Discuss controversial issues with your charges. More importantly, discuss how you have to research both sides of a controversy before taking a stance. In groups, middle schoolers research the controversial issue of dog sled racing. They...

Engaging in topical discussions can be a great way to teach kids how to build strong arguments and support their opinions with concrete evidence. High schoolers choose a controversial topic, build an argument for or against that topic,...

Students share their opinions on controversial topics. They list their arguments and give reasons for thier position. A paper is written to reflect their views.

Is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) good for America? The informative website is a one-stop shop for ACLU debate resources. Scholars read about the topics surrounding the issue, including free speech, national security, and...

Students examine national security issues. In this Vietnam lesson, students research the background and controversy surrounding the Pentagon Papers. Students discuss press rights in light of maintaining national security.

Learners 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 stance on...

Students examine the Bush Administration's plan to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from varying points of view. They work in small groups in order to perform their research, but they compose individual journal writes...

Much of history is distasteful. Primary sources often reveal attitudes acceptable at the time that no longer are. But to understand controversial historical events, historians must examine primary sources that represent a wide variety of...

Young scholars practice the skill of seeing an issue from different points of view.

Present your seniors with a controversial topic while studying the first amendment: pornography. This multi-layer resource has scholars writing a pros and cons research paper. They also attend a city council meeting to prepare for an...

Students identify controversial topics on which they have strong opinions and model their own persuasive opinion pieces after the featured article. They compose persuasive essays on controversial issues that "hit home" for them.

Students investigate several controversial issues in the criminal justice system relating to death row and give oral reports explaining how their issues safeguard or contaminate the issue of fairness in capital punishment. They offer...

Young scholars explore the controversial topic of same-sex marriages in a fishbowl discussion. They write balanced news articles based on interviews exploring people's opinions on laws that define marriage.

There are some historical events that may warrant greater reflection and more in-depth analysis, and the decision to intern Japanese-Americans in the United States during World War II, as well as to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and...

Students read three case studies to focus on how the United States dealt with foreign policy issues. In groups, they read about the decision to drop the atomic bomb, the commitment of troops to Vietnam and wwhether to send troops to...

Young scholars create age-appropriate, informational brochures examining health topics relating to sex, after learning about federally funded abstinence-only sex education.

Students examine the different points of view regarding testing students for drug use. They then work in pairs to create and perform dialogues that flesh out two sides of the argument around this controversial issue.

Students explore the connection between World War II and Jewish immigration to Israel after the War.  In this World History instructional activity, students discuss the details of what it might have been like to live through the...

Students reflect on the events that lead up to the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s.  In this history lesson plan, students explore the conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union revolving around missiles in...

Students listen to a National Public Radio program. They summarize the program, and write a script from a controversial newspaper article that could be a part of the NPR program they listened to.

Students investigate a controversial issue of discrimination based upon a caste system in Japan. It is compared to India and they use research methods to make discoveries concerning the history and similarities to the two systems.

Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...

High schoolers 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.

Students explore the American anti-abortion movement's "incremental" approach to legislation; they then evaluate key decisions, regulations, and legislation from the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, to the present.