Introduce upper-elementary and early-middle-school students to competitive debate with this 25-lesson SPAR (Spontaneous Argumentation) curriculum designed for complete beginners.
What’s included:
This course builds one skill at a time — starting with the four-part AREL argument (Assertion, Reasoning, Evidence, Link), then prep and delivery, then questioning and answering under cross-examination, then attacking and defending arguments, then comparing whose impact matters most (impact weighing) — before assembling all of it into full competitive rounds. The final third of the course shifts from learning each skill to performing under real tournament conditions: unseen motions, hyper-fast brainstorming, high-intensity rebuttal drills, judging, and a capstone championship round. No prior debate experience is assumed — every technical term is introduced from scratch, with vocabulary and a worked example before students are asked to produce it themselves. The package includes full Teacher’s Companion Notes (one page of facilitation guidance per lesson, with support/stretch scaffolding) and a complete Scope & Sequence document mapping the full 25-lesson progression across nine units.
How it works:
Each lesson is written to fill a 30-45 minute session, appropriate for an upper-elementary/early-middle-school class period. No debate coaching background is required to run this course.
Ideal for:
Teachers and coaches running debate clubs, ELA enrichment, or critical thinking blocks for students in grades 3-6, as well as homeschool groups looking for a structured introduction to competitive debate.
Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 10%
A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.
Bundle
Everything Bundle | Complete Debate Curriculum and Activity Library
The complete ClaimLore library in one purchase: beginner-to-competition debate curricula, speaking and perspective-taking practice, and every activity pack and game lab. Built on the Steelman Method, where students build the strongest version of an opposing argument before defending their own. Bundle includes 18 resources: - Lincoln-Douglas, SPAR and World Schools curricula at beginner and competition levels (25 lessons each) - Debate and Critical Thinking Curriculum (26 lessons) - Middle School Debate Curriculum (25 lessons) - Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced debate game packs - Opinion writing, rebuttal, respectful disagreement, conflict resolution and perspective-taking cards - Logical Fallacies Detective and Repair Cards - Philosophers in Debate and The Line You Draw ethics activities Buying the bundle costs less than buying the resources separately.
£190.00
Bundle
Beginner Debate Curriculum Bundle | LD, SPAR + Speaking Games for Grades 3-8
A ready-to-teach beginner debate program for classrooms, clubs, tutors and homeschool families. Includes two full 25-lesson curricula plus a pack of twelve speaking games, all built on the Steelman Method: students build the strongest version of an opposing argument before defending their own. Each lesson is 60 minutes with teacher notes. Bundle includes: - Lincoln-Douglas Debate Curriculum for Beginners (25 lessons) - SPAR Debate Curriculum for Beginners (25 lessons) - Beginner Debate Games and Activities Pack (12 speaking games) Buying the bundle costs less than buying the three resources separately.
£47.00
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