Political Debates

Is there a way to determine a winner of a political debate? Use a helpful rubric to evaluate the issues, specificity, evidence, reasoning, and delivery of candidates in a debate. After assessing each person's performance, high schoolers...

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates saw two primary political candidates debating seven different times about one of the most important social movements in United States history. Middle and high schoolers read an article that describes the...

Have you ever wondered why you believe what you believe? Scholars research how opinions form in United States government and politics. They view the 34th video of a 50-part series to analyze and discuss the impact media, religion, and...

Scholars investigate the emergence of the political party system in the early days of United States government and politics. They view the 41st video in a 50-part series to analyze the reasoning behind the existence of political parties...

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...

Use this activity to help your students view any political debate from local to national, historical to live broadcast. Preview candidates, issues, expectations, and details about the location and moderators. Track what the candidates...

Learners examine rhetorical strategies. In this political debate lesson, students research issues of presidential campaigns and deliver persuasive speeches about the issues they research. Learners then participate in debates based on the...

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...

Whether or not it's a presidential election year, this debate activity will spark research on current political issues. Split your government scholars into 4 groups and assign each a political party. One person will be the "candidate"...

Voting for the next president of the United States is about finding the candidate who most closely aligns with your own values and sense of democracy. High schoolers become acquainted with the candidates from the 2016 election with a...