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...

Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...

The modern presidency is defined by the development of television—including the use of televised debates in the campaign. Using debates going back to the first one between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, young scholars evaluate...

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...

Students research the issues and platforms of candidates and separate propaganda from process in order to choose a candidate to support. Students examine political parties and their contributions to shaping the foundation of the...

Unfamiliar with the Lincoln-Douglas Debate format? Check out this resource that details the procedures of the debate, the roles and responsibilities of each participant, and the timing of each round.  

A debate continues regarding same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. This lesson requires learners to define marriage then formulate an argument that reconstructs the national debate perspectives. Many standards are addressed but a...

Students defend their political views, plan and participate in a political debate, and choose a candidate based upon political views.

The class explores and debates, from multiple perspectives, a petition to allow Hopi Indians to take golden eagle hatchlings from a federal wildlife sanctuary for use in a religious ceremony. Pupils defend their personal views on the...

Explore New England's economic and cultural past and possible issues New Englanders will face in the future. Middle and high schoolers research the fishing industry and the need for regulation. They analyze the topography of New England...

Young historians research the debate over slavery; some students take the pro-slavery side and others the anti-slavery side. They take the role of a character such as a plantation owner, a legislator, a free Black, a slave, or a northern...

Can a negative perception of a president's foreign policy harm his or her historical legacy? A project that winds the clock back to the date of Theodore Roosevelt's death puts students at the editorial desk of a fictional newspaper....

Read and examine primary source material in order to analyze, synthesize, and debate information about the Great Depression. Critical analysts research various source materials related to the Great Depression. They work in teams to...

Study opposing viewpoints with this lesson, which examines President Bush's September 2004 address at the United Nations. Middle schoolers study the text of the address, and then stage formal debates arguing for or against the reasons to...

Students study the concept of legislation as it relates to passing a bill in the House of Representatives. In this legislation: passing a bill in the house of representative lesson plan, students identify why and how bills are introduced...

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...

Students explore the dilemma of bioethics. Students review a cast study on a bioethical topic. They research the facts, values, and stakemakers in the controversial debate. Students consider the consequences and discuss their findings...

Here is a different approach: emerging epidemiologists first go home to interview family on the topic of infectious disease. Then they come to class and view a video and PowerPoint that explore how climate change may increase the...

Students examine rhetorical strategies. For this political debate lesson, students research issues of presidential campaigns and deliver persuasive speeches about the issues they research. Students then participate in debates based on...

In this lesson plan, students investigate the different platforms of each of the Presidential hopefuls for the 2000 election. Small groups each carefully research the platforms of an assigned candidate and then create a political...

Learners research post-World War II educational development and policy in the United Kingdom. In groups, they develop pro and con arguments about grammar, secondary modern, comprehensive, and independent schools. Collaborative work...

Students debate the issues surrounding animal testing. The debate is based around a suggestion or motion. The motion is: This house believes that animal testing should continue. Students are divided into proposers (for the motion)...

Students examine debating procedures. In teams, students research the effects of European-Aboriginal interaction. Students collect, analyze and interpret information to support their side of the debate.

Students debate and role play about whether the colonists should declare independence from England or not. In this American history and oral communication lesson, students read informational text about the colonists and their...