Curated OER
Teaching Debate to ESL Students
Language learners use the debate format to practice formulating, expressing, and defending their ideas. Working in teams, class members develop resolutions, use opinion indicators to express their opinions and reasons, and prepare...
Curated OER
Individuality vs. Conformity
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...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Electoral College Philosophical Chairs Debate
Because of the Electoral College, it is possible to win the popular vote in a US Presidential election and still lose the election. After researching the pros and cons of the Electoral College, class members engage in a structured debate...
Speech and Debate Union
Introducing Debate in the Classroom
Considering organizing a speech and debate club? check out this packet that contains all the information you need to get started.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Debate Over Gun Laws in the United States – An Introduction
Gun control is one of the most hotly debated topics in the United States. Learners use a structured conversation to engage around this controversy. Using a scaffolded conversation that relies on a reading and analysis of arguments for...
Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association
Grab ‘N Go Debate
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 included...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: The Net Neutrality Debate
Should Internet users who send data-heavy content pay higher fees than those who are involved in activities, like sending an email, that have less content? This question is at the heart of the Net Neutrality debate. After watching a PBS...
History Teacher
Criteria for Evaluating Debate Performance
Behind every successful debate is a list of clearly stated criteria. Let your debaters know exactly how their performance will be evaluated with this packet that details the content, preparation, structure, and grading policy that will...
Saskatchewan Elocution and Debate Association
Debate Games and Activities Guide
A must-have resource for classes that engage in debate, this packet contains 20 detailed plans for debate games and activities. Everything from how to select evidence to support a position, to structuring a debate on which candy bar is...
The New York Times
Collateral Damage? Researching a Connection Between Video Games and Violence
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...
Facing History and Ourselves
Fishbowl Discussion
Filter young teenagers' opinions and perspectives with a classic fishbowl discussion. Given any topic relevant to your curriculum, a group of class members engage in discussion for their peers to observe.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Resistance
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...
C-SPAN
Electoral College Pros/Cons and Alternatives
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...
Curated OER
Our Classroom Constitution
Develop a system of classroom rules created by the kids, for the kids with this three-part lesson series on the US Constitution. After learning about the structure of the Constitution and the government it established, young scholars...
Curated OER
Climate Chaos Week
Pupils research the pros and cons of wind farm technology as an alternative source of energy. The class is divided into two groups that should formulate a debate on each side of the argument. Groups use a debate guide to help develop...
Curated OER
The Human Geonome Project Structured Controversy
High schoolers debate government funding of the Human Genome Project. In this ethics instructional activity, students use the stuctured controversy framework to research the opposing viewpoints regarding project funding.
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide: The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter may be a classic, but keeping high schoolers engaged in the reading of Hawthorne's vocabulary, syntax, imagery, and historical references presents it own set of challenges. Here's a guide that offers readers...
Teach Engineering
The Cloning of Cells
Did you know that there are over 200 different types of cells in the human body? One type, the stem cell, is the focus of the fifth of six installments in the Cells unit. The lesson asks the class to discuss stem cells and their...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Debate: Islam & Democracy
World religion or social studies classes studying Islam may find this debate-based instructional activity useful for exploring Islam and its compatibility with democracy. The final assessment is a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Some...
Cornell University
Shedding a "Little" Light on Cancer Surgery
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...
Curated OER
A Giraffe Debate
Students 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.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Special Order 40
The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree Debate
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...
PBS
Broadcast News
Just because a story is on the news doesn't mean it's being presented fairly. Analyze news broadcasts with a instructional activity focused on evaluating television journalism. At home, kids watch a news show and note the stories...