Students discuss and debate controversial statements dealing with stereotypes.

The beauty in this resource is the lengthy list of highly charged, controversial-issue research topics. Categories include issues of race, politics, law, environment, education, athletics, gender, and technology. After selecting a topic,...

Should net neutrality be restored? Scholars prepare for a class debate on the topic using the included website. After reading a brief introduction to the issue, they review the main pros and cons in an attempt to arrive at an informed...

"Warning: Conducting this lesson may be harmful." Such statements, called "Trigger Warnings," are the focus of a two-part lesson that looks at censorship, especially the pros and cons of trigger warnings. Class members read two articles,...

Clichéd and repetitive introductions got you down? Try this lesson on for size! Start off by instructing your class members on techniques for writing introductions and what types of introductions they should avoid. Several general lesson...

Introduce Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner with an anticipation guide that asks class members to consider their opinions on a series of statements related to themes presented in the novel.

In this language arts worksheet, students practice oral speaking by agreeing or disagreeing with a controversial sentence. Students read the sentence on each card in front of the group and tell how they feel about the statement made. The...

Prior to an in-class reading of "What Sally Said" and"Red Clowns," two vignettes from Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street, class members complete an anticipation guide that asks them to agree or disagree with a series of...

Introduce Nancy Farmer's award-winning science fiction novel, The House of the Scorpion, with an anticipation guide that asks readers to agree or disagree with a series of statements that reflect the major concepts in the story. Follow...

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,...

Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, engage in a silent discussion, posting their responses to a series of statements about characters in the story.

On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam." The controversy that followed is the focus of a three-lesson unit that asks class members to consider the political and social implications of King's...

Get your junior high writers stimulated with the strategies and ideas available in this activity. Learners discuss and debate controversial subjects, and outline their reasons with an online graphic organizer (link included) that creates...

Introduce Cyrano de Bergerac with an anticipation guide that asks class members to rate a series of qualities that they look for in a friend. Groups then share their responses and present the class with the quality that provided the most...

"Mistakes are necessary; therefore, we shouldn't shelter children from the world." Class members agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or disagree with a series of statements related to concepts explored in The Catcher in the Rye....

“What does it mean to be patriotic?” “Should grades factor in to a student’s eligibility for extracurricular activities?” Class members complete an anticipation guide that asks them to respond to a series of statements that highlight...

Should researchers be able to excavate, examine, and remove Native American artifacts from historic sites? Should companies be permitted to build on sacred Native American land? After watching West of the West's documentary, The Lone...

For this ESL conversation starter worksheet, learners read 15 controversial statements. Students circle numbers between 1 and 5 to show degrees of agreement/disagreement. Learners talk about the statements. Note: The statements are...

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...

Students examine popular fashion trends and their personal tastes in clothing styles. They explore the legislation and controversy over wearing pants too low by reading and discussing the article "Are Your Jeans Sagging? Go Directly to...

Students investigate the murder case of Emmett Till and identify the missing pieces from the case. Through research, they then work to fill in the gaps to create a basis for examining how justice might be served anew in this...

A fan of anticipation guides? This resource not only offers directions on how to craft such a pre-reading activity, but also provides a model for Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.

Students widen their understanding of the different points of view surrounding current news topics. They research a current controversy on which public opinion is divided and write a concise commentary on the topic expressing a strong...

Get readers thinking about the major themes in Victor Martinez's award-winning novel, Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by asking them to agree or disagree with the prompts on an anticipation guide and to discuss...