12 General Critical Thinking Questions About Voting And Government
Critical Thinking Questions About Voting & Government by Terry Heick Just a quick post that’s self-explanatory enough: It’s almost #ElectionDay! Some questions for student critical thinking: What is the relationship between voting and democracy? How does critical thinking affect the quality of a democracy? What information is essential for voters to make an informed decision…
Critical Thinking Questions About Voting & Government
by Terry Heick
Just a quick post that’s self-explanatory enough:
It’s almost #ElectionDay ! Some questions for student critical thinking: What is the relationship between voting and democracy? How does critical thinking affect the quality of a democracy? What information is essential for voters to make an informed decision about candidates? pic.twitter.com/0EODQbrLAO — TeachThought (@TeachThought) November 5, 2018
12 General Critical Thinking Questions About Voting & Government
1. What is the relationship between voting and democracy?
2. How does critical thinking affect the quality and function of a democracy?
3. What information is essential for voters to make an informed decision about candidates?
4. Who decides if a previously elected official performed well or not and how should that data be used to elect future officials? Put another way, how should past elections and performed duties affect future elections?
5. Why does campaign spending matter? What rules should exist, if any, about the claims and accusations of political campaigns?
6. How can social media be used–and misused–to clarify the quality of a candidate?
7. What are the pros and cons of democracy? How has the age of information and social media changed democracy as it is perceived and functions?
8. What does the current state of campaign advertising and marketing–especially on social media–imply about what candidates believe about voters?
9. What are the qualities of a great leader in any political context?
10. What role does bias–and confirmation bias–play in elections?
11. What is ‘fake news’? Who decides what’s ‘fake’? How does ‘fake news’ work? How does it affect democracy short and long-term?
12. What does the past of American government say about the future of American government?
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36 public policy questions to energize your government/history classroom debates.
Social Studies --- Civics --- Current Events --- Government --- Debate Topics
Brief Description
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to begin class and/or spark student discussion and debate, these activity ideas are for you. Included: Thirty-six open-ended questions relating to public policy issues that are in the news and, even better, important to students.
Students will
- engage in discussion and debate relating to issues of importance to them and the world.
- think critically as they analyze public policy issues.
debate, public policy, issues, critical thinking
Materials Needed
Using debates in the classroom is a proven strategy for engaging students and developing critical thinking skills. Debates can take many formats and cover many topics. Following are 36 classroom-friendly topics. You might
- challenge students to research the topics and be ready to offer informed opinions.
- arrange students into small groups to stage debates on a selection of the topics.
- use some of the debate strategies in the Education World article Its Up for Debate . Those debate strategies include
- Lincoln-Douglas Debate Format
- Role Play Debate
- Using Fairy Tales to Debate Ethics
- Four Corners Debate
- Inner Circle, Outer Circle Debate
- Three-Card Debate Strategy
- Participation Countdown Strategy
- Tag Team Debate
- Fishbowl Debate
- Think-Pair-Share Debate
36 Public Policy Questions to Energize Your Classroom and Engage Students in Debate
- Is the Confederate Flag a symbol of heritage or a symbol of hate?
- Should Native American nicknames/mascots be banned from high school, college, and professional sports teams?
- Should Supreme Court members be elected by the people instead of appointed by the President [with Senate approval]?
- Should the Federal Government be allowed to regulate Major League Baseball [and other professional leagues] by enacting uniform penalties for steroid use?
- Should the practice of physician-assisted suicide be allowed?
- Is file-sharing a crime and should those who share files and those who create file-sharing software be criminally prosecuted?
- It is currently a law that you can be forbidden Federally subsidized students loans for college [such as Stafford and Perkins loans] if you have a prior conviction for drug use, drug possession, or drug dealing. Do you think that this should remain a law?
- Many states have hate crime legislation. Under such laws, crimes motivated solely because of someones race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation are given stiffer and mandatory penalties. How do you feel about those types of laws?
- Should the Federal, State, and Local governments rebuild the New Orleans area and encourage people to return in large numbers?
- Is it good policy for schools to ban the sale of soft drinks, candy, and other questionably nutritious snacks in order to promote better eating habits?
- How do you feel about the rise of gated, police-monitored communities? Should they be allowed or should construction of those types of communities be stopped?
- What are your opinions regarding beach-front property and private beaches? Should all beaches be public to allow access to the ocean, or do you believe that some beaches can be bought for private use?
- As a means to preventing terrorist activity, do you have a problem with the Federal government having access to your e-mail account, library records, and other personal information?
- Should it be legal to give the death penalty to someone who commits a crime as a minor [under 18 years old]?
- A much higher percentage of Australians (88 percent) vote in elections than Americans (about 50%). Many believe that this is due to the fact that Australians who do not vote must pay a fine, typically $20. Should the United States enact similar measures?
- Some have proposed that the Federal government should set an age restriction [21 years old] on when a person can apply for a credit card. Do you believe that this legislation should be passed?
- Should taxpayers finance the building of a light-rail system to lesson traffic in our major cities?
- Are todays video games too violent and/or sexually provocative?
- Should the United States adopt English as its official language?
- Do you believe that the government should do more to limit immigration [legal and/or illegal] from Mexico, or should we just open the border?
