Beyond Debate resources are among some of the most popular resources for Beyond Secondary users and despite the old adage that reminds us not to fix what isn’t broken, we felt we could inject some life into the debate packs and improve them along the way. So without further ado… our new Debate Pack can be found here! 

It’s also free until the end of Monday 7th January 2019 – so sign up for a free account if you haven’t already!

If you’re unfamiliar with our debate resources, allow me to explain! Our writers take a relevant and divisive topic and present it in a teacher- and student-friendly fashion. The packs come with prompts and balanced opinion so a constructive debate can take place in the classroom. The packs also come complete with a PowerPoint and worksheets so there’s minimal prep to do too.

The packs are ideal as form time ideas, speaking and listening activities, persuasive writing prompts in the English classroom or a themed assembly. The PowerPoints are also editable, so you can chop, change and add whatever you like.

The Fresh Coat of Paint

First and foremost, you’ll probably notice that we have changed tack with the design. We wanted the resources to feel more grown-up and increase the visual appeal to secondary teachers and students. As a result, we will be using more photographic imagery, clear text and sparing use of distracting colours. The design is also uniform and minimalistic to avoid needless clutter.

The Format

Along with the new look, we have decided to mix the format up a little. Previously, our debate packs have been known as ‘Daily Debate’. We thought that a ‘Weekly Debate’ would give teachers and students more time to explore a topic instead.

As a result, the resource packs are now a little more substantial – each pack includes four tasks from those outlined above and a ‘Big Question’ that can be used as the long-form debate at the end of the week. Of course, we also want you as a teacher to have as much agency over this as you’d like and if a particular task doesn’t suit you or your class, you can simply remove or skip it.

So why the change?

We try to listen to feedback and act upon what we can to make your lives easier and this is where the change has come from! We heard a resounding call for less illustrations, less distracting colour, less ‘fuss’ on the slides and a focus on the content itself. We quite like how our new debate packs have turned out. More will be arriving weekly too, so keep your eyes peeled. If you have any feedback, please let us know!

Oh, and before I forget… two members of Team Twinkl decided to go head-to-head and debate some of the questions found in the pack. Check it out.

You can find the first of our new debate resources here.

The resource is also free to non-subscribers until the end of Monday 7th January, 2019. You’ll simply need to sign up using the link below to download it.

Subscribe to Twinkl from as little as £5 per month, giving you access to a range of resources. That’s £5 for as many resources as you can download with no limit! A bargain and a time-saver all in one! If you want to see what we offer first, sign up for a free Twinkl account here and take a look around at our free resources.