The Great K-T Extinction Debate

Purpose
The purpose of this debate is to explore 3 questions: 1. What caused the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period? 2. Could life on Earth today suffer the same fate? 3. Is there anything we could or should do to protect ourselves?

PRO

versus

CON

1. The cause of the extinction was an extraterrestrial impact. 2. Life on Earth today could suffer the same fate. 3. Therefore, $250 billion should be spent to protect us.

1. The cause of the extinction was not an extraterrestrial impact. 2. Life on Earth today could not suffer the same fate. 3. Therefore, $250 billion should not be spent to protect us.

Senate Hearing

The structure of the debate will follow that of a real senate hearing to ultimately determine if $250 billion should be budgeted for a planetary defense system.
The cost of the system is NOT open to debate!

KT Extinction debate vs. Debate tournament

The K-T Extinction debate does NOT have the format of a debate tournament, where one person makes a claim and another person makes a counter claim. The K-T debate proceeds like a true senate hearing, where a witness takes the stand and then is cross examined by the opposing side.

Roles

Senator Lobbyist Expert Witness Reporter

Senator

Responsibilities include running the proceedings, questioning expert witnesses, creating a rubric to score the debate, making and announcing the final decision Senators work as a team as well as individually

Senator

This is a very demanding role. Best for those comfortable in a leadership position. Must be very selfdirected, diplomatic. Researches BOTH sides of the debate

Lobbyist

Responsibilities include presenting an opening or closing statement, organizing their sides expert witnesses, organizing team strategy meetings, & cross-examining the opposing sides expert witnesses Lobbyists work in pairs

Lobbyist

Best for those comfortable in a leadership position Can be difficult to formulate crossexamination questions Will need to research BOTH sides (to better predict/understand opposing arguments!)

Expert Witness

Responsibilities include preparing and presenting testimony, creating a PowerPoint presentation, answering crossexamination questions. Experts work mostly by themselves, but within their sides team

Expert Witness

Researches only ONE aspect for their side Need to be VERY knowledgeable about their subject A PowerPoint presentation must be created and used during presentation

Reporter

Responsibilities include writing a newspaper article detailing the hearing, conducting interviews, and transcribing the debate. This person always works alone

Reporter

The reporter must research BOTH sides of the debate The newspaper article is due one week after the debate. Some interviews are in front of the class. Best for creative types, those who love to write. Need to be diplomatic and neutral.

Senate Hearing Proceedings

Opening statements by lobbyists (PRO first) Expert Witness presentations for PRO side (testimony, lobbyist cross-examination, senate cross-examination) Expert Witness presentations for CON side Closing statements by lobbyists (PRO first) Adjournment for senate deliberation Reporter interviews Senate decision presented Reporter interviews

Preparation

Class: 1 article, 2 videos

Workshop for each role In-depth discussion of role requirements Due dates for assignments

Individual: Research In-Class Library Internet Most research is done individually A large portion of the final grade! Pre-debate assignment Assessing your work!

Preparation

Class time
Research! Strategy meetings (x3) Create visual aides Prepare speeches Run-through trial

Choices

You will soon be asked to choose a side and a role (after some preliminary research)
Choose according to your personality and working style to be the most successful in this project

Debate Research Day Policies

Groups of 2 maximum, unless a scheduled team meeting time. 2 articles maximum at one time. 1 book at a time.

Talk to only your research partner about DEBATE MATERIAL. - I dont want to hear you! Library environment please! - Worth 4 points counts toward final debate grade! - Final grade out of ~36 points
Return all articles/books to the correct folder/bin Articles may be checked out at the end of the class period. - No more than 2 articles may be checked out at one time. - Never take the last article in the folder. Books are for in-class use only. Each role has different assignments that must be completed. Refer to rubric.