Students discover multiple perspectives concerning the reintroduction of gray wolves into the wild by researching pros and cons and participating in a debate. Grades 3-5

affirmative : the debate team or competitor who argues in favor of adopting the resolution

apex predator: a predator at the top of the food chain that does not have any natural predators

biodiversity: diversity among and within plant and animal species in an environment

carnivore: an animal that feeds on animal matter

conservation: a careful preservation and protection of something

constructive speech: the first speech given by each debater (both teams), in a round, used to build a case

contention: debate claims made for or against the resolution

ecological balance: the balance between living organisms such as humans, plants, and animals and their environment

endangered: (of a species) seriously at risk of extinction

Endangered Species Act (ESA): provides a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats both domestically and abroad

eradicate: to rid of completely

habitat: the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism

habitat fragmentation: when parts of a habitat are destroyed, leaving behind smaller unconnected areas

herbivore: an animal that feeds on plants

livestock: farm animals (such as cows, horses, and pigs) that are kept, raised, and used by people

mammal: a warm-blooded vertebrate animal distinguished by the possession of hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for the nourishment of the young, and (typically) the birth of live young

negative: the debate team or competitor who argues against the resolution

predator: an animal that naturally preys on others

prey: an animal that is caught and killed by another animal for food

rebuttal speech: debate speech that refutes arguments of the opposing team

refutation: directly attacking the opposing debate teams' arguments

resolution: the proposition or subject offered to debate

riparian area: a space between the land and the waterway ideally filled with native grass, bushes and trees

stakeholder: a person with an interest or concern in something

ungulate: a hoofed mammal

viewpoint: a position or perspective from which something is considered or evaluated

1. Show the students the Gray Wolf Image and share the information from the Gray Wolves Information Sheet.
2. Explain to the class that some people want to reintroduce gray wolves into the wild. Write  "For" and "Against" on the board. Ask the students to raise their hands if they think gray wolves should be reintroduced. Count the number of students and write the number under "For." Ask the students who are against reintroduction to raise their hands. Write the number under "against."
3. Write the numbers 1-6 on a beach ball with a marker. Stand in the middle of the room and hold the ball up for the students to see. Without rotating the ball, ask students in various parts of the room which number(s) they can see. For example, ask a student on the left side of the classroom what number they see, followed by the same question to a student on the right side of the room and so on. Each student will see all or part of different numbers.
4. Ask, "Why, if you are all looking at the same object, a ball, are you seeing different numbers?" Explain that it is because each person has a different "point of view." Each student sees different numbers from their point of view. They may see an entire number or part of a number. There will be some numbers they do not see at all.
5. Discuss the importance of looking at the viewpoints of others when considering real-world issues like the reintroduction of gray wolves. Resolving issues and evaluating situations requires that we look at the viewpoints of others to arrive at workable solutions, to form realistic conclusions, or to make our own evidence-based decisions.
6. Explain to the students that a stakeholder is a person with an interest or concern in something. There are several different stakeholders who are interested or concerned in the reintroduction of gray wolves issue and they have different viewpoints.
7. Place Stakeholder Number Signs in different locations around the room. Hand out a Number Card to each student and ask them to go to the sign that matches their number. After all students have been grouped, have them turn their sign around to discover which stakeholder their group represents. After reading their card, have the groups share with the class which stakeholder they are, what their viewpoint is, and whether they are for or against the reintroduction of gray wolves.
8. Discuss the importance of considering multiple viewpoints when deciding your stance on an issue. Use the following questions to guide the discussion:
   • Were there any viewpoints you hadn't considered when originally deciding whether you were for or against the reintroduction of gray wolves?
   • Did anyone change their stance?
9. For the second time, ask the students to raise their hands if they think gray wolves should be reintroduced. Tally their responses.
10. Explain to the class that they will be preparing for and participating in a debate about whether or not gray wolves should be reintroduced into the wild.

