Student Worksheet to Write the Debate/Discussion Position Notes

This is not your research paper or final project. In class, we are going to hold a debate/discussion on whether Antarctica is habitable. You will each have a chance to introduce your team and give your opinion on that question. The notes you prepare for this should be short and strong. These notes and the graph/chart you made are the only information you will be allowed to have in your possession, so include any information for yourself that you will need to argue your team's point of view correctly and convincingly. After each team has had a chance to present their opinion, students will be expected to question other participants on their views and argue their own in a general classroom discussion/debate atmosphere. Your beginning speaking time will be uninterrupted, but you'd be smart to jot down notes while others speak so that you can participate and question later.

Special notes about debating:

Questions are not proof. You can't say, "How are we to get heat? Shall we kill the whales for their blubber to use for heat?" That's not proof. It puts the work on the other debater. You must have the information to say that your way is the best way not put the work on another.
Even though this will be a discussion rather than a formal debate and you will not be given precise amounts of time to speak or rebut other speakers, you need to support all of your assertions or opinions with facts. Others may call you on simple opinions, generalizations, stereotypes, information based on poor sources, biased sources and poor conclusions drawn from facts.