Curated OER
Issues and Ethics
Awakening young scientists to the notion of ethics and its impact on developing topics, such as biotechnology, will be simple if you use this basic PowerPoint summarizing some of the current controversial practices.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Conducting a Panel Discussion and Civil Conversation
The final lesson in an 11-session study of immigration asks class members to engage in either a panel discussion or a civil conversation of the controversial legal and policy issues they have investigated as part of the unit.
Curated OER
Collage and Photomontage
Tenth graders discuss collage and photomontage techniques and artists, and how the art form can convey cultural or current issues. They research a collage artist, then design a topical or personally symbolic collage. Present their...
Curated OER
Critical Path
Students widen their understanding of the different points of view surrounding current news topics. They research a current controversy on which public opinion is divided and write a concise commentary on the topic expressing a strong...
Curated OER
From Quotation to Interpretation in Informational Texts
How to ignite thoughtful written responses with the words of philosophers, artists, and current events.
Virginia Department of Education
The Writing Process for Persuasive Writing
Get your junior high writers stimulated with the strategies and ideas available in this activity. Learners discuss and debate controversial subjects, and outline their reasons with an online graphic organizer (link included) that creates...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
Curated OER
Mock Standing Committee
Students participate in standing committees to explore controversial issues. They research the issue in order to develop a perspective on the topic.
Virginia Department of Education
Persuasive Writing
Grab a debatable (or controversial) moment from your current reading, and use this task to progress the persuasive writing skills of your high school scholars. Divide your learners into four small groups and let them collaborate, debate,...
Curated OER
Evaluating the Strength of Scientific Evidence: The Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
A happy discovery occurred in Arkansas in 2004: a woodpecker, believed to be extinct since the 1940s, reappeared! Or did it? Middle to high school ecologists examine scientific evidence and use critical-thinking skills to determine...
Curated OER
AP Environmental Science-Food Fight
The content in this lesson is of a controversial nature. Please review to make sure it is suitable for your class. A video, The Meatrix is shown to the class, and then they discuss the emotionally-charged language that it uses. They are...
Curated OER
Environmental Action
Middle schoolers debate one another. In this pollution lesson plan, pupils work in teams to debate which is more serious, air or water pollution. They research their topic to come up with valid points to justify their side of the debate.
Curated OER
The Minor Parties
Help to increase the knowledge of your future (or current) voters with this quiz about minor parties. By matching various minor parties, both historical and contemporary, learners can become better-informed about the entirety of American...
Curated OER
The Robots are Coming
Students consider the impact of invention. In this technological advancements instructional activity, students read an article about robots (the article is not included). Students read and discuss the article.
Curated OER
Jelly Bracelets: Fashion or Sex Game?
Ever-changing fashion fads are the ideal context for an engaging sociology experiment for adolescents. Through research and conducting a survey, learners draw conclusions about the controversial jelly bracelets fad, banned in some...
Curated OER
Current Issues Lesson 4: Local Police and Immigration Law: The Case of Special Order 40
Learners examine immigration issues. In this immigration lesson, students prepare for a panel discussion regarding Special Order 40 in Los Angeles as they read an article regarding the order and role play local lobbyists in the panel...
Curated OER
Separate But Equal Opinions
Students examine the ways in which editorials and Op-Ed pieces respond to current events. They write editorials in response to news items from the New York Times.
Curated OER
Sectionalism and the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Students define and discuss sectionalism and popular sovereignty, analyze impact of popular sovereignty in creation of state of Kansas, compare issues in territorial Kansas to current politically divisive topic, and evaluate primary...
Curated OER
SeaWorld: Education, Entertainment, or Exploitation?
Students discuss SeaWorld, research marine animal biology, investigate one animal currently collected by SeaWorld, and decide whether they oppose or support SeaWorld's collection policy. Students then gather information relating to...
Curated OER
Children's Health: Children Aren't Little Adults
This lesson is a compilation of interdisciplinary, technology-infused activities that focus on the often complicated and sometimes controversial issues related to toxic chemicals in children's environment. Special emphasis is placed on...
Curated OER
Military Women
Students review the history of female participation in the armed forces and throughout various conflicts. They participate in a class discussion and consider many of the controversial issues surrounding women in the military.
School Improvement in Maryland
Affirmative Action
Do the government's affirmative action policies promote equity in the United States? The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution and affirmative action policies come under scrutiny in an activity that asks class members to...
Personal Genetics Education Project
DNA, Crime and Law Enforcement
Civil rights meets biotechnology in a instructional activity that scrutinizes the collection of DNA of citizens who have been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Real-life cases are examined in which the DNA of a relative was...
Curated OER
You Have All the Answers
Students explore the concept of theories in science while examining the theory of evolution. They conduct research and participate in a discussion about current issues in science culminating in the creation of question and answer pamphlets.