Middle School Debate Club (Monthly)
In this weekly club we develop debate and public speaking skills while participating in prepared and impromptu debate practices. Students will practice skills in research, writing, speaking, argumentation and debate strategy. Each month features new topics.
Erik, Professor, J.D, MS, BS
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4.9
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What's included
4 live meetings
3 hrs 40 mins in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. 1. Current Events Reading. Each student should be reading daily or weekly current events reading. 2. Weekly Speech and Debate Assignment. Each student should come to class prepared for a mini speech and debate tournament!Assessment
1. Public Speaking Practice. Each week students will be responsible for at least one speech. 2. Speechwriting. We will have at least two prepared debate topics where students have several weeks to prepare speeches and arguments for the topic. 3. Debates. Each month we will have debate practices on at least 10 different topic! About 2-4 topics each class!Class Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
In Speech and Debate Camp Levels I and II we learned speech and debate skills. In this class, we just practice and compete! Each class students will practice debate skills in debate practice rounds. Students will receive feedback on their speaking, speeches, and debate skills. The Speech and Debate Club will repeat monthly with different events, topics, skills and tournaments! Each week we focus on a different debate format and topic. So students will learn about the different national debate formats. Each week we will review different public speaking and debate skills. Every class features an interactive lecture (games, slides, video clips, discussions and debates). Topics will range from serious and challenging to fun and impromptu style debates. We begin each class with a short activity (public speaking, current events, debate, trivia). The rest of class is devoted to practice debates! We will have both impromptu and prepared topics. CLASS TOPICS Week #1 - SPAR Debates Week #2 - Parliamentary Debate and/or SPAR Debates Week #3 - Parliamentary Debate and/or SPAR Debates Week #4 - Congressional Debates NEW TO OUTSCHOOL COUPON CODE: If this is your first class on Outschool, you can use this code on checkout "ERIK2020" for a $20 discount. Feel free to share with others too if it is their first time signing up on Outschool! PREREQUISITES Students should have enrolled in Debate and Speech Camp Levels 1 and 2, or have some speech/debate experience, and/or be comfortable with debating and speaking without any formal experience. 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) https://outschool.com/classes/middle-school-speech-and-debate-camp-level-ii-TeSFoFwy?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link CLASS PRACTICE TOURNAMENTS: Each week we have practice debates where students will alternate as a debater as well as a judge. ADDITIONAL RELATED COURSES 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 Speech and Debate Camp Level II (Debate Skills) 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: Speech Events, Speechwriting, and Rhetoric In this camp we will focus on the speech events and advanced public speaking skills. Highly recommended for debaters as well, since public speaking and audience adaptation is the #1 debate skill. 8 Classes! 8 Speech Events! 8 Mini Tournaments! 8 Games! 8 Prizes! 80 Great Public Speakers! ... and ... 80 Public Speaking Skills! 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 Debate and Speech Club Intermediate (Monthly). In this Class, each month we explore different debate topics and debate formats. No lecture, just practice debates everyday! You should take Debate Camp Level I and Level II first! https://outschool.com/classes/middle-school-debate-and-speech-club-Qiz9wkVR?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Law and Moot Court Debate Club (Monthly, year round class) Half of the class is legal debate class and an introduction to Moot Court Debate! The other half of the class is learning about legal cases, legal history, legal skills, legal advocates and legal current events. This is a good class for students interested in learning a different debate format (Moot Court) and also interested in legal careers. https://outschool.com/classes/law-school-club-yUxEwpCT?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Current Events Club (Weekly, Ongoing). “Ongoing” - This means you can try one class, and if it is not the right fit, you can drop out of the class after one session or take it as many times as you want! https://outschool.com/classes/current-events-club-debate-speech-advocate-change-the-world-2QgX0MtZ?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Model United Nations Club & International Current Events (Monthly) https://outschool.com/classes/model-united-nations-club-and-conference-6J6E8cjx?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link US History Club (Weekly, Ongoing) https://outschool.com/classes/history-club-lH2VzJzC?usid=j2iJky1O&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link Follow my Outschool Profile for any new classes & updates! https://outschool.com/teachers/eriktheteacher
Learning Goals
1. Students will improve their understanding and practice of public speaking skills and specifically the skills of passion, ethos, logos, hand gestures, eye contact and body movement.
2. Students will improve their understanding and practice of debate skills - note taking (flowing), constructing an argument, clash and refutation, impact weighing.
3. Students will improve their understanding and practice of speechwriting skills - introductions, conclusions, persuasive writing and research.
4. Students will participate in both a speech and debate tournament.
5. Students will learn various speech and debate formats.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Debate topics will be on current events and controversial issues. The instructor will be choosing several different topics each month as well as students will be selecting their own topics. So there will be politically controversial topics ie gun control, death penalty, etc. But that is the beauty of debate as students are encouraged to learn and respect different perspectives and argue both sides of the topic.
Supply List
Please have paper and pen available for practices. We also recommend to have a time keeping device (phone with a timer app, kitchen timer, stopwatch or other device). Additionally, every lecture uses Kahoot.com (Free) and so we recommend to have another mobile device (smartphone, tablet, or another computer) if you would like to use Kahoot.com during lectures.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined September, 2020
4.9
1127reviews
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Popular
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 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. I always begin my classes with current events trivia. 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.
Press. Below are some news articles about me and my debaters! I owe everything to my own debate teacher and coach and so everyday my mission is to support future debaters!
1. First Lady Michelle Obama Honors Erik and the Great Debaters
https://tinyurl.com/29u2cfpw
2. Bronx debate team one of 12 school groups nationally to get visit with Michelle Obama
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/skilled-young-orators-heading-white-house-article-1.1203407
3. New York City Teacher Creates After School Debate League Lauded by the White House
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/11/prweb10156172.htmReviews
Live Group Class
$80
for 4 classes1x per week, 4 weeks
55 min
Completed by 271 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 9-14
8-12 learners per class