Activity 1: Debate Basics

1. Use the Introduction to Debate slideshow to introduce the basics of debate. Provide each student with a Debate Packet. As you go through the slides, have the students write definitions for the vocabulary words (bolded in the lesson procedures) on their Debate Vocabulary activity sheet (page 1 of the packet).
2. Slide 2: Debate is a structured discussion, often with a moderator and an audience, in which the  participants discuss a topic from two opposing sides.
3. Slide 3: A resolution is the topic that will be debated. One team will be in favor of the resolution and the other team will be against the resolution. The resolution for our debate is, "Be it proposed that gray wolves be reintroduced into the wild."
4. Slide 4: The team in favor of the resolution is called the Affirmative Team. The team against the resolution is called the Negative Team.
5. Slide 5: Each team will present two different types of speeches during the debate.
   • The first speech is called the Constructive Speech. The Constructive Speech is the first speech given by each debater, used to build a case. In this speech, you will make three claims that support your side of the debate and give evidence (facts, statistics, expert testimony, and/or examples) to support each claim. These claims are called contentions. This speech is written before the debate competition and is read word for word. You have three minutes to give your Constructive Speech. Constructive speeches are given in the following order (the order of speeches can also be found on page 2 of the packet):
     • 1st Affirmative
     • 1st Negative
     • 2nd Affirmative
     • 2nd Negative
   • The second speech is called the Rebuttal Speech. A Rebuttal Speech is a speech given by each debater, used to refute arguments of the opposing team. Refute means to directly attack the arguments of the opposing team. You will prepare several different refutation cards in anticipation of what the opposing team might say during their Constructive Speech. Once you've heard their Constructive Speech, you will work with your teammate, during the two-minute preparation time, to organize your cards to create your Rebuttal Speech. You have two minutes to give your Rebuttal Speech. Rebuttal Speeches are given in the following order:
     • 1st Negative
     • 1st Affirmative
     • 2nd Negative
     • 2nd Affirmative
6. Slide 6: The Debate Rubric (page 3 of the packet) is used to score debate participants. The rubric outlines expectations in the areas of presentation, information, rebuttal, evidence, organization, and confidence. It is helpful to keep these expectations in mind when preparing for the debate.
7. Slide 7: Hand signals (page 4 of the packet) are used to help debaters know how much time is left when they are giving their speeches. There are signals for 2 minutes left, 1 minute left, 30 seconds left, and the last 5 seconds.
8. Play the Debate Vocabulary Kahoot! to review key vocabulary.

Activity 2: Debate Research - Contentions

1. Place two large poster papers up in the front of the classroom. Label one poster "Pros" and the other poster "Cons." Ask the students, "What are some pros (advantages) and cons (disadvantages) of gray wolf reintroduction?" Record their ideas on the posters.
2. Provide each student with a copy of the Back to the Wild article and direct them to the Pros & Cons graphic organizer (page 5 of the Debate Packet). Have them read the article and record the pros and cons on their graphic organizer.
3. Watch one or all of the following videos and have students add to their Pros & Cons graphic organizer.
   • How the re-introduction of wolves is impacting Colorado
   • Living with wolves on a mountain cattle ranch
   • The conflict over the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado
4. Discuss the pros and cons that the students added to their graphic organizers and add them to the class posters. (Keep the posters as they will be referred to later in the lesson.)
5. Provide each student with a Debate Team Ballot and instruct them to fill it out based on which side of the debate they'd prefer to argue. Clarify that they may not get their preference. In some debate tournaments, you don't even know which side you are going to argue until the event begins. A good debater can successfully argue from either side regardless of their personal opinions.
6. Organize the students into teams of two and assign each team a side—affirmative or negative—with an equal number of affirmative and negative teams, if possible. (If you have an odd number of students, you may need to make one team of three students. See Instructions for Teams of Three.)
7. Have each person find Research Notes: Contentions 1-3 on pages 6-8 of their packet. Explain that each team will choose and research six different contentions that support their side of the debate, three contentions per person. Have the teams work together to choose their six contentions and determine who will research which contention. Have the students refer to the pros and cons posters and their pros and cons graphic organizer when choosing contentions.
8. After each teammate has chosen their contentions, they should write them out as complete statements on their research notes. For example, "Wolves help prevent overgrazing." or "Wolves prey on livestock."
9. Provide the students with access to a computer and the Gray Wolf Reintroduction Debate Research Sources link. Explain that they are now ready to research their contentions by looking for evidence to support their claims. Evidence can include facts, statistics, expert testimony, and/or examples. Be sure to include the source of the evidence (author, book, article, website, etc.) in the research notes.

