February 12, 2019 was Debate Day in Revelstoke at both Begbie View and Arrow Heights Elementary Schools. The debate was about which energy source – fossil fuels, nuclear, solar, wind, or hydro – is the best. After student groups were assigned an energy source, the teams had two weeks to research facts about advantages of their energy source, and also facts about the disadvantages of all the other energy sources. The format of the debate was:
- an opening statement, where each team stated why their energy source was the best
- the firing round, where each team had a chance to challenge the other groups with one disadvantage of their energy source
- rebuttal, where the teams defended the disadvantages that were mentioned
- closing statement, where the teams restated why their energy source was the best using supporting reasons.
Both classes did fantastic with the debates, working together as a team to research and prepare for the delivery. And though the debates became heated in a friendly way in both classes, all of the students showed great ability to stay composed and think on their feet during their rebuttals.
After the students considered the pros and cons of all the different energies, there was no clear winner as to which energy source is the best. What the students did see as being clear is that we should all try to use less energy in our every day lives.
Way to go students in Ms. Newton and Ms. Gadbois’s classes – you should be proud of your debates!
Ms. Gadbois’ class passed a piece of carpet to the student who was speaking so they “had the floor”, while Ms. Newton’s class passed around a mic.
