Ideal for getting students to think critically about today’s most important issues, the award-winning Issues & Controversies provides objective, in-depth analysis of hundreds of today’s hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture. We’ve made it easy for educators to use this tool in classes by highlighting a selection of articles on key topics they may be teaching each month, each tied in with a relevant theme.
Ideas for Using Issues & Controversies:
- Use the overview videos, where available, to introduce a topic
- Use the discussion questions to spark in-class debate
- Use the debate videos to provide fresh perspectives from leading experts
- Use the printable handouts for review and self-assessment
- Read the primary sources for context and background
- Get students thinking with the “What If?” questions in the “Extend the Lesson” section
February:
African American History Month:
- Affirmative Action: Are affirmative action programs necessary to make up for past discrimination?
- Slavery Reparations: Should the government provide reparations to the descendants of slaves?
- Confederate Monuments: Is it appropriate for states to display monuments to the Confederacy?
National Entrepreneurship Week: Manufacturing Jobs: Should the U.S. government bolster the manufacturing sector?
March:
- Women’s History Month: Women’s Rights
- Baseball: Dominican Baseball Academies: Do Dominican baseball academies provide young players a path out of poverty?
April:
- World Health Day (April 7): Health Care Reform: Has the Affordable Care Act improved health care in the United States?
- Earth Day (April 22): Climate Change: Should the U.S. government take aggressive steps to address climate change?
- Autism Awareness Month: Diagnosing Autism: Should autism be diagnosed in children under the age of three?
- School Library Month: Young Adult Literature: Is current young adult literature appropriate for teen readers?
May:
- International Workers’ Day (May 1): Unions and Labor Law: Are labor unions still necessary safeguards against worker exploitation?
- Choose Privacy Week: Social Networking and Privacy: Should the U.S. government mandate privacy rules for social networking sites?
- World No Tobacco Day (May 31): Smoking Bans and the Tobacco Industry: Are smoking bans necessary to protect public health?
June:
- National Safety Month: School Safety: Should schools employ controversial safety measures—such as metal-detector checks and random sweeps with drug-sniffing dogs—in order to combat school violence?
- National Gun Violence Awareness Month: Gun Control Laws: Should the United States adopt stronger gun control laws?
- Flag Day (June 14): Flag Desecration: Should the Constitution be amended to ban flag desecration?
- Effective Communications Month: Teaching “21st-Century Skills”: Should U.S. schools teach more “21st-century skills,” such as teamwork, creativity, and problem solving?
July:
- Independence Day (July 4): U.S. Politics and the Presidency: Should presidents claim strong executive power?
- 93rd Anniversary of Scopes Trial: Religion in Public Schools: Does religion have a place in public schools?
- National Whistleblower Day (July 30): WikiLeaks: Is WikiLeaks justified in publishing classified military and government documents?
August:
- Artist Appreciation Month: Graffiti: Is graffiti art?
- National Inventors Month: Patent Reform: Does the U.S. patent system need reform?
- National Immunization Awareness Month: Mandatory Vaccination: Should vaccination be mandatory?
September:
- September 11 attacks: Travel Ban and Immigration: Should the United States ban travelers from certain countries?
- Banned Books Week: Editing the Classics: Should classic works of literature be edited to make them less offensive?
- National Childhood Obesity Month: Diet and Obesity: Should the U.S. government take measures to fight obesity?
October:
- National Bullying Prevention Month: Bullying: Should states pass laws requiring educational institutions to implement anti-bullying measures?
- National Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Cybercrime: Do cybercrime laws need to be reformed to prevent disproportionate sentences, or should they be strengthened to deter harmful cybercrimes?
- Energy Action Month: Energy Policy: Should the United States increase domestic production of oil and natural gas?
November:
- Election Day: Voting Rights Act: Should the federal government continue to oversee voting practices in some states, as was required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act?
- Veterans’ Day: Soldiers’ Mental Health: Are mental health services for U.S. armed forces members sufficient?
- Native American Heritage Month: Native American Policy: Does the Native American reservation system work?
December:
- National Impaired Driving Prevention Month: Drunk Driving: Should the government employ more aggressive means of preventing drunk driving?
- Human Rights Day (December 10): Human Rights: Should the United States and the international community intervene to protect human rights?
- Christmas/Hanukkah: Separation of Church and State: Should there be a strict separation of church and state in the United States?
January:
- National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month: Human Trafficking: Do U.S. sanctions effectively combat human trafficking?
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Protest Movements: Are protest movements effective ways of bringing about social and political change?
- Sugar Awareness Week: Junk Food in Schools: Should schools restrict the sale of junk food?
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