LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Read opposing viewpoints and take a side; evaluate potential reasons for and against banning cell phones in schools.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 2: Analyze influences that affect health and well-being of self and others.

CASEL: Social awareness

Lesson Plan: Should Schools Ban Cellphones?

Some say laws restricting phone use in schools will improve student learning and reduce cyberbullying. But others say phones are necessary so students can contact their families in cases of emergency. What do you think?

PREPARING TO READ

Before you read the debate “Should Schools Ban Cellphones?” ask your students the following pre-reading question:

What are the pros and cons of restricting student phone use at school?

READING AND DISCUSSION

  • Have your students read the debate “Should Schools Ban Cellphones?” independently; read the debate out loud to them; or have one student read one side of the debate and another student read the other side.
  • After they’ve read the debate, revisit the pre-reading question. Have their answers changed?

BUILDING COMPREHENSION

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

  • Comprehension Quiz

EXPANDING SEL OPPORTUNITIES

Continue the learning journey with the following extension activity:

Hold a FOUR CORNERS DEBATE to settle the discussion once and for all! Before the activity begins, assign each corner of your classroom one of the following positions: strongly agree, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or strongly disagree. Distribute the skills sheet and have students choose a position in response to the sentence “Schools should ban cellphones.” Once they have had a chance to prepare their ideas using the skills sheet, have each student choose a corner. From there, form mixed-opinion groups with students from different corners, and have the students take turns sharing and defending their opinions in their small groups. After the debate, have the whole class discuss whether debating the topic made them think differently about it.

Print the Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech