• Boost Student Interest
• Promote Teamwork and Participation
• Easy Entry Point to Holding Classroom Debates

There's nothing like an argument to get students fired up! When you frame the topics you already teach as debates, students get invested, take ownership, and prepare to evaluate big ideas outside your classroom walls.

Updated for 2024, the debates in this book promote whole-class participation for topics like:

• Are political parties necessary?
• Should Puerto Rico be a U.S. state?
• And more!

Plus, once you master the simple, step-by-step instructions and multiple debate styles laid out in this book, you'll be ready to create your very own debate topics for any social studies classroom!

To make debates even easier, you'll also get extension ideas to expand on the provided topics, follow-up questions that ensure students come away from each debate with well-rounded knowledge, and a scoring rubric to make grading a no-brainer.

©2024. High school. Reproducible. 68 pages.

Book Download: PDF. Adobe® Reader® required to view PDF.
Print Book: Spiral-bound. 8.5 x 11 inches.

About the Author

Caleb Sanders has spent his time in education as a Social Studies teacher at the high school level for the last 16 years. He was recognized as one of the Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award recipients in the state of Wyoming in 2015, and has been recognized as Teacher of the Year by his district. Caleb is the author of the Teacher’s Discovery® Easy Debates series and the SHOW ME Challenges and Clues series, as well as Creating Easy Mock Trials for Your Social Studies Classroom. He has created a steady stream of mock trials, debates, simulations, and other activities that he frequently uses in his classroom to engage students in lively learning. Caleb is married to Lexi Sanders, and they have three children. He loves astronomy, board games, puzzles, and collecting children’s books. His identical twin brother is his department chair at the same high school, which results in plenty of fun confusion!