Lesson title: Using Debatepedia to explore
arguments
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/digital_rev/english/stage5/index.htm
Text forms: Novel, drama, poetry, multimedia
English concept: Analyse and evaluate
Required level of ICTcompetency: Basic
Outcomes addressed:
Stage 4
Outcome 7: A student thinks critically and interpretively about information, ideas and
arguments to respond to and compose texts.
Stage 5
Outcome 7: A student thinks critically and interpretively using information, ideas and
increasingly complex arguments to respond to and compose texts in a range of contexts.
Stage 6
Preliminary Standard and Advanced Outcome 6: A student engages with a wide range of
texts to develop a considered and informed personal response.
Preliminary ESL Outcome 9: A student engages with a wide range of texts to develop a
considered and informed personal response.
HSC Standard and Advanced Outcome 6: A student engages with the details of text in order
to respond critically and personally.
HSC ESL Outcome 9: A student engages with the details of text in order to develop a
considered and informed personal response.
Introduction to the lesson:
If students need to write persuasive/critical responses and speeches, or prepare for a
debate, Debatepedia is a useful resource to explore as a class. Dabatepedia encourages
students to consider others’ perspectives and arguments about issues arising from study in
English lessons. It also allows students to practice their own reasoning skills.
Note: Debatepedia is a wiki. A wiki is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone
with access to contribute or modify content using a simplified set of subsections that
describe how it is to be structured, laid out, or formatted. The collaborative encyclopedia
Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.
What the teacher will need:

join Debatepedia (free)
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
since this is a user-contributed wiki, preview content you will share with your
students close to class time

data projector or interactive whiteboard (IWB).
What the students will need:

access to the web

an email address (to allow students to create their own accounts).
Sequence of activities:
1. Project website on IWB or projector.
2. Select Popular debates from the navigation menu and select a topic that is relevant
to students’ English study.
Select
Popular
debates
3. Students select a relevant debate topic and read through the arguments for and
against.
4. Students download relevant information to a Word document or their OneNote folder
on their laptops and then delete, modify or add arguments to suite their particular
needs.
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Resources/links you may need:
http://wiki.idebate.org/index.php/Welcome_to_Debatepedia%21
Extension activities:

students create their own debate page

students investigate a ‘posting’ using web search engines to discover the source of
the information

using a specific example, students critically challenge the structural parameters of
the wiki itself. That is: what problems exist in ‘dividing’ issues into pro’and con?

students log in and contribute their argument to a debate

students debate each other on a topic of their choosing.
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