10 Science and Environmental Debate Topics for Middle School

If you’ve taken on the heroic task of teaching a group of preteens, try one of these 10 science and environmental debate topics for middle school to keep them engaged.

A debate is an exciting, high-interest method to teach a various number of skills to students. It makes students active in searching for topics and discussion promotes teamwork, public speaking practice, and skilled critical thinking. Conducting debates in middle school could be fruitful despite the challenges that are associated with teaching teens. Through these discussions, students can learn what it means to be passionate about different topics, while also having fun discussing them.

During participation in debates (and with a list of good debate topics), students raise their ideas — they also learn to pay attention to the opinions of others to then reach a definite conclusion over the topic of the discussion. Obviously, there are a number of debate topics for kids that won’t be too far ahead of their years. In the process of arguing on a subject, students learn to work together as well as to improve their skills of listening and speaking. The method of doing in-depth research increases their knowledge and sharpens their vocabulary as well as grammar, so you really can’t go wrong introducing a civil debate to the classroom, unless things get out of hand of course. Focusing on all these benefits of classroom debating and this list of debate topics, you ought to motivate students to participate fully.

The following is a list of great topics that we have ranked based on information from significant debate sites. One of these sources includes the International Debate Education Association (IDEA), which refers to worldwide organizations that value debate as a means of granting young people the freedom to speak. This site analyzes the information of the discussion, both as the side score on the proposition side (“Yes”) and the respective side score on the opposition side (“No”). The final debate score is the sum of scores from both sides. The total number of arguments from each debate is determined from the rate of participation of the debaters. Finally, the total number of votes about the argument ratio is used to rank the discussion. The higher the number regarding the argument ratio, the tougher the topic of the debate and vice versa. This is the criteria we have used to rank the list below, that is; from the toughest subject (at the top of our list as number one) to the less intense topics. Other sources include Debate.org, Pro/Con.org, and Create Debate.

Get your notes and team ready for  our list of 10 science and environmental debate topics for middle school.

10. Should the government invest in green energy?

The campaign on the government’s investment in green energy technology is most appropriate for this topic. As a benefit with this, job creation will be enhanced, and dependence on oil from foreign countries is also reduced through this initiative. Under the topic “10 Science and Environmental Debate Topics for Middle School,” this topic has been ranked ranked at the topic because it’s pretty straightforward as far as arguments go. Critics claim that energy investment should be left to the private sector. For instance, green energy proponents state that: if the U.S. does not establish such industries, other countries such as Brazil and China will overtake the American energy market.

9. Human cloning should be permitted in the United States.

In one of his speeches on the BBC News Channel, President Bush proposed this topic, being one of the most argumentative Science and Environmental Debate Topics in Middle school. Bush shed light on the public by indicating that life is a creation and not a commodity as some think, while addressing a group of disabled people, activists, scientists, and doctors. His primary focus was to lend his support to an upcoming bill on cloning research by the U.S. Senate. The president declared that anything underrating a full ban would be unethical, and nearly not possible to enforce.

8. Is vegetarianism good for health?

The most determining factor, in this case, is the kind of the food you take in and its quantity. You should have a variety of nutrients and vitamins in your system that are rare in a vegetarian diet. In this case, limiting yourself to this diet would cause more harm than good to your body if you’re not going about it correctly. This nutritional science and environmental debate topic is surrounded by several arguments. On the other hand, vegetarian foods tend to have a low amount of fat. So, for someone lifting weights who needs to reduce fats in the body, opting for vegetarian diet would be in their best interest.

7. Should there be a sensor for the Internet?

It would be beneficial to children if the Internet were censored. In the same case, it would create a limitation on what the children click on the web. This is a very critical debate topic based on technological science and various issues in society today. There is a rapid influence of the number of children to the cyber world. And without boundaries and adult supervision, a child as little as three years would have access to some very mature things like porn.

6. Media is responsible for the rise in criminal cases against the youngsters.

Against common belief, media is not associated with the rise in the level of crime. There is no doubt; media has the resource to provoke, persuade and inspire multitudes though. However, the behavior of victimizing media for the rise in crime is lack of knowledge. I guess this fact ought to shed light on the technological science and environmental middle school debate topic. The critics who underrate media based on studies carried out by researchers on samples don’t consider the cons of the formula of such experts. Instead, they mention the excerpts that encourage their dislike.

5. Reading and studying about things cannot replace real experience.

Tons of endeavors can be pursued from reading and studying, though, some specific things require practice. A good example is piano playing. As much as you may read books about piano, you are required to practice playing to become a professional pianist. The aspects of knowledge and expertise bring significant controversy in most science and environmental middle school debate topics. It’s good for a debater to first identify the skill in question before making a final judgment on the subject.

4. Education kills creativity.

This is one of the best science and environmental debate topics to raise eyebrows among middle school learners. Yes, there is diversity of abilities in learners, however, knowledge is acquired for different things in various mental styles. Unfortunately, a lot of professionals in the teaching sector are not aware of this. The system is supposed to be focused on the requirements of the learners and not the other way round. Currently, there are enough resources to give a polished education to every learner related to his/her potential and strength.

3. Should music and art education made compulsory for middle school students?

Studies reveal that music knowledge promotes the know-how in children for proficiency in other fields. Also, multiple sets of skills are involved in the long run. Any child learning about music has to tap into multiple skills to learn and play. Middle school students should unanimously support any science and environmental debate topic relating to arts and music positively. Music can also enhance proper coordination between the eye and the hand.

2. Are chat rooms safe for pre-teens and teens?

This will definitely catch the attention of a classroom of preteens. Virtual chat rooms are never promising for teenage safety (although teens may disagree). Any science and environmental middle school debate topic related to teen habits is delicate and should be handled with attention. A large number of predators are busy searching for innocent teenagers on the internet, and due to the low experience of some teenagers, they are sometimes unable to protect themselves from these evil people.

1. Should America withdraw its troops from Afghanistan?                                                                    America ought to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan. The soldiers should come back to their home country and have the chance to reunite with their families. America is pursuing a large number of battles that need to be taken care of in other areas besides here. In science and environmental debate topics for middle school, this topic has been ranked at the top because its pros are commonly more overwhelming than the cons. Plus, it is also a hefty topic to debate.

That wraps it up for our list of 10 science and environmental debate topics for middle school.