Considering organizing a speech and debate club? check out this packet that contains all the information you need to get started.

Here's a resource that provides debaters with the background information and worksheets they will need when planning a policy debate. Templates and sentence frames, as well as a rationale for using debates in the classroom, are...

SAC is a specific approach to discussing history and controversial issues. Rather than adhering to an either/or debate-style paradigm, it fosters speaking and constructivist listening to enable learners to build consensus through...

In order to give young scientists experience with critical thinking skills, introduce them to a current controversy and prepare them to debate. Choose a topic, such as genetically modified organisms, and assign groups to represent...

Spark an animated debate in your class! Young adults consider some of the fads or trends that are prevalent at their school, as well as their own level of participation in them. Just how much of a role does popular culture play in their...

Human migration—often the result of push and pull factors—sometimes has dramatic outcomes for both those leaving their homelands and the host countries. Using a variety of case studies, learners consider those issues. Then, by completing...

Hook your class into an exploration of and discussion about violence in video games with a cute animal clip and a video game trailer. After a quick discussion about how media can affect mood, class members read a related article and...

What do you know about GMOs? Meet this trendy topic head on with a debate-centered research project. Science scholars work in groups to learn the facts about genetically modified organisms, create a dialog around their position on the...

Should Social Security be privatized, or is the government program fine just the way it is? Scholars read pro and con arguments and watch videos to learn more about the debate topic. Pupils also have an opportunity to interact with other...

Middle schoolers explain the basic positions of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. They chart the differences and similarities between state and federal governments. They write a persuasive essay in response to an open-ended...

Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...

Students participate in a read aloud of the story, "The Great Kapok Tree" in which a logger decides not to cut down a tree. In small groups, they discuss and write about their opinion on the logger's decision. Each group then presents...

Students research the trafficking and slavery issues in a country of their choice. In groups, they prepare arguments which support their point of view. They reverse their positions to make the debate more interesting.

Poor, misunderstood spiders! They are feared, disrespected, and detested by many people, yet they do so many positive things. A great addition to any insect unit, learn about some of the more common spiders, while hopefully dispelling...

Young scholars examine the pros and cons of state sovereignty vs. federalism, as argued by the Founding Fathers. They identify the basic positions of each side, complete a worksheet, and write a persuasive essay arguing for Jefferson or...

If every vote counts, why do we need the electoral college? Middle and high schoolers study the Constitutional precedent of the electoral college, as well as its place in historical and modern elections, with an engaging social studies...

Trace the sequential process of the developing theories of atomic structure in the early 20th century, show, in historical development, how scientists "know" things, how experiments are set up and how interpretations are drawn from them,...

Young scholars study the life, adaptations, and habitats of giraffes. They investigate the issue of giraffe survival in the wild or in a wildlife sanctuary. They conduct a class debate and present position papers.

Many types of cancer treatments now depend on nanotechnology—a big "little" discovery. Scholars begin by removing "malignant" tissue from simulated brains, one using fluorescent markers thanks to nanotechnology and one without. This...

Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive...

Students, in groups, complete a WebQuest titled "Love Canal Debate". They follow the WebQuest to research and write papers on different points of view regarding the Love Canal environmental disaster.

Can word choice affect a candidate's likeability? Use a New York Times lesson plan to explore how a presidential candidate's likeability factor can fluctuate in public opinion polls. Young readers choose a presidential election from...

Student research legalities of downloading music from Internet, gather information on citizens who have been charged with downloading/copyright crimes, find out who is working to create new laws dealing with this technology, explore what...

Young scholars explore the role and functions of a commission of inquiry and participate in a democratic debate.