Activity 3: Constructive Speech

1. Provide each student with a link to the Debate Speech Cards (copy the Google Slideshow for each student to type and print cards) or a copy of the Debate Speech Cards PDF (print 1 copy per student to write on).
2. Remind the class that each Constructive Speech should be three minutes long.
3. Refer to page 9 of the packet and explain to the students that a constructive speech should include the following:
   1. Introduction:
      • Hook (attention getter)
      • Greet the audience and judges
      • Introduce yourself 
      • Explain which side of the debate you are on (affirmative or negative)
      • State whether you agree or disagree with the resolution (include the resolution in this statement)
      • Present your three contentions
   2. Contentions: 
      • Restate Contention 1 and provide support for the claim in the form of evidence and reasoning (be sure to cite sources)
      • Repeat for Contention 2
      • Repeat for Contention 3
   3. Conclusion: 
      • Summarize your main claims 
      • Restate your position on the resolution
      • Thank the audience and judges for listening
4. Provide time for the students to use their notes to create the Constructive Speech and type or write their speech onto the Debate Speech Cards. Extra cards are provided if they need additional room for their evidence.
5. Have the students cut out each card for their Constructive Speech, punch holes in the top left corner of the cards, and attach them together in order with a binder ring. 

Activity 4: Debate Research - Rebuttals

1. Direct the students to the Research Notes: Rebuttals on pages 10-14 of their Debate Packet. Explain that they will not know the opposing team's contentions until the Constructive Speeches are given during the debates. To prepare for their Rebuttal Speech, they will need to work with their partner to think of all the possible contentions the opposing team might use. They will then prepare cards for each of the possible contentions, on which they will make arguments against the opposing team's claims. Then, after listening to the opposing team's Constructive Speeches (during the preparation time), they can choose the cards that match the contentions and put them together to make their Rebuttal Speech.
2. Have the students refer to the pros and cons posters and their pros and cons graphic organizer to come up with contentions to refute and determine who will research which contention to find evidence to challenge, criticize, or find fault with the claim. Remind the students that during the debate they will only have two minutes to organize their Rebuttal Speech. The more refutations they prepare ahead of time, the better. The teams should split the refutations so that each teammate researches half.
3. After each teammate has chosen their contentions to refute, they should write them out as complete statements on their research notes under the heading "Rebuttal for."
4. Provide the students with access to a computer and the Gray Wolf Reintroduction Debate Research Sources link. Clarify that instead of looking for evidence to support the claim, they are looking for evidence against the claim. Be sure to include the source of the evidence (author, book, article, website, etc.) in the research notes.

Activity 5: Rebuttal Speech

1. Have the students access the link to or the printout of the Debate Speech Cards.
2. Refer to page 15 of the packet and explain that a Rebuttal Speech should include the following:
   • Rebuttals
     • State the opposing team's contention you are refuting and provide evidence against their claim.
     • Repeat for Rebuttal 2
     • Repeat for Rebuttal 3
   • Conclusion
     • Restate your position on the resolution
     • Thank the audience and judges for listening
3. Provide time for the students to type or write their rebuttals onto the Debate Speech Cards. 
4. Have the students cut out each card for their Rebuttal Speech, punch holes in the top left corner of the cards, and attach them behind the Constructive Speech cards on their binder ring.
5. Remind the students that they have prepared several different refutation cards in anticipation of what the opposing team might say during their Constructive Speech. Once they've heard the opposing team's Constructive Speech, they will work with their teammate, during the two-minute preparation time, to find the cards that refute the contentions the other team used and organize the cards to create their Rebuttal Speech. 
6. Clarify that it is possible the opposing team will use a contention that they are not prepared for. In that case, there might be evidence from their other cards that could be used to refute the claim or they might have to "wing it." This is the exciting part of debate! 

