Athens/Sparta Debate October 9-10

Athens/Sparta Debate

Morris 2012

Of the more than 300 larger Greek city-states, Athens and Sparta were the most powerful.  Yet the two city-states had very little in common.  This exercise will allow you as a student and as a group to evaluate which city-state provided the most residents  with the best overall lifestyle. 

1.        Students divide into two groups, one for Athens and the other for Sparta.

2.       Students then further divide into four subgroups on these topics

a.       Education

b.      Role of Women and Children

c.       Military Strength

d.      Cultural Achievements/ Legacies

3.        Once in groups, students will list all points about their city-state in their category, then identify two or three strengths they believe their city-state has over the other and two or three weaknesses (so they can argue against those).   They will write these on a piece of paper, sign all of their names to the sheet, and turn in to Mr. Morris for grade.

4.       Each group then choses one debater,  for each category above.    It will be that person’s responsibility to present the information in the debate and to rebut the opposing argument.

5.       During the debate, each debater should present as many strong arguments for his/her cause as possible.

6.       When the opposition debates, each student should be ready to rebut opposition statements.

7.       Teacher will score debate using the rubric below.    There will be four debates total, one on each subject.  The city-state that receives the most overall points on all four debates is the winner.  The eight persons debating will receive an additional 5 points.  All those who sign their name on the fact sheet will receive the number of points earned by their team in the debate.  Most point possible is 16, least is 4. 

DEBATE RUBRIC	4 Points	3 Points		2 Points	1 Point
Knowledge & Understanding -historical accuracy	-student provides exceptionally detailed and historically accurate information in  main arguments	-student provides proficient details and historically accurate information in main arguments		- student provides adequate information that is accurate but needs more details in main arguments	-student provides few details or inaccurate or irrelevant information in main arguments
Thinking & Inquiry -connecting evidence -rebuttals	- skilfully draws connections by using  more than two pieces of evidence (visually) that overwhelmingly supports argument - clear and thorough preparation for opponents points with exceptional rebuttals	- makes connections by using two pieces of evidence (visually) that effectively supports argument - student has prepared for points by opponent and responds proficiently		- student presents some evidence (visually) to support arguments and conclusions - adequate preparation for opponents’ arguments but needs stronger rebuttals	- student offers little to no evidence to support argument - student seems totally unprepared for opponents’ points and make few rebuttals
Communication -clarity of ideas -delivery	- student exceptionally expresses ideas clearly and concisely to audience in confident manner - student skilfully varies pitch, tone, uses humour and appropriate language to convince audience	- student speaks clearly and confidently to audience - student uses appropriate language, volume, tone and humour to convince audience		- student needs to speak more clearly and confidently - adequate use of language, volume, tone to convince audience	- often hard to hear student or student seem lost or confused -student needs to used volume, tone to be more convincing
Application -fact sheet	- student submits an exceptional fact sheet that is detailed, concise, and well organized	- student submits a complete fact sheet that is clear and well organized		- student submits fact sheet that is complete but could be more detailed and concise	-student submits a fact sheet that is missing information, details and clarity

MINI DEBATE STRUCTURE

Opening Statement ATHENS SPARTA
	1 minute
	1 minute
Argument #1 Argument #1:  Athens FOR	2 minutes
Rebuttal AGAINST	30 seconds
Argument #1:  Sparta AGAINST	2 minutes
Rebuttal FOR	30 seconds
Argument #2 Argument #2:  Athens FOR	2 minutes
Rebuttal AGAINST	30 seconds
Argument #2 :  Sparta AGAINST	2 minutes
Rebuttal FOR	30 seconds
Free For All	3 minutes
Closing Statement ATHENS SPARTA
	1 minute
	1 minute

TOTAL = 17 minutes