Advanced Debate — Elementary School
Course Overview
This course is designed for elementary students who have a solid grasp of SPAR debate fundamentals and are ready to deepen their strategic thinking and prepare for the transition to middle school competition. Over 14 weeks, students will sharpen the skills that make them effective SPAR debaters while exploring what comes next — gaining early exposure to other debate formats and building the habits of preparation, analysis, and adaptability that will carry them into middle school debate programs.
What Students Will Learn
Students will learn how to elevate their SPAR performances by constructing layered arguments with stronger evidence, more precise reasoning, and deliberate strategic choices about organization and emphasis. Beyond SPAR, students will be introduced to the basics of Public Forum and other debate formats — learning how different styles of debate are structured, what judges look for, and how the core skills they've built translate across competitive settings. Through in-class debates on topics relevant to young people today — such as school policies, technology, and fairness — students will practice reading their opponent's strategy and adjusting their approach in real time.
Skills Developed
This course pushes students to think like competitors. They will refine their ability to argue both sides of an issue with nuance, develop stronger rebuttal instincts by anticipating counterarguments before they're made, and begin using rhetorical tools like rhetorical questions and parallel structure with intention and control. Students will also build the independent research and preparation habits that middle school debate demands — learning how to break down a new topic, organize their thinking, and come to a round ready to compete.
Course Outcome
By the end of the course, students will be confident, strategic SPAR debaters with a clear understanding of what competitive debate looks like at the next level. They will leave prepared to step into middle school debate programs — including CDA's middle school track — with the reasoning skills, competitive mindset, and foundational knowledge to hit the ground running.
CDA has helped me grow a lot as a debater. The coaches and the class schedule are great for enhancing prep and in-round strategy as a debater. I would recommend this club if you want to join a good environment and become a better debater.
.svg)
.svg)
.svg){kind=small}
.svg)
.svg)
