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...

Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...

Should junk food be banned in schools? Should the US open its borders to all immigrants? Should the US impose term limits for the House of Representatives and for the Senate? Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas...

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...

Should we stay or should we go? Class members debate whether Britain should exit the European Union. While the resource predates the exit vote, the materials provide class members with an opportunity to explore some of the many...

How do the presidential debates of 2016 compare to the debates from the 1980's? What about the 1960's? Evaluate a chosen candidate or issue from the 20th and 21st centuries with a lesson plan focused on political debates. Middle and...

After watching clips of presidential candidates during debates and speeches, and researching the candidate's position on important issues, young researchers conduct a role-play debate in which they act as one of the candidates.

Gun control is one of the most hotly debated topics in the United States. Learners use a structured conversation to engage around this controversy. Using a scaffolded conversation that relies on a reading and analysis of arguments for...

Because of the Electoral College, it is possible to win the popular vote in a US Presidential election and still lose the election. After researching the pros and cons of the Electoral College, class members engage in a structured debate...

Prepare your classes for election year debates with a series of activities that model how to watch televised debates and how to evaluate the moderators as well as the debaters.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Fifth graders debate the issue of school uniforms. They research, finding supporting evidence supporting their stance. Using the Lincoln-Douglas form of debate, 5th graders discuss the positive and negative issues of the topic. They...

Should Internet users who send data-heavy content pay higher fees than those who are involved in activities, like sending an email, that have less content? This question is at the heart of the Net Neutrality debate. After watching a PBS...

Discuss the difference between legitimate debate on a political issue and arguments that are based on hate through a science-fiction scenario that shows how a controversial issue can be discussed in both ways. Then learn how purveyors of...

In order to give young scientists experience with critical thinking skills, introduce them to a current controversy and prepare them to debate. Choose a topic, such as genetically modified organisms, and assign groups to represent...

A debate is a forum for discussing controversial topics and environmental chemistry definitely fits that category. The activity provides everything necessary to run a mini debate tournament. Use the suggested topics or come up with some...

To gain an understanding of Imperialism, class members read Rudyard Kipling's poem, "The White Man's Burden" and Mark Twain's essay, "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." Groups compare these perceptions of non-white cultures with 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.  

Groups of learners investigate the persuasive genre of writing as they research and present on an issue. They research the Internet (possible websites are included) for a topic and locate information to present to the opposing team. In...

Scholars assess how word choice and linguistic patterns affect a presidential debate. They examine candidates' words for repetition and analyze what this repetition means. Then they locate countries that fit the expression free world. In...