Activity 6: Practice Debate

1. Ask the students to raise their hands if they have ever experienced stage fright. Allow some volunteers to share their experiences.
2. Show the Stage Fright video.
3. Explain that it is normal to feel nervous before speaking in front of an audience. Even expert public speakers experience stage fright. Following some public speaking tips will help you feel and look more confident.
4. Direct students to the Public Speaking Tips (page 16 of the Debate Packet). Discuss and model the following tips:
   1. Hook the Audience:
      • You have 10 seconds to grab the attention of your audience
      • Use rhetorical questions or interesting facts
   2. Body Language:
      • Stand tall and confident
      • Feet shoulder width apart and still (avoid swaying)
      • Shoulders back (but not too far!)
      • Head up
      • Make eye contact with the judges and audience (or look at their forehead if eye contact makes you nervous)
      • Use gestures to make important points
      • Smile!
   3. Speak Clearly:
      • Enunciate
      • Be expressive
      • Be energetic
      • Vary pitch, volume, and speed
   4. Manage Nervousness:
      • Deep breathing
      • Positive self-talk
      • Visualization
   5. Accept Imperfection:
      • It's okay and normal to make mistakes during your speech
      • Ignore the mistake and keep going
      • Pausing, restarting, reacting, or apologizing will draw unnecessary attention to the mistake
   6. Pay Attention to Timing:
      • Watch for hand signals
      • Identify when you are talking too slowly or too quickly
      • Adjust your pace to ensure you finish within the allotted time
   7. Practice, Practice, Practice!:
      • Practice in front of a mirror, your family, your friends, your stuffed animals, or record a video
      • The more you practice, the more confident you will feel!
5. Direct students to the Debate Flowchart (page 17 of the packet). Explain that the flowchart is used during the debate to take notes about the opposing team's speeches. It's important to record the contentions from the Constructive Speeches so you can organize the Rebuttal Speeches with your teammate. 
6. Point out the spaces to record the opposing team's contentions. There is a space for the three contentions from each of the opposing team's Constructive Speeches. 
7. Set up the room to match the Debate Room Setup diagram.
8. Pair teams up (affirmative and negative) and have them debate each other. Follow the Order of Speeches (page 2 of the Debate Packet) and use the Debate Hand Signals (page 4). (Depending on how many debate teams you have, you may want to divide the parctice debates into two or more days.)
9. During the practice debate, the students should practice their public speaking skills, use their debate speech cards to give their speeches, and use the Debate Flowchart to take notes.
10. Use the Debate Rubric to provide feedback to the debaters.

Activity 7: The Great Debate Event

1. Prior to the debate, identify when the event will be held (e.g., during the school day, a special evening event, etc.) and where (keep in mind that several debates will need to take place at the same time in separate rooms).
2. Invite judges and timekeepers to help with the debate event (e.g., volunteers from the high school debate club, community, teachers/staff, etc.).
3. Consider inviting parents to attend the event.
4. Prepare recognitions to hand out to participants (e.g., certificates, awards, etc.) and volunteers (e.g., thank you notes, treats, etc.) at the end of the event.
5. Pair teams up (affirmative and negative) to debate each other and create a schedule with room assignments.
6. Set the rooms up to match the Debate Room Setup diagram.
7. Give judges copies of the Debate Rubric to provide feedback to the debaters. Provide timekeepers with a copy of the Debate Hand Signals and a timer.
8. Follow the Order of Speeches (page 2 of the Debate Packet) and use the Debate Hand Signals (page 4).
9. During the debate, the students should practice their public speaking skills, use their debate speech cards to give their speeches, and use the Debate Flowchart to take notes. 
10. After the event, have the students review the Debate Rubric completed by the judges and reflect on their experience by completing the Debate Big Think.

After conducting these activities, review and summarize the following key points:

• Gray wolves are large, carnivorous mammals, with a diet primarily consisting of large ungulates (hooved animals).
• Gray wolves were listed as endangered in the United States in 1974.
• Gray wolf reintroduction programs have been initiated in Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, the Great Lakes, the Pacific Northwest, and Colorado.
• The reintroduction of gray wolves affects a variety of different stakeholders with differing viewpoints.
• It is important to look at the viewpoints of others when considering issues like the reintroduction of gray wolves.
• A debate is a structured discussion, often with a moderator and an audience, in which the participants discuss a topic from two opposing sides.

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