactive with movie clips, songs, puzzles and other engaging tools. We always practice our public speaking and debate skills. All my classes end with a fun and competitive speech and debate practice or tournament. My mission is all students should have access to speech and debate.Reviews
Live Group Course
$160
for 8 classes1x per week, 8 weeks
60 min
Completed by 20 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-14
10-18 learners per class
