Course Preface

  Speech and Debate provides students an opportunity to develop skills in research, critical thinking, organization, persuasion and communication. Students must set aside personal bias and previous knowledge to objectively debate various sides of an issue and understand the complexities of the world in order to develop solutions that are workable and solve inherent problems. These skills are invaluable for college, career, and citizenship. These standards were created knowing that Utah LEAs and schools structure their speech and de-bate courses differently based on individual needs and demands. Therefore, some of the standards may not be applicable to all speech/debate courses but should be used as guides. For example, some schools may have a speech/debate course that is not a competition class, while others may. Additionally, some schools may offer Speech/Debate I, II, and/or III, and thus, they may divide these standards across the various courses. Competition policies and guidelines are dictated by Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) and the Utah Debate Coaches Association (UDCA). Speech and Debate courses are applied or advanced courses that may be used to fulfill up to one credit of the English Language Arts graduation requirement. These standards align with the Utah Core Standards for English Language Arts.

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Naomi  Watkins and see the Language Arts - Secondary website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.