Some students formed their thoughts around the question, “Is it okay to have wild animals at the zoo?” Having recently visited the Calgary Zoo, students were highly engaged in this topic. Other students related closely with the article found in the National Geographic and were curious to define their viewpoints around the hobby of keeping wild animals as pets within the home. We supported our students by visually providing them with a string across the floor; the further away students sat represented how strongly they felt towards their viewpoint. To move our students further with their debate skills, we asked our leading Grade nine debaters to demonstrate a live debate.
Knowing Alberta Initiative for Wildlife Conservation was scheduled for a visit today, we asked AIWC to adjust their presentation to respond to the curiosities of our young debaters.