Anne Hutch Students Embrace the Debate

On Friday morning, elementary students filled the Anne Hutch auditorium for a special event that saw fifth-graders take the stage to debate various topics, including the risks vs. values of participation in extreme sports and whether or not sharks should be kept in aquariums. The event marked the culmination of a weeks-long project run by the school’s reading teachers, Danielle Cavaluzzo and Meagan Decairano, aimed at providing students with the tools they will need to form strong claims, gather reliable evidence, and respectfully defend their ideas.

“In the unit we are working on, the kids read about debatable topics,” said Cavaluzzo. “Last year we held mini-debates in the class, but this year, we decided to hold this event in the school along with a big, class-vs-class debate in the auditorium instead.”

Decairano explained that the unit is an important one for the fifth-graders as it encourages not only the retention of information but also the ability to synthesize that information and use it to argue a point about which they feel passionately. 

“We worked really hard on the evidence piece; they took weeks to do research, finding reasons and evidence to support their reasoning,” said Decairano. “We also want them to build their confidence and their voice and the skills they’re going to need to have once they get to middle school and beyond.”

Groups of students focused on a topic, began their research, and worked together to craft a coherent, facts-based defense of their point. Both sides in each debate took turns providing the audience with their carefully selected arguments and rebutting the claims made by their opponents. 

Fifth-grader Amelia Hanson, who was part of the team arguing for the benefits of participation in extreme sports, said the unit has been something of an eye-opener.

“This is the first time I’ve done debate, and it’s been an awesome experience,” she said. “It’s been so great working with all of my classmates and learning more about these topics we’re talking about.”

Cavaluzzo emphasized the importance of students learning how to identify trustworthy sources, something that can often be difficult in this online age of information overload. 

“We taught them about using strong search terms, but a lot of times when you put something into Google you will automatically get these AI answers,” she said. “AI can be a good tool, but it shouldn’t be where you’re getting your answers from. The students should be finding credible sources like National Geographic or other educational publications, reading studies and quotes from reliable professionals in the field.”

Both teachers hope that this grade-wide event will become a tradition at Anne Hutchinson. To that end, fourth grade students were invited to watch the fifth-grade debates, something Decairano said will serve to build some buzz around the unit.

“The fourth graders were involved in the voting process, and we think that’s going to generate a little excitement for this project when they become fifth graders next year,” she said. “We’re just so proud of the kids. They haven’t done much public speaking before and, for many, this is asking them to step outside of their comfort zone.”