Curated OER
Debating Controversial Issues: Integrating Science and Current Events
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...
National Constitution Center
Creating Your Own Town Hall Poster
Middle and high schoolers are walking into a world rife with strong political viewpoints and vocal opinions. Help to prepare them for controversial discussions with a lesson in which they choose, research, and learn more about a...
Curated OER
The Texas Social Studies Controversy
Examine the Texas social studies curriculum controversy with your class. Using a current events instructional activity, learners read the article "A Christian Land Governed by Christian Principles," respond to the discussion questions,...
Curated OER
Structured Academic Controversy (SAC) in the History Classroom
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...
Newseum
Am I Being Fair?
Young journalists use four strategies from an "Am I Being Fair?" tip sheet to check for and counter personal biases about a topic. Scholars apply the strategies to an article about the best pizza as guided practice. Participants then...
Curated OER
Wild Horses
What a terrific resource! This presentation focuses on wild horses and what should be done about them. While the questions found in the presentation focus on grammar and comprehension, this set of slides could do so much more. Learners...
ProCon
Social Security Privatization
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...
ProCon
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Should physician-assisted suicide be legal? Using a debate topics website, pupils prepare to discuss the morality and legality of euthanasia. Scholars discover historical case studies involving assisted suicide, explore state-by-state...
UNICEF
Get Real on Climate
Climate change isn't just about a warming planet; it will affect humans' health, spread of disease, changes in heat waves and droughts, and changes in storms and wildfires. Participants explore global climate change through discussions...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of Women in the United States
Six diverse activities make up a substantial unit on the women's rights movement in the United States, past and present. A few of the topics at hand: the fourteenth and nineteenth amendments, the Equal Pay Act, the Lily Ledbetter Act,...
Curated OER
Galileo's Dialogue
Explore how Galileo's controversial theory raised objections in his time. For this physical science activity, learners research about current controversial issues. They role play both sides of the issue, and decide which one has a...
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
Inner Circle/Outer Circle Debate Strategy
Arranged in facing concentric circles, half the class discusses an issue. The other half of the class takes notes which are then used to fuel a class discussion and to prepare editorial opinions on the topic at hand. So much emphasis is...
Curated OER
Living News: Classroom Materials
Students explore controversial current events. In this Bill of Rights lesson plan, students research selected issues and examine the issues from different perspectives. Students script and record news stories that feature their findings.
Curated OER
The 2012 Grammy Awards
Kids answer 11 who, what, when, where, and why questions after reading a New York Times article about the Grammy Awards. Boosting reading comprehension by reading about a topical event keeps pupils informed and interested. A related blog...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Plyler v. Doe: Can States Deny Public Benefits to Illegal Immigrants?
Illegal immigration is an ever-changing source of consistent controversy. A reading passage about the rights of undocumented workers and illegal immigrants—and the lack thereof—guides high schoolers into a mock trial activity. Three...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics, history and the American Eugenics Movement
A poignant 20-slide show introduces high schoolers to the amazing accomplishments of genomics and raises the question of eugenics. This instructional activity is only for mature audiences, as it deals with rape and other sensitive...
Facing History and Ourselves
Preparing Students for Difficult Converstaitons
Many of the issues facing 21st Century learners are challenging and even discussing these issues can be a challenge. So how do teachers prepare learners for these difficult conversations? How do instructors create a safe classroom where...
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...
ProCon
Teacher Tenure
Before the implementation of tenure in 1886, female teachers were sometimes fired for wearing pants or staying out too late at night. Scholars research the debate topic to decide if teachers should get tenure. They review the history of...
ProCon
Minimum Wage
The first ever minimum wage in America was set at 25 cents per hour in 1938 and has been steadily, if slowly, increasing ever since. Using the provided website, pupils decide if the United States should further increase the federal...
NPR
Is There Really an Immigration Line?
If you've ever looked at the US immigration system, you know that it is complex and a source of controversy. An insightful lesson plan encourages learners to conduct their own analyses of the US immigration system by asking them to...
Carolina K-12
Who the People? Representative Democracy in North Carolina and Congress
Our elected officials are supposed to represent us, but what does it mean when they aren't like us? Budding citizens explore the demographic makeup of the US Congress, the role of money in political elections, and the Citizens United...
Curated OER
The 8th Amendment: The Death Penalty
High schoolers take a closer look at the death penalty. For this U.S. government lesson, students watch a Discovery video about capital punishment in the United States and then compose letters to the editors of newspapers about their...