Teacher’s Notes
Introduction
The activities will introduce students to the rules of debating and the role of each speaker in a debating team. The objective is to enhance students’ understanding of the rundown of a debate, as well as to familiarise them with some basic debate terms.
Learning Activity 1: Warm-up
5 minutes
Go through the tongue twisters and ask students to read after you. As they feel more comfortable, ask them to read faster on their own.
Learning Activity 2: Vocabulary
10 minutes
This activity introduces some vocabulary related to the topic of bullying and prepares students for the coming reading, discussion and video viewing activities in the focus. Ask students to fill in the gaps with the appropriate words.
Answers:
1. unequal 2. expelled 3. emotional damage 4. isolate 5. aggressive 6. punishment 7. reprimanded 8. behaviour
Catering for Learner Diversity
For less advanced students, you may explain the meanings of the more difficult words like “aggressive”, “expelled” and “reprimanded” or ask students to check these words in a dictionary before filling in the gaps.
Learning Activity 3: Reading
30 minutes
A. Pre-reading discussion
This pre-reading activity aims at activating students’ background knowledge. Get students into groups of four and ask them to think of some examples of bullying. Allow 5 minutes for discussion and ask them to share their answers with the rest of the class. It is fine if they choose to tell specific stories. The more vivid the problem is in their minds, the better.
Learning English through Debating
T16
B. Reading – What is bullying?
You may now introduce the issue for this focus – bullying.
1. Ask students to read the article on pages S17 – S18 taken from the It’s My Life website:
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/friends/bullies/index.html 2. Ask students to answer the questions on page S19.
Possible answers:
i) Physical (e.g. hitting) Verbal (e.g. name-calling)
Relationship (e.g. refusing to talk to someone) ii) To make someone feel bad
To gain power and make the bullies feel good about themselves
To stand out from the crowd and gain attention from other kids, and even from adults
iii) To make another person feel hurt, afraid and uncomfortable
Catering for Learner Diversity
For less advanced students, you may give one answer for questions (i) and (ii) as an example and provide a stem for question (iii).
Learning Activity 4: Brainstorming solutions to bullying
30 minutes
A. Video watching
The following clips show the seriousness of the bullying problem at school and suggest some possible ways to handle it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTn-BqdMpsY&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYXGV6lc8n4
Play one of them in class (or ask students to watch them outside class) in order to give students more ideas for the discussion in Part B. You may ask students to focus their attention on the suggested solutions and take notes.
B. Discussion
1. This activity can be done either together as a class or in small groups or pairs. If it is done in pairs or groups, you may walk around to support students. Encourage students to share their answers in class by writing their different ideas on the board.
Learning English through Debating
T17
Possible answers:
• Tell somebody. Tell a friend, parent or teacher we trust. They may be able to help us or give us sound advice.
• Walk away. Most bullies like to see others suffer. Do not give them a chance to do it.
• Stand up for ourselves. Do not let someone walk all over us. If they start pushing us around, look them in the eye and tell them to stop in a loud voice.
• Join other friends. Bullies like to choose people who are easy to pick on. They hardly pick on a group.
• Have confidence in ourselves. Bullies pick on people who do not think highly of themselves. Walk with our head held high.
Catering for Learner Diversity
For less advanced students, you can draw their attention to the solutions suggested in the video clips and replay relevant parts. Alternatively, you may provide some examples as to how bullying can be tackled in school (e.g. Students can report to teachers when they know somebody has fallen victim to bullying).
2. You can write the motion on the board:
It is best to deal with bullying by expelling the bully from school.
Explain the motion to the students. Then get students to write down individually as many ideas as they can think of for and against the motion.
Possible answers:
For
• to punish the bully and make him / her bear the consequences of his / her behaviour
• to act as a deterrent against
bullying
• to remove the black sheep and avoid negative peer influence
• to prevent the bullying problem from going out of control
Against
• The bully would not be able to get help from the teacher(s) or social worker in school if he / she is expelled.
• This is not a permanent solution as the bully may go to other schools.
• The bully has the right to education.
