Year 4 Getting ready to debate worksheet

“What is a debate?” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 4 English unit “Getting ready to debate”, for children aged 8 to 9, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Week 36 of the year, 4 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

What is a debate?

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 4 · English · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can tell a fact from an opinion, and give a reason using because.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which group of words is a full sentence? Circle the answer.
The big red busThe big red bus stopped at the gate.
2.
In “The fox ran home.”, which word is the verb? Circle the answer.
foxranhome
3.
Which sentence is a question? Circle the answer.
Where is the bus.Where is the bus?Where is the bus!

B Watch me, then you4 min

Maya says: “Bikes are the best way to get around because they are quick.”

Watch me

“Bikes are the best way to get around” is Maya’s opinion.

The word because tells us a reason is coming.

“They are quick” is the reason she gives.

Now you

1.
Which part is the reason? “Winter is the best season because the nights are cosy.” Circle the answer.
Winter is the best seasonthe nights are cosyWinter has snow

C Your turn8 min

Read each one carefully. Think about what could be checked and what someone might disagree with.

1.
Which sentence is an opinion? Circle the answer.
The school has a library.Libraries are the best rooms in a school.
2.
Which sentence is an opinion with no I or my in it? Circle the answer.
I think the library is the best room.Libraries are the best rooms in a school.The library has many books.
3.
Draw a line from each opinion to its reason.
Cats make the best petsWinter is the best seasonReading is the best hobby
stories take you to new placesthey are quiet and cleanthe days are cosy
4.
Write an opinion about a sport or game. Then add a reason using because.

Say it out loud: Which word told you a reason was coming? Say the sentence again with because in it.

D Spot the mistake3 min

An empty outdoor tennis court with a net and white lines, in bright daylight

Ali says: “Only sentences with I or my are opinions.”

1.
Is Ali right? Write why, using an example sentence without I or my.

E Think deeper4 min

A debate is when two sides take turns to give reasons for different opinions on one question.

The Houses of Parliament in London seen from across the river on a clear day

1.
Why might a school hold a debate? Write two reasons. Use because in each sentence.

How did it feel?

Point to the weather on the scale that matches how it felt to say your opinion out loud. Then tell your grown-up why.

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

What is a debate? · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. The big red bus stopped at the gate. If your child chose the first group, ask them to read it aloud. Does it tell us what happened? A sentence needs a verb.

2. ran If your child chose fox, that is who the sentence is about. Ask: what did the fox do? The verb is the word for that action.

3. Where is the bus? If your child chose the full stop, ask what the sentence is for. Is it asking something or telling something?

B

1. the nights are cosy If your child circled the opinion, that is the view itself. Ask: which words come after because? Those are the reason.

C

1. Libraries are the best rooms in a school. If your child chose the school library, ask: can you check it by looking? A fact can be checked. An opinion is a view someone might disagree with.

2. Libraries are the best rooms in a school. If your child chose the sentence with I think, say: that is an opinion too, but the question asks for one with no I or my. If your child chose the books sentence, ask whether someone could check it.

3. Cats make the best pets → they are quiet and clean; Winter is the best season → the days are cosy; Reading is the best hobby → stories take you to new places If your child joined an opinion to a reason that does not fit, read the pair aloud with because in the middle. Does it make sense?

4. Look for: An opinion (a view someone might disagree with) about a sport or game, followed by a reason joined with because. If your child writes only a fact, ask: could someone disagree with this? If not, change it to a view and add because.

D

1. Look for: Says Ali is wrong, and gives an example of an opinion that has no I or my, such as Tennis is the best sport. If your child agrees with Ali, read ‘Tennis is the best sport’ aloud. Ask whether someone could disagree with it. If yes, it is an opinion.

E

1. Look for: Two sentences about why a school might hold a debate, each giving a reason after because.

Words to use

Say“Which word told you the reason was coming? Tell me the reason in your own words.”

Instead of“That is the wrong answer. Say it again, faster.”

After the sheet

At teatime, each person says one fact or one opinion about a food or film. Everyone else says which it is. Opinions also need a reason after because.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

3 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Making a Good Motion(with a plan)
Agreeing and disagreeing(with a plan)
Build a PEPS speech(with a plan)

Every Year 4 English worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

Get the worksheets Try the full plan free

Both start with a free account; you choose the plan when you sign up.