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...

Set your environmental studies class up to debate a current topic regarding your choice of six suggested statements about energy use in the United States. Teams read material that you have gathered and then form their arguments. The...

There is no better sight to see than a classroom full of eager young adults, hands raised high, eager to jump into a class discussion. Get your class identifying and discussing rhetorical strategies and then debating long into the night...

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...

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...

How can you foster a thoughtful learning community for your class? First, the class brainstorms a list of behaviors that will help make the classroom a great place to learn. Then learners group similar ideas together and come up with...

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.  

Have your class practice their persuasion skills by participating in a class debate. They will discuss a dilemma and detail each point of view. Divided into both sides of the argument, they work in groups to create a well-rounded...

Students take a medical issue and explore it, debate it, and convince others of their point of view. They improve research skills and writing skills. Students are able to define a problem, debate it, and identify which is the best...

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...

Tenth graders debate a resolution about a planned waterfront community from the point of view of various interest groups. They have a "Town Meeting" in which members from each interest group debate their researched opinions for points....

Some conversations are easy and enjoyable, while others are horrific! To begin a lesson on communicating constructively, class members list examples of conversations that are easy, average, and those that are difficult and identify what...

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 conduct research using multiple sources to support a position in a debate. They put information from multiple sources into correct debate format. Students participate in a debate arguing one position in a focused manner.

Eighth graders debate issues in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In this debate lesson, 8th graders break into three groups and given a view to research and debate. Students must find text to support their ideas and others' ideas.

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...

Everyone has opinions. The trick is to learn how to disagree in a way that doesn't cause problems. The activities in the final lesson in the Communication Module focuses on learning how to express opinions constructively. Middle...

After class members brainstorm a list of current social and political issues, groups each select a different topic from the list to research. Teams create a portfolio of at least 10 examples of stories about their issue, stories that...

A New Order in Europe calls for a new lesson plan! This third plan in a series of four sequential lessons encourages high schoolers to read primary sources about the development of the New Order and follow up their knowledge with a...

Students prepare for and hold a classroom debate via typed text on a literary topic. Two groups conduct an iChat debate using iChat AV software to document the debate as it happens. Pupils conduct a post-debate analysis of the debate...

What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to answer....