• The school is partly responsible for educating the bully and shouldn’t give up on any students.
• The problem will only be ignored.
Learning English through Debating
T18
Learning Activity 5: Role of speakers
15 minutes
Explain the following points before playing the video clip (DVD Track 2) to students:
• There are three members in each debate team and the team divides the arguments among themselves according to team members’ roles and the content of their speeches.
The stronger and more central arguments tend to be presented first.
• All speakers should listen carefully to the points made by their opponents and give timely responses (e.g. seeking clarification, making rebuttals) in their speeches.
• The role assigned to each speaker pertains to the format which this module follows and may vary in other styles of debating.
Answers:
SPEAKER PURPOSE / ROLE OF SPEAKER
C Captain of the Affirmative A. suggests an alternative solution other than the motion.
D
Captain of the Opposition B. says the Opposition’s proposed alternative solution will not deal with the issue.F
1st Speaker of the AffirmativeC. sets out the terms of the debate by giving definitions, sets out the problem and suggests that the motion gives a solution.
A
1st Speaker of the OppositionD. argues that the solution to the problem proposed by the captain of the Affirmative fails to deal with the problem.
B
2nd Speaker of the AffirmativeE. elaborates on the alternative solution proposed by the 1st speaker of the Opposition.
E
2nd Speaker of the OppositionF. says that the solution proposed by the captain of the Affirmative does deal with the problem.
Learning English through Debating
T19
Learning Activity 6: Noting down the main ideas of a debate
30 minutes
Students will now watch the video of a debate on the motion “It is best to deal with bullying by expelling the bully from school” again. In pairs, students should write down the main points that the speakers make and complete the table on page S22. You can play the video (DVD Track 2) twice and pause after each speaker has spoken the second time the video is played. Check the answers with them afterwards.
Possible answers:
AFFIRMATIVE CAPTAIN
• Bullying is a major problem and six out of ten students in primary schools have been bullied.
• Bullying is a major problem and we must take strong action.
• If the bully is expelled, students will see that the issue is
important.
OPPOSITION CAPTAIN
• We accept that the problem of bullying is important.
• It is not practical to expel 24% of all primary students.
• The definition of bullying is broad. We can’t expel a student every time he / she insults another student.
• Bullies often come from difficult homes. We can’t solve a problem by sending them back home.
AFFIRMATIVE 1ST SPEAKER
• We agree that we cannot expel 24% of primary students.
• The definition of bullying cannot be too broad. One single insult is not bullying.
• There should be enough evidence.
(Standards of proof)
• Once there is enough proof (e.g.
teachers’ or students’ eyewitness accounts of fights or continual verbal insults), the school should expel the bully.
OPPOSITION 1ST SPEAKER
• My opponent underestimates the difficulty of proving bullying.
• This resolution is all about punishment and the desire to hurt the bully.
• Experts have suggested many activities which help to create a peaceful, loving and respectful environment that does not support bullying.
Learning English through Debating
T20
AFFIRMATIVE 2ND SPEAKER
• Bad intentions exist even if we are positive and loving.
• If the teacher responds to bullying by offering extra attention, the bully will be encouraged to continue.
• Bullies only understand
punishment and the punishment must be strong.
OPPOSITION 2ND SPEAKER
• Preventive methods are the best way to deal with bullying as suffering is avoided.
• Research by City University of Hong Kong shows that “harsh punishment is not effective for stopping bullying”.
• Punishment for bullies is sometimes necessary, but they should still be treated as part of the class.
Note: It is acceptable if students do not write in full sentences or miss out some details, so long as they can identify and summarise the key points in each of the speeches and follow the logical flow of the debate.
Catering for Learner Diversity
For less advanced students, you may use the table on page T105 of the
“Supplementary Materials” section, which only requires students to focus on three speeches. You may also turn this exercise into a gap filling activity instead of asking students to write down the main points all by themselves. Alternatively, you may give out the transcript of the debate on bullying (pages T21 – T23) after watching the video.
Have students read the speeches aloud and underline the main arguments made by each speaker before you give out and explain the answers.
Learning English through Debating