© Teacher Resource Cabin - Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter Assignment
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1. Title Page
2. Table of Contents
3. Assignment Overview
4. Inquiry & Research
5. Inquiry & Research
6. Evaluating Sources - 1 & 2
7. Evaluating Sources - 3 & 4
8. Research Notes
9. Research Notes
10. Stakeholder
s&
Perspectives
11. Argument Preparation
12. Argument Preparation
13. Debate Reflection
14. Debate Reflection
15. Debate Rubric
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
In this culminating activity, you will engage in a debate on a current
Your final mark will be based on:
civic issue relevant to Canadian or global society. This project
challenges you to ask strong political inquiry questions, gather and Participation in a
assess reliable evidence, and use critical thinking to form clear, well- structured
discussion/debate
reasoned arguments.
Submission of all debate
planning pages
You will be on a team of 3-4 debaters or you may work individually. A 2 page written
You will be debating against another team of 3-4 debaters or an reflection on the skills used
individual on the same civic issue. Your teams will select a topic and developed through the
process
together, or be assigned one.
Possible topics include:
❏ Should Canada lower the voting age to 16?
❏ Should social media platforms be regulated by the government?
❏ Should Canada adopt mandatory voting?
❏ Is climate action more important than economic growth?
❏ Should Indigenous governance take precedence over federal or provincial decisions on
Indigenous land?
❏ Your groups’ own (teacher-approved) topic:
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
My Group Topic
My Group Position
Develop 4 guiding inquiry questions (e.g. “What are the pros and cons of mandatory voting?” “Who benefits
from the current system?”). Each group member will develop their own questions to guide their research. For each
guiding question, write the type of question (factual, comparative, causal, analytical, ethical) and why you think this
question will help inform your stance in the debate.
You should have at least one question based on each political thinking concept below:
1. Political Significance 2. Objectives and Results
Ask: Ask:
● Why does this issue matter? ● What were the goals?
● Who is affected and how? ● What actually happened?
● What are the long-term effects? ● Who benefitted? Who didn’t?
This concept helps you understand why a person, event, or This concept helps you compare what people wanted to
policy is important. It asks you to think about the level of happen with what really happened. It helps you think about
impact. You should also consider how decisions are made how well a plan, program, or decision worked. You can also
and who gets to be part of those decisions. consider who gained from it and who may have been left
out.
3. Stability and Change 4. Political Perspective
Ask: Ask:
● What has stayed the same? ● What do different people or groups think about this
● What has changed? Why? issue? Why?
This concept helps you notice how things shift over time. This concept helps you see that people have different views.
It helps you look at patterns in the way governments These views can be shaped by personal values, background,
work, how laws are made, and how social or political culture, or lived experiences. Understanding these different
movements grow. You can also explore why some things points of view helps you get a clearer picture of civic issues.
stay the same while others change.
Name: Date:
Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
Develop 4 guiding inquiry questions (e.g. “What are the pros and cons of mandatory voting?” “Who benefits
from the current system?”). Each group member will develop their own questions to guide their research. For each
guiding question, write the type of question (factual, comparative, causal, analytical, ethical) and why you think this
question will help inform your stance in the debate.
You should have at least one question based on each political thinking concept below:
1. Political Significance 2. Objectives and Results
Question: Question:
Purpose/ Purpose/
Goal: Goal:
3. Stability and Change 4. Political Perspective
Question: Question:
Purpose/ Purpose/
Goal: Goal:
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
Gather information from at least 4 sources, including news articles, videos, social media posts, and interviews.
Record the information and perspectives in the source, including any statistics or data you could use in your debate.
Evaluate the credibility and bias of each source. Record your sources in proper MLA formatting.
Source 1 Source 2
Information/Perspectives/Data: Information/Perspectives/Data:
Source Credibility & Justification: Source Credibility & Justification:
Name: Date:
Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
Gather information from at least 4 sources, including news articles, videos, social media posts, and interviews.
Record the information and perspectives in the source, including any statistics or data you could use in your debate.
Evaluate the credibility and bias of each source. Record your sources in proper MLA formatting.
Source 3 Source 4
Information/Perspectives/Data: Information/Perspectives/Data:
Source Credibility & Justification: Source Credibility & Justification:
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
Rewrite your inquiry questions. As you gather information, record your research on the lines below.
1. Political Significance Question: 2. Objectives and Results Question:
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
Rewrite your inquiry questions. As you gather information, record your research on the lines below.
3. Stability and Change Question: 4. Political Perspective Question:
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
Identify different stakeholders and the perspectives they may have on your topic. For each stakeholder,
explain their position and provide a reason for why they hold that view. This will help you better understand your
topic and become a well-informed debater.
Stakeholders
&
Perspectives
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
Apply the political thinking concepts to shape your main arguments. Write down your opening statement and the key
point. For each key argument, write your evidence to support it, and the possible counterargument from the other side.
Opening Statement
My Arguments Evidence Counterargument
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
My Arguments Evidence Counterargument
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
1. What things did your group do well at? Think about the challenges you experienced and record areas for
improvement.
Successes: Areas for Improvement:
[Link] political inquiry skills did you use?
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
[Link] communication or thinking skills did you develop?
[Link] did considering multiple perspectives influence your thinking?
[Link] what ways could these skills help you in everyday life or a future career?
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Use Demonstrates strong
Demonstrates good
of Demonstrates limited Demonstrates some understanding and
understanding and
Politic understanding of political understanding; consistently applies
regularly applies political
al thinking concepts; rarely occasionally applies political thinking concepts
thinking concepts to
applies them to political thinking concepts to deepen analysis,
Thinki support arguments and
arguments or analysis. to arguments or analysis. strengthen arguments,
ng evaluate perspectives.
and engage with all sides
Conce of the issue.
pts
Debate / Communicates ideas with
Communicates ideas with Communicates ideas with Communicates ideas
Roundta clarity and confidence;
limited clarity; rarely uses some clarity; uses some clearly; uses appropriate
ble uses strong evidence and
evidence or civic evidence and civic terms; evidence and civic
Participa civic vocabulary
vocabulary; minimal participates occasionally; vocabulary; participates
effectively; engages with
tion participation; struggles to offers limited responses to regularly; responds
others and responds
respond to others. others’ views. thoughtfully to opposing
insightfully to opposing
views.
views.
Research Develops clear, relevant Develops strong, focused
Identifies few or unclear Develops some relevant
and inquiry questions; gathers inquiry questions; and
inquiry questions; gathers inquiry questions; gathers
Preparatio credible evidence from assesses quality evidence
limited or unreliable basic evidence; some
n multiple sources; analyzes from diverse, reliable
evidence; little analysis of consideration of
stakeholder perspectives sources; demonstrates
perspectives or source perspectives and source
and source credibility with understanding of
credibility. credibility.
competence. stakeholder perspectives
and sources.
Written Reflection is well-
Reflection is Reflection is mostly Reflection is clear and
Reflectio developed, and insightful;
incomplete or unclear; complete; shows some complete; explains skills
n demonstrates strong
demonstrates limited understanding of skills used used and developed;
understanding of political
understanding of skills and some consideration of considers multiple
inquiry and thinking skills;
used or developed; other perspectives and perspectives and real-life
clearly connects multiple
little insight into real- applications. applications with some
perspectives to real-world
life applications. insight.
relevance.
Comments:
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Voices in Action: Debating Issues that Matter