Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Menu
email:  password: 

Forgot your password? |  Learn about the benefits of TeachersFirst free membership.

We are currently verifying that this resource no longer uses Adobe Flash and will update the review shortly.

Less
More

ProCon - Procon.org

Grades
7 to 12
7 Favorites 2  Comments
  
Share Share  Link
Procon presents controversial issues in a non-partisan manner. Find current issues with balanced information to promote critical thinking without bias. Categories include Education,...more
Here is the direct link to share this resource review. Feel free to copy and paste this URL into an email or place it on your web page or blog so others can read this TeachersFirst review:

 Close Link

Procon presents controversial issues in a non-partisan manner. Find current issues with balanced information to promote critical thinking without bias. Categories include Education, Entertainment & Sports, Elections & Presidents, Science & Technology, and New Topics among others. Issues can include Abortion, Euthanasia, Climate Change, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Health Care Reform, Obesity, and the Death Penalty, just to name a few. Read the information on each issue in a Pro and Con format along with background information, and discussion questions. Some included video clips. Some topics are controversial, so adults using this site with young people may want to go directly to a single issue rather than having them browse openly.

tag(s): climate change (84), critical thinking (107), debate (38), difficult conversations (54), persuasive writing (53), politics (110)

In the Classroom

Using controversial topics that have more than one side is a great way to develop critical thinking and problem solving. Find issues on this site that relate to your curriculum and use them as an entry point for a new unit. Use the teaching resources found on the top menu under the Teacher's Corner. Use this site to teach how to distinguish facts from opinions, using information to write essays or create speeches, or hold a class debate. You may want to facilitate student persuasive writing by using an outline such as Persuasion Map, reviewed here, to help them organize their thinking. Help students develop flexibility in their thinking by having them take part in a difficult conversation and argue a side they do NOT agree with. This will also help students think about how to refute a point the opposition will make. Focus on critical thinking with your students to develop skills needed for life. Use as a whole class activity or for individual students to find an issue of interest to them. Gifted students often think deeply on such issues at an early age and will find these topics of great interest. Use this site to guide a deliberate discussion or debate.

Comments

I also love this site, but I don't see any advertising on there at all. The site is free. Not sure how they stay afloat but I'm glad they do. For me, it is better than Opposing Viewpoints database for its depth, ease of use, and lack of registration/passwords. I use it for student debates on current events, and my wife (an English teacher) uses it for persuasive essays and role play debates. ProCon, , Grades: 0 - 12
I've used this and it's great! Balanced, has good resources. Helps students see both sides of an issue. Frances, CT, Grades: 6 - 8
 Add a Comment and Rate this Resource

Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member

Rating (click star to set rating):

Close comment form

You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
Use the form at the top of the page to log in, or click here to join TeachersFirst (it's free!).

Close