At best, fighting in hockey makes the sport more entertaining; at worst, fighting could lead to death. Pupils read background information about the prevalence of fighting in hockey since the 1917 formation of the National Hockey League. Next, they read three pros and cons to determine if fighting should be allowed in the sport. 

Concepts

sports, hockey, ice hockey, sportsmanship, debate, preparing for discussions

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Pre-teach debate vocabulary to make sure students understand words such as argument, rebuttal, and opponent
• Have small groups discuss and compare fighting and violence in other sports like football or boxing

Classroom Considerations

• Requires access to computers with Internet to research debate topics
  

Pros

• Includes a comprehensive list of footnotes
• Allows users to participate in an online poll to share their opinions

Cons

• Does not provide a thorough evaluation of the topic 

Common Core

RI.9-10.1 RI.11-12.1 SL.9-10.1.a SL.11-12.1.a