Assign each group a side of the issue. Allow the students 10 minutes to prepare their arguments. The Partners Project team members circulate to answer questions. One of the team members acts as the moderator. Each side makes one comment at a time, switching sides after every speaker.
Students raise their hands to be called on to ensure that every student has a chance to speak.
Before the end of the time period, the moderator requests that each side make a final summary of their position. Ask the students to write down which side they favored and why. Student's ideas or even misconceptions can be used to focus later classes on their areas of interest. Manual this summer. You will receive a call from the Partners Project staff or Executive Committee during which you will be asked to give a brief description of the projects that your team and students have done in 1995-1996 and prior years if you participated.