MIDDLE SCHOOL DEBATE SEASON SCHEDULE 2024-25
Check this spot for schedule updates! | Tournament Information & Resources
Curriculum – Middle School
Primary Coaching Resources
Coach’s Handbook
Activity Binder (Fun debate games!)
Guide to the MS Evidence Packet
Find all coaching materials for the 2024-25 season at a glance here. Watch this space for your guide to the Middle School evidence packet. Also see the Debate FAQs for questions.
Speaker Point Rubric
In a debate round, judges will score each debater individually on their presentation, quality of arguments, responsiveness to their opponents’ arguments, and use of evidence. This is the rubric that judges will use to assign those scores.
You can use the rubric to get a sense of which division is appropriate for a students. Debaters who are getting mostly 1’s should be in the Rookie Division. Students receiving mostly 1’s and 2’s should be in the Novice Division. Students who are receiving mostly 2’s and 3’s should be in the JV Division. Students who are receiving mostly 3’s and 4’s should be in the Varsity Division.
Argument Limits
This Argument Limits Document outlines which arguments will be allowed in which divisions, and contains a link for each type of argument to the relevant portion of the Guide to the Evidence Packet. Both coaches and students are responsible for knowing which arguments are allowed in their division.
How to Use or Modify Evidence
Because evidence is the basis of a good debate, it is helpful to make sure students are using the evidence in the same way. To keep every debate clear and balanced for the students, we have developed this Anatomy of Evidence Document with the guidelines and conventions of evidence use in policy debate.
Games, Resources, & More
Anatomy of Debate Evidence
(Why it is formatted the way it is and what you can change)They Said, We Say, We Win
This graphic organizer helps students recognize how to create clash with their opponents arguments and think about why the judge should prefer their arguments.Impact Analysis
This graphic organizer helps students think about the probability, timeframe, and magnitude of their impacts well before the round.Claim, Warrant, Data
This graphic organizer helps students understand the argument made by each cardFrayer Model
This is a generic graphic organizer for learning new vocabulary. It is useful for both generic debate concepts and topic specific vocabulary.Debate Games/Drills
This is a laundry list of a variety different games and drills you can do with students in practice.
LEVERAGE YOUR RESOURCES!
To learn more about how you can get your workplace involved in supporting the Minnesota Urban Debate League, email Amy Cram Helwich, Executive Director: cramhe@augsburg.edu
