LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Read about a teen who is fighting to help expand access to speech and debate clubs; identify issues related to inclusiveness in extracurricular activities.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 8: Demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

CASEL: Social awareness

KEY VOCAB

persuade

mock

Lesson Plan: Sharing His Love of Debate

Nihar Duvvuri is expanding access to speech and debate clubs.

Table of Contents:

1. Preparing to Read

2. Reading and Discussing

3. Building Comprehension and Vocabulary

4. Expanding SEL Opportunities

1. Preparing to Read

Before you read the article “Sharing His Love of Debate,” ask your students the following pre-reading question:

What challenges might prevent some teens from participating in extracurricular activities?

2. Reading and Discussing

  • Have your students read the article “Sharing His Love of Debate” independently; read the article out loud to them; or have students take turns reading the three sections out loud (The Inspiration, The Action, The Outcome).
  • After they’ve read the article, revisit the pre-reading question. Have their answers changed?
  • Next, have your students answer the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking questions, either working in small groups or independently.


Close-Reading Questions
The following questions can be shared in printable or interactive form from the Resources tab. 

  1. What bothered Nihar about debate tournaments?
  2.  What idea did Nihar come up with to solve this problem?

Critical-Thinking Questions

  1. 1. Are there any other extracurricular activities you know of that might be difficult to access for students with limited resources?
  2. After reading the article, do you think it is important for all students to have the opportunity to be involved in extracurricular activities? Why or why not?

3. Building Comprehension and Vocab

Check students’ comprehension of and engagement with the story with the following assessment tools:

  • Quiz

  • Vocab Builder

4. Expanding SEL Opportunities

Continue the learning journey with the following extension activity: 

Have students complete an EXTRACURRICULARS ACCESSIBILITY INVESTIGATION at your school. Have them list at least three extracurriculars that they know about or are involved in, and then find out the yearly cost of that activity by asking the adult in charge of it. Then, have them reflect on which of these activities are accessible to everyone.

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