Silent Debate

Silent Debate approaches the traditional opposing-sides debate in a unique way by having each student assume a "pro" or "con" position on a question and debate a student on the other side of the issue through silent, written responses in a debate flowchart worksheet. Rather than discussing the issue out loud, students state their views—and responses to their classmate's perspective—in writing. Numerous modifications allow for different approaches to this activity based on student learning needs, the range of viewpoint diversity within a classroom, and other contextual factors.

Last Updated: November 21, 2023

Program Types

Current Events

Grade Levels

Elementary Middle School High School

Subjects

Government Civics U.S. History Global History Science English AVID Law & the Constitution Media Literacy

Resource Types

Lesson Plan Worksheet

Social Science Analysis Standards

1.19 (2018) 2.23 (2018) 2.24 (2018) 2.25 (2018) 1.19 (2021) 2.23 (2021) 2.24 (2021) 2.25 (2021)

Civics & Government Standards

2.3 (2018) 5.1 (2018) 8.1 (2018) 8.7 (2018) 8.8 (2018) 8.10 (2018) 8.11 (2018) HS.3 (2018) HS.5 (2018) HS.7 (2018) HS.8 (2018) HS.10 (2018) HS.11 (2018) HS.12 (2018) HS.13 (2018) 2.1 (2021) 2.3 (2021) 5.1 (2021) 8.1 (2021) 8.7 (2021) 8.8 (2021) 8.10 (2021) 8.11 (2021) HS.2 (2021) HS.3 (2021) HS.5 (2021) HS.7 (2021) HS.9 (2021) HS.10 (2021) HS.11 (2021)