Controversial issues can be a great way to get your students engaged, and they also make perfect persuasive essay topics. Whether your goal is to explore the controversial issue itself or to teach the mechanics of persuasive writing, controversial issues and persuasive essays go hand in hand. In order to write a good persuasive essay, […]
This week’s Civic Spotlight comes from an educator in Nebraska. If you’ve got a story to tell about being a civic educator, head over to the Submissions page. We’d love to hear it and share it with our readers. I live in a very red state. Nebraska’s entire Congressional delegation is Republican, and the state […]
The “Take a Stand” activity is a method for teaching controversial issues. The idea is simple. You ask a controversial question, and students line up according to their opinion. This can be used as an introductory activity, as a formative assessment, or as a closure activity. The method is also sometimes called the “continuum” method […]