Age: 7-8 years

Duration: 50 min

Objectives

• State an opinion with I think ___ because ___.
• Respond with agree/disagree and one supporting reason.
• Participate in a short structured team debate with turn-taking rules.

Vocab

• opinion / agree / disagree: "In my opinion..." / "I agree because..."
• better / prefer: "I prefer cats because they are quiet."
• reason: "Give two reasons for your team."

Warm-up (5min)

Thumbs up/down on prompts: "Dogs are louder." "Cats are softer." Practice agree/disagree phrases with because.

Main Activity (40min): "Cats vs Dogs Debate"

Split class into Team Cat and Team Dog (allow neutral judges). 10-minute prep: brainstorm 5 reasons on poster. Debate format — 1-minute opening per team, alternating 30-second rebuttals, closing 30 seconds. Judges vote on clearest because sentence, not pet preference. Neutral students write one agree + one disagree sentence about arguments heard. Debrief: what makes a strong opinion sentence?

Wrap-up (5min)

Personal vote: "I prefer ___ because ___." — no team pressure.

Teacher Tips

• First formal debate — enforce respectful disagree, no shouting.
• Judges reward language, not outcome — reduces anxiety for shy students.
• Links Lesson 01 because to persuasive speaking for Movers Part 3.