Should the government rate music? Are teen juries a good idea? Is space exploration worth the money? Your learners will think critically to tackle these interesting questions, and practice their ability to form persuasive arguments by participating in a debate.

Concepts

debate, persuasive arguments, persuasive text, Persuasive Writing, argumentative writing, arguments, prompt writing

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Encourage learners to consider pros and cons beyond what is provided on the worksheet, and to include appropriate examples or evidence when possible
• Vary how you introduce these debate prompts. For example, you can begin with a silent brainstorm and then group conversation for one of the prompts, have learners think-pair-share for another, and finally assign one of the prompts as a homework assignment to be discussed the following day

Pros

• Prompts are separated onto individual worksheets, each with an introduction and sample Yes/No reasoning
• Opportunity to practice both public speaking and persuasive writing

Cons

• None

Common Core

W.5.1.a SL.5.1.a W.6.1.a W.7.1.a W.8.1.a W.9-10.1.a SL.6.1.a SL.7.1.a SL.8.1.a SL.9-10.1.a