Debates are a great way to engage high school students and encourage them to develop their critical thinking and communication skills. By providing them with the opportunity to express their opinions and viewpoints in a structured and reasoned manner, debates can be a valuable learning experience for students. Whether you are a teacher looking to incorporate debates into your classroom or a debate club leader, here are some ideas and resources to help you facilitate successful and engaging debates in high school.
### 15 Fun Debate Topics for High School
Debates don’t always have to be serious! Here are some fun and light-hearted debate topics that high school students will enjoy discussing:
– Are fries better with ranch or ketchup?
– Is GIF pronounced “gihf” or “jihf”?
– Would it be better to be trapped in an amusement park or a library?
– Is mayonnaise good?
– Would life be better in space or underwater?
– Is it better to have superpowers or unlimited money?
– Does pineapple belong on pizza?
– Is it ever acceptable to wear socks with sandals?
– What’s scarier: one hundred mouse-sized dinosaurs or one dinosaur-sized mouse?
– Why should you be the leader in the event of a zombie apocalypse?
– Is a hot dog a sandwich?
– Should the United States implement mandatory naps for everyone up to age 18?
– Is it okay to eat pizza with a knife and fork?
– Who would win in a fight: Wonder Woman or Batman?
– Should texting language be in the dictionary?
Encourage engaging debates with weird and light-hearted topics that help students practice public speaking skills in a low-stakes environment. You can even let your class come up with their own wacky debate topics to argue about.
### 13 Controversial High School Debate Topics
For more serious and thought-provoking discussions, consider these controversial debate topics for high school students:
– Are immigration laws in the United States fair?
– Should American voters be required to show identification at the polls?
– Would it be better to raise taxes to provide free healthcare for all citizens?
– Is racism still prevalent in the United States?
– When should teenagers have the right to vote?
– Should your school have the right to make decisions about high schoolers’ nutrition?
– Is war more or less ethical with unmanned planes and drones?
– Would it be better for all countries to give up their nuclear weapons, or for all countries to be equipped with nuclear weapons?
– When should it be okay for teenagers to drink alcohol?
– Should kids under 18 have a curfew?
– Is it acceptable for citizens to block traffic when protesting?
– Should high school students be allowed to drop out of school when they want?
– Should schools require their students to be vaccinated?
Practice perspective-taking by exploring the pros and cons of these controversial topics, helping students develop well-rounded arguments that can withstand opposing viewpoints.
### 13 Modern Debate Topics for Secondary Students
Living in the 21st century presents students with a variety of relevant and timely issues to debate. Here are some modern debate topics for high school students:
– Should students under 18 be allowed to have social media accounts?
– Do online friends count as real friends?
– Should students be allowed to use AI on their homework assignments?
– Which is more harmful: online videos or endless television?
– Should high schools give up one year of history in favor of a financial literacy class?
– When should kids be allowed to have a cell phone?
– Should grades matter a lot when it comes to a student’s future career?
– How much responsibility should corporations have in ending climate change?
– Should it be illegal to create cars dependent on non-renewable resources?
– When is it okay for employers to look up employees’ social media?
– Should high school focus on digital skills more than academic skills?
– Should parents be allowed to select their children’s DNA?
– Will AI ever completely replace the role of a teacher?
Encourage students to think critically about these modern issues and engage in debates that reflect the world they live in today.
### 15 Formal Debate Topics for High School
Once students have mastered the basics of debate, challenge them with more advanced topics that require logical reasoning and structured arguments. Here are some formal debate topics for high school students:
– Billionaires should be able to earn and keep as much money as they want.
– Music and art are as valuable as math and science.
– Students should not be informed about the news.
– Drunk drivers should never be allowed to drive again.
– Students should have their college loans forgiven after working for five years.
– Thriving countries should be required to share their resources.
– High school should last six years instead of four.
– Religion is a positive factor in any society.
– A vegan diet is the only ethical way to eat.
– All citizens should be required to fulfill military service.
– Football should be banned for kids under 16.
– People should have the right to breed their pets.
– Human rights should come before animal rights.
– The American government should be able to censor hate speech.
– Parents have the right to track their child’s location.
Solidify discussion structures for logical debates by teaching students about syllogisms, logical fallacies, and deductive reasoning to help them form well-supported and structured arguments.
### 15 Quick High School Debate Topics
When time is limited, quick debates can still be valuable for students to practice their communication skills and critical thinking. Here are some quick debate topics for high school students:
– Should video gaming be in the Olympics?
– Is it better to start school later or end school earlier?
– Does listening to an audiobook count as reading a book?
– Is it ever okay to lie to a friend?
– Should pets be allowed to go into restaurants?
– Should students be allowed to grade their teachers?
– Is it more important to learn a sport or an instrument?
– Are field trips a good use of learning time?
– Is homework more important than extracurriculars?
– Should schools have dress codes?
– Is being famous better than being skilled?
– If we discovered aliens, should they be allowed to live in our society?
– Should school require you to earn volunteer hours?
– Is it ever okay to cheat on a test?
– Are online influencers as famous as movie stars?
Craft 30-second speeches for fast-paced discussions to help students think on their feet and practice important communication skills in parliamentary debate settings.
### Ideas for Hosting High School Debates
Whether you are leading a debate club or incorporating debates into your classroom, here are some ideas for hosting successful high school debates:
– Use topics from your own subject matter in debates to make them more relevant and engaging for students.
– Bring in debate topics after a persuasive writing unit to give students the opportunity to adapt their persuasive papers into public debates.
– Show students examples of famous historical debates to inspire and educate them about the power of debate.
– Allow students to take turns moderating debates when they are not participating as debaters.
– Consider different debate formats for students to try, such as the Socratic method or cross-examination debates.
– Use debate topics as journal prompts for students to kickstart discussions and critical thinking at the beginning of class.
– Invite seniors to craft a debate for their senior project, allowing them to showcase their argumentation skills.
– Connect with official speech and debate organizations for more resources and support in hosting debates.
There’s no debating the value of incorporating debates into high school curriculum. Use these topics and resources to engage students in critical thinking, communication skills, and perspective-taking through the art of debate.
