AP Government Debates (Landmark Supreme Court Decisions PART II)

Included in this packet are 4 landmark Supreme Court cases that contain a brief background of the case itself and a set of arguments presented by both sides, a Debate Format Instruction Sheet for your classes to participate in 1:1 debates as well as a Case Decision Information Sheet.

Cases include:

Gideon v Wainwright (do we have a right to counsel?)

Mueller v Allen (should the government subsidize private schools?)

McCulloch v Maryland (testing federal power)

Shelby County Alabama v Holder (Can Congress regulate voting?)

Essentially you can guarantee EVERY student reads, prepares and participates in a debate. Each debate lasts under five minutes.

Sometimes, I have found that conducting debates in the classroom restrains some students who are reluctant to participate in front of a whole class discussion. The format of these activities offers students to complete a debate in just a few minutes. Their roles are spelled out.

Students are asked to read, write and speak using short arguments that help them structure, formalize and vocalize ideas over controversial issues. If you want to get creative you can structure the whole class working on just one case or separate the cases into several group. It’s up to you. I’ve found that debriefing the ideas allows students to expand on just the reading. Thanks and Enjoy

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