Virginia Department of Education
The Writing Process for Persuasive Writing
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...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 18: Investigate
Prepare your class for argumentative writing with a close inspection of the controversy surrounding Theodore Taylor's novel, The Cay. All necessary articles and materials are linked at the beginning of the resource. Kids use the provided...
Facing History and Ourselves
Fishbowl Discussion
Filter young teenagers' opinions and perspectives with a classic fishbowl discussion. Given any topic relevant to your curriculum, a group of class members engage in discussion for their peers to observe.
Curated OER
Presenting Ethical Dilemmas in the Classroom
Students explore the dilemma of bioethics. Students review a cast study on a bioethical topic. They research the facts, values, and stakemakers in the controversial debate. Students consider the consequences and discuss their findings...
Curated OER
Environmental Action
Middle schoolers debate one another. In this pollution lesson, pupils work in teams to debate which is more serious, air or water pollution. They research their topic to come up with valid points to justify their side of the debate.
EngageNY
Analyzing Different Mediums: Advantages and Disadvantages
How do authors play to people's moods? After briefly reviewing mood using a Conditional and Subjunctive Mood handout, learners practice identifying conditional and subjunctive sentences in the Montgomery Bus Boycott speech before reading...
Curated OER
Evaluating the Strength of Scientific Evidence: The Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
A happy discovery occurred in Arkansas in 2004: a woodpecker, believed to be extinct since the 1940s, reappeared! Or did it? Middle to high school ecologists examine scientific evidence and use critical-thinking skills to determine...
Curated OER
Was the Stamp Act Fair?
Elementary and middle schoolers examine and evaluate different perspectives concerning events leading to the American Revolution. In this case, they hone in on the Stamp Act. They research controversial bills, laws, or events of the time...
Curated OER
AP Environmental Science-Food Fight
The content in this lesson is of a controversial nature. Please review to make sure it is suitable for your class. A video, The Meatrix is shown to the class, and then they discuss the emotionally-charged language that it uses. They are...
Curated OER
The 2012 Grammy Awards
Kids answer 11 who, what, when, where, and why questions after reading a New York Times article about the Grammy Awards. Boosting reading comprehension by reading about a topical event keeps pupils informed and interested. A related blog...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Socratic Seminar
After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and an article about the use of the novel, class members engage in a Socratic seminar focused on whether or not Twain's book should be banned.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama's 1901 Constitution: What Was at Stake?
Who should be able to vote? As part of a study of the 1901 Alabama Constitution, class members examine primary source document that reveal the reasons the authors gave to support their positions on this question and their assumptions in...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics, Jobs and Your Rights
Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...
Curated OER
Fracking: Positive or Negative Impact?
Your teenagers may have heard of fracking, but do they really know what it is? And could they debate the benefits and risks? Educate your environmental science class with a lesson about hydraulic fracturing, non-renewable energy sources,...
Curated OER
Teaching Debate to ESL Students
Language learners use the debate format to practice formulating, expressing, and defending their ideas. Working in teams, class members develop resolutions, use opinion indicators to express their opinions and reasons, and prepare...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Immigration: Why Come to the United States?
Don't limit your curriculum to texts! Young historians listen to a song, read an interview, and examine a cartoon as they explore motivations for immigrating to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Snyder v. Phelps
Does the Westboro Baptist Church have the protection of the Constitution when protesting military funerals? High schoolers examine the 2011 Supreme Court case of Snyder v. Phelps before comparing the situation to a fictional scenario of...
Give and Let Live
Blood and Transplant: Bone Marrow
What causes someone to need a bone marrow transplant? Fascinate your class with a activity on the intricate task of procuring bone marrow for patients suffering from illnesses like leukemia. The fourth and final installment in a series...
Smithsonian Institution
New American Roles
America has dealt with its fair share of hardships in contemporary history. The resource discusses the events of the Gulf War, September 11th, the Afghanistan War, and The Iraq War. Scholars click on artifacts to learn more information,...
National WWII Museum
The War in Europe: Evaluating Historic Decisions
War brings a whole new set of ethical dilemmas. From deciding whether to enlist in a segregated and racist Army to whether to sacrifice civilian lives to prepare for a critical D-Day invasion, leaders during World War II faced many...
Curated OER
Science and Values: Using Science to Shape Our Future
Students explore and discuss the link between values and science. They read several articles on such topics as global warming, cloning, genetically modified crops and animal testing and then identify the subjective aspect of science in...
Curated OER
The Lesson: Kenya
Pupils consider how recent historical events have impacted Kenya. In this global studies lesson, students visit selected websites to discover information about President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya's statistics, and Swahili. Pupils share their...
Curated OER
The Genome: Controversy for All Times
Students examine the genome and discuss the ethical and moral issues surrounding it. In groups, they discover the differences between ethics and morals and discuss where the concepts of good and bad come from in society. After reading...
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