Debates Finshed Today!

Today brought on the conclusion of our debate unit.  If you were absent and your team debated without you, you will now need to present a speech.  See me personally so we can discuss the requirements and the date on which you will present.  Monday, we begin CAHSEE prep!

Still Debating

With the way things are going, we should be done tomorrow!  Just in time to get started on CAHSEE prep!

More Debates!

The debating process continued and will continue for the rest of this week.  If you have not presented your debate yet, it is crucial that you show up to class everyday until the debates are finished.

The Debates Begin! Yay!

Be prepared with all materials in case today is the day your group debates.  We will get through 2 groups per class period; so if you don't debate today, be ready tomorrow!

The materials I will collect from you at the end of your debate are as follows:
2 Evidence Sheets
1 Debate Outline
Index Cards
Notebook (if I haven't checked it already)

Break a leg!

Notebook Check; Counselors' Change of Plans

I began a Notebook Check while you worked on finalizing your evidence for tomorrow's debates.  If I didn't get to your notebook today, make sure you continue to bring it to class so I may check it later.

Debates begin tomorrow; I will ask for volunteers, but if I run out of volunteers, I will randomly call names.  If I call your name, you and your group will present your debate.  If you tell me you are not ready, then you lose a grade.  I will collect all of your paperwork (evidence sheets, debate outlines, notebooks, index cards, etc.) after you present your debate.

Due to problems with Powerschool, the counselors have changed the dates on their availability. The new times that you will NOT be able to see your counselor are as follows:
Wed. Feb.26
Thur. Feb.27
Tues. March 4
Thur. March 6
Fri. March 7

You may still email your counselor on those dates if there is something urgent.

No Counselors Next Week

I collected your Course Selections for next year and finished checking your Evidence Sheets and Debate Outlines.  If you still haven't finished the Sheets and the Outline, keep working on them and I will collect them for partial credit after you finish presenting your debate.

The Works Cited page needs to sent to me by 7pm today.

You should be in the process of organizing your evidence on index cards in preparation for your debate.

You will not be able to see your counselor all next week as they will be busy inputting everyone's course selections for next year.

More Due Dates

Two things are due tomorrow: 1) Your articulation form and 2) Your Works Cited page.
Monday, I'll be doing a Notebook Check, and Tuesday we'll begin the debates.

Many of you are behind with your evidence sheets and debate outlines; that means you have HOMEWORK.  This unit is worth a total of 450 points; make the time and do the work or your grade will be in a big hole.

Due Dates

By now you should be organizing your evidence into a format that will be easy for you to manipulate during the debate.  My advice would be to use index cards, placing each piece of evidence on an individual card.

Debates will begin on Tuesday, Feb.25.  Everyone needs to be ready to go so we can get through two debates per period.  I will ask for volunteers; if I run out of volunteers, I will call names randomly.  If you tell me that you are not ready, you will lose one grade.

On Monday, Feb. 24, I will do a Notebook Check.  Here is what I'll be looking for:
Martin Luther King notes
Martin Luther King vocabulary categories
Compelling
Debate Research websites
Stop and Jots 1-4
Debate Topic research
Debate Order and Responsibilities

Forming Your Debate

This week will be a continuation of finding articles and identifying evidence and appeals for your debate topic.  You want a variety of types of evidence and a variety of appeals.  You want to start off your debate with history and logic and end your debate with pathos.

Ideally, we need to start these debates on Monday; as it is, it's going to take us a week to get through all of the debate teams.  So, there is no time to waste; if you are behind in any way, then you have HOMEWORK.  Get both evidence sheets filled out completely along with the debate outline.

Debate Order and Outline

There still seems to be some confusion about the Debate Order (who is doing what and when).  Go over the Debate Order Handout with your group to make sure that, for example, if you are the First Affirmative, your name is next to every time the title of First Affirmative shows up on the handout.  I will need the Debate Order Handout for my own notes when you actually do the debate, so copy the order into your notebook.  The link for that is here.

Also, I handed out the Debate Outline Handout.  You will need to ask for a copy when you see me.  This handout and both of the Evidence Sheets are due Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Have a wonderful Presidents' Day break! (No school Friday, Feb.14 and Monday, Feb.17)

Debate Rubrics

I went over how you're going to be graded for this unit.  Here's the breakdown:

DEBATE PREPARATION
Debate Order Handout---------------------------------------------25 points
2 Evidence sheets filled out, both sides-------------------------100 points (25 per side)
Debate Outline Handout-------------------------------------------50 points
Notecards-------------------------------------------------------------25 points
Electronically sent Works Cited page (MLA format)----------25 points

DEBATE
Presented--------------------------------------100 points
Projection-------------------------------------25 points
Enunciation-----------------------------------25 points
Organized-------------------------------------25 points
Time Requirement---------------------------25 points
Fulfilled Debate Responsibilities----------50 points

I passed out the Evidence Sheets; these will be due on Tuesday, Feb.18.

Research and Debate Chart

Today was a continuation of the research for your debate topics.  Also, each group began filling out a debate chart, taking note of which person in the group has what responsibilities during the debate.  If you were absent, your group determined what you will be responsible for.

The Great Debaters 2

We continued with The Great Debaters and are up to Stop and Jot #4.  Since the movie is not on the internet, it will do no good to write the Stop and Jots here.  If you've been absent, see me on your return and we'll discuss how you can get the work in your notebook.  Don't forget your Independent Reading Book.

The Great Debaters

We began watching the movie The Great Debaters, looking at how the students in the movie researched, organized, and presented their arguments.  As we watched the movie, we paused for "Stop and Jots" in your notebooks, thinking about and responding to important parts of the movie.

Stop and Jot #1:What is the first piece of advice from the movie?

Debate Groups/Debate Websites/Compelling

Debate groups were formed today, along with tentative research and discussions on possible debate topics.

In your notebook, under the title "Compelling," respond to the following: 1) What does it mean to be compelling? 2) What have you found, personally, in Dr. King's speech that was compelling to you?  Was it his message? Was it his diction? Was it his style or his inflection? Was it a combination of things? Explain and give examples in complete sentences.

Also in your notebook, under the title "Debate Research Websites," copy the following:
Destiny.sandi.net
Instagrok.com
Idebate.org
Procon.org
Debatepedia