Middle School Debate Topics

Middle School Debate Topics Debates are a wonderful, high-interest way to teach a number of skills to students. They provide students with the ability to research a topic, work as a team, practice public speaking, and use critical thinking skills. Despiteor perhaps because ofthe challenges that go along with teaching tweens, holding debates in middle school classes can be especially rewarding. Middle School Debate Topics The following is a list of topics that would be appropriate for use in middle school classrooms. As you read through these you will see that some are more appropriate for specific curriculum areas while others can be used in classes across the board. Each item is listed as a proposition. You will assign one team this proposition and the opposing team would argue the opposite. All students should have daily chores.Every home should have a pet.Every student should play a musical instrument.Homework should be banned.School uniforms should be required.Year-round education is better for students.Children should not be allowed to drink soda.PE should be required of all students throughout middle and high school.All students should be required to volunteer in the community.Corporal punishment should be allowed in schools.The Internet should be banned from schools.Junk food should be banned from schools.All parents should be required to attend parenting classes before having a child.All students should be required to learn a foreign language in middle school.All museums should be free to the public.Single-sex schools are better for education.Students should be held legally responsible for bullying in schools.Children under 14 should not be allowed on Facebook.Prayer of any form should be prohibited in schools.Statewide tests should be abolished.All people should be vegetarians. Solar energy should replace all traditional forms of energy.Zoos should be abolished.It is sometimes right for the government to restrict freedom of speech.Human cloning should be banned.Science fiction is the best form of fiction. (Or any form of fiction of your choosing)Macs are better than PCsAndroids are better than iPhonesThe moon should be colonized.Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) should be banned.All students should be required to take a cooking class.All students should be required to take a shop or practical arts class.All students should be required to take a performing arts class.All students should be required to learn sewing.Democracy is the best form of government.America should have a king and not a president.All citizens should be required to vote.The death penalty is an appropriate penalty for certain crimes.Sports stars are paid too much money.The right to bear arms is a necessary constitutional amendment.Students should never be forced to repeat a year at school.Grades sh ould be abolished. All individuals should pay the same tax rate.Teachers should be replaced by computers.Students should be allowed to skip grades in school.The voting age should be lowered.Individuals who share music online should be put in jail.Video games are too violent.Students should be required to learn about poetry.History is an important subject in school.Students should not be required to show their work in math.Students should not be graded on their handwriting.America should give more money to other countries.Every home should have a robot.The government should provide wireless service for everyone.School pictures should be abolished.Smoking should be banned.Recycling should be required.Children should not watch television on school nights.Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in sports.Parents should be allowed to choose their babys gender.Education is the key to future success.

Shakespeares Brothers and Sisters

Shakespeare's Brothers and Sisters William Shakespeare came from a large family and had three brothers and four sisters ... although not all of them lived long enough to meet their most famous sibling! William Shakespeares brothers and sisters were: Joan ShakespeareMargaret  Shakespeare Gilbert  ShakespeareJoan  ShakespeareAnne  ShakespeareRichard  ShakespeareEdmund  Shakespeare Much is known of Shakespeare’s mother Mary Arden whose house in Wilmcote near Stratford-upon-Avon remains a tourist attraction and functions as a working farm. His father John Shakespeare, also came from farming stock and became a Glover. Mary and John lived in Henley Street Stratford upon Avon, John worked from his house. This is where William and his siblings were brought up and this house is also a tourist attraction and it is possible to see exactly how Shakespeare and his family would have lived. John and Mary had two children before William Shakespeare was born. It is not possible to give the exact dates as birth certificates were not produced in those times. However, due to high mortality rates, it was customary to have the child baptised as soon as three days after the birth so the dates given in this article are based on that assumption. Sisters:Joan and MargaretShakespeare Joan Shakespeare was baptised in September 1558 but sadly died two months later, her sister Margaret was baptised on December 2nd 1562 she died aged one. Both were thought to have caught the prolific and deadly bubonic plague. Happily William, John and Mary’s first born son was born in 1564. As we know he lived a very successful life until he was 52 and died in April 1616 on his own birthday. Brother:Gilbert Shakespeare In 1566 Gilbert Shakespeare was born. It is thought that he was named after Gilbert Bradley who was a burgess of Stratford and was a Glover like John Shakespeare. It is believed that Gilbert would have attended school with William, being two years younger than him. Gilbert became a haberdasher and followed his brother to London. However, Gilbert often returned to Stratford and was involved in a lawsuit in the town. Gilbert never married and died a bachelor aged 46 in 1612. Sister:Joan Shakespeare Joan Shakespeare was born in 1569 (It was customary in Elizabethan England for children to be named after their dead siblings). She married a hatter called William Hart. She had four children but only two survived, they were called William and Michael. William, who was born in 1600, became an actor like his uncle. He never married but it is thought he had an illegitimate child called Charles Hart who became a famous actor of the time. William Shakespeare gave permission for Joan to live in the western   house on Henley street (There were two houses) until her death at the ripe age of 77. Sister: Anne Shakespeare Anne Shakespeare was born in 1571 she was the sixth child of John and Mary but sadly she only survived until she was eight years old. It is thought that she also died of the bubonic plague. She was given and expensive funeral despite the family experiencing financial problems at the time. She was buried on April 4th 1579. Brother:Richard Shakespeare Richard Shakespeare was baptised on March 11th 1574. Little is known about his life but the families fortunes were in decline and as a result it is very likely that Richard did not receive an education like his brothers and he would have stayed home to help with the family business. Richard was buried on February 4th 1613. He died aged 39. Brother: Edmund Shakespeare Edmund Shakespeare was baptized in 1581, he was sixteen years William’s junior. By this time the Shakespeare’s fortunes had recovered. Edmund followed in his brother’s footsteps and moved to London to become an actor. He died aged 27 and his death is also attributed to the bubonic plague which had already claimed 3 of his sibling’s lives. William paid for Edmund’s funeral which was held in Southwark London 1607 and was attended by many famous actors from the Globe. After having eight children Mary, Shakespeare’s mother lived to the grand age of 71 and died in 1608. John Shakespeare, William’s father also lived a long life, dying in 1601 aged 70. Only their daughter Joan lived a longer life than them dying at 77.