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...

Intended as a follow up to the Protecting Your Drinking Water activity, young environmentalists use their assessment of the a hypothetical town's water supply to debate the installation of underground chemical storage tanks. With the...

What defines an argument, and how can someone properly formulate a counterargument? This resource provides two options—an interactive PowerPoint presentation or worksheet—that will support your learners as they begin to explore how to...

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...

Whether your young orators are preparing for an in-class debate, or you are presenting a video of a debate to your class, this is an easy-to-use template that will help them organize the major arguments of each debate position, as well...

Damming rivers has been a case of necessity versus negative environmental impact since the process began. Kids take on the role of a stakeholder in the proposed damming of the Danube River. They begin by reading arguments for and against...

Use Tuck Everlasting as a springboard for a debate on big ideas about immortality and the death penalty. Take a week for research and debate by following the steps outlined in this plan. Tapping into technology for help, small groups...

Who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet? After generating a list of the six characters most responsible, class members prepare for and engage in a formal debate. Prior knowledge of basic rules for debate would be necessary.

The essentials of an argument (claim and support) are examined in a short PowerPoint that also details the structure of the Classical, the Rogerian, and the Toulmin argument. Appropriate for speech and debate classes as well.

Fourth graders present research on war. In this debate lesson, 4th graders create a power point presentation debating for or against the American Revolution. Students share their presentations with the class.

Pupils prepare for an participate in a debate. They watch instructional videos on how debates proceed. Pupils work in teams to research various topics, present their opinions on the issue, and respond to opposing viewpoints during a...

Need topics that are sure to engage your debaters? This list of public policy questions includes such topics as school mascots, regulation of major league baseball, physician-assisted suicide, and violence in video games. A great...

Pupils work together to research issues surrounding World War II. They review the decisions that were made at the time. They participate in a debate and how those decisions maintained world peace.

Students research an author and gather information that seems to support that person as author of The Night Before Christmas. They work in groups to gather the most solid evidence and they write a persuasive essay presenting their argument.

Students, in groups, research the issues surrounding one of several controversies involving food and globalization. Then they debate their position and show a PowerPoint presentation at a mock summit meeting.

This lesson starts out with a guided discussion about the statement "Birds fly in the sky; airplanes fly in the sky; therefore, airplanes are birds" and goes on to cover logical fallacies and reliable sources, relating these to the topic...

Dealing with the loss of a loved one is the focus of the activities that accompany student Jeremy Zinn’s short story, “Goodbye, Grandpa.”  Readers engage in a discussion and debate about the nature of character change and motivation...

Learners read and interpret the Preamble, write a personal response, and generate a set of classroom rules for both students and teacher for the year. After discussion and debate, actual class rules are adopted for the year.

Use this two page handout to establish the rules for class debate. The four-corners method of debate is one that provides a safe way for learners to engage in a discussion or debate over potentially heated or controversial topics. The...

Are you planning a debate for your language arts units? Use this lesson to work on debate and discussion procedure, as well as asking thoughtful questions. Middle schoolers work in pairs or small teams to complete research, develop...

For a comprehensive overview of debate styles and formats, look at this resource. It details the Lincoln-Douglas debate format (one-to-one debate with specific, timed rounds of points, cross-examination, and rebuttals). You can also find...

In this debating worksheet, learners study the titles of the five debates. They write two opposing points of view for each debate. Pupils try to persuade for both sides of the view point.

Middle schoolers debate one another. In this pollution activity, 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.