- Should the Electoral College be outlawed and replaced with a system where the Presidential candidate with the most votes is elected?
- Are professional athletes overpaid, or is this simply a situation where highly skilled and scarce athletes are paid according to supply and demand?
- Are race relations better or worse than they were before the 1960s?
- What is your opinion about Wal-Mart? Does Wal-Mart represent all that is good about capitalism or all that is wrong about capitalism?
- Should the United States attempt to spread the principles of democracy throughout the World, or should we let the other countries of the World decide for themselves?
- Should drug companies be forced to limit the price of potentially life-saving drugs so the average person can afford them?
- Are television and/or print advertisements exploitative in nature? Do they take advantage of consumers?
- Should makers of unhealthy foods targeting children be forced to change packaging that attracts young people?
- Should there be a Constitutional amendment that allows naturalized citizens to be president or vice president?
- Some shopping malls across the United States are not allowing people under age 18 to enter on Friday and Saturday nights without parental supervision. What are your opinions regarding that policy?
- As a means to combating obesity, should the United States enact a fat tax on fast food and other unhealthy foods?
- As a way to curb drunk driving, should all cars have breathalyzer machines installed? (Some legislators in New York have proposed this requirement.)
- Should public companies (those whose stock is publicly traded) have to disclose the pay and total compensation of their CEOs and other high-ranking officials?
- In your opinion, should September 11th be made a national holiday or national day of mourning?
- What is your opinion regarding merit pay for teachers? When students do well on standardized tests, should the teachers of those students receive merit-based raises?
- Should standardized tests [SAT, ACT] continue to be used as a measurement of student achievement and an important part of the college admission process?
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 Critical Thinking QuestionsDescribe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems. How have the political and economic relationships between the states and federal government evolved since the early 1800s? Discuss how the federal government shapes the actions of state and local governments. What are the merits and drawbacks of American federalism? What do you see as the upcoming challenges to federalism in the next decade? Choose an issue and outline how the states and the federal government could respond. This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission. Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax. Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/american-government-3e/pages/1-introduction
© Jul 18, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University. Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. Critical Thinking QuestionsAmerican Government 2e Copyright © 2019 by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted. Share This Book |
COMMENTS
Discuss how the federal government shapes the actions of state and local governments. The state governments are modeled after the federal government which has three different branches. Those branches are executive, legislative, and judicial. Federal governments also give grants to the state.
American Government: Critical Thinking Questions. Should members of congress mainly follow the wishes of voters in their districts/ states? Or should they base their votes mainly on their own understanding of the national good?
Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems. In a federal system, the citizens vote for representatives. In a confederation system, the citizens will have much more power than the federal system because this system relies on its local governments.
Introduction; 5.1 What Are Civil Rights and How Do We Identify Them?; 5.2 The African American Struggle for Equality; 5.3 The Fight for Women's Rights; 5.4 Civil Rights for Indigenous Groups: Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians; 5.5 Equal Protection for Other Groups; Key Terms; Summary; Review Questions; Critical Thinking Questions; Suggestions for Further Study
State and Local Government. Introduction. Critical Thinking Questions Suggestions for Further Study. Critical Thinking Questions. Review Questions. 14.2 State Political Culture. 14.1 State Power and Delegation. 14.3 Governors and State Legislatures. 14.4 State Legislative Term Limits.
Introduction; 5.1 What Are Civil Rights and How Do We Identify Them?; 5.2 The African American Struggle for Equality; 5.3 The Fight for Women's Rights; 5.4 Civil Rights for Indigenous Groups: Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians; 5.5 Equal Protection for Other Groups; Key Terms; Summary; Review Questions; Critical Thinking Questions; Suggestions for Further Study
American Government Ch 1-6 Critical Thinking Questions. Chapter 1: The term "elite" has almost universal negative connotations but elite could be viewed simply as people who are better at something than ordinary people. Olympic athletes are elites, for example. Has American culture become too democratic and therefore unwilling to recognize ...
8. What does the current state of campaign advertising and marketing-especially on social media-imply about what candidates believe about voters? 9. What are the qualities of a great leader in any political context? 10. What role does bias-and confirmation bias-play in elections? 11. What is 'fake news'?
Critical Thinking Questions 20. Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems. 21. How have the political and economic relationships between the states and federal government evolved since the early 1800s?
Using debates in the classroom is a proven strategy for engaging students and developing critical thinking skills. Debates can take many formats and cover many topics. Following are 36 classroom-friendly topics. You might. challenge students to research the topics and be ready to offer informed opinions. arrange students into small groups to ...
Introduction; 5.1 What Are Civil Rights and How Do We Identify Them?; 5.2 The African American Struggle for Equality; 5.3 The Fight for Women's Rights; 5.4 Civil Rights for Indigenous Groups: Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians; 5.5 Equal Protection for Other Groups; Key Terms; Summary; Review Questions; Critical Thinking Questions; Suggestions for Further Study
Ch. 3 critical thinking questions. True or false: Madison and Hamilton thought that the federal structure would encourage the state and national governments to check each other if either became abusive to individual freedom. Click the card to flip 👆. True.
Critical Thinking Questions 26. In what ways is the court system better suited to protect the individual than are the elected branches of the government? 27. On what types of policy issues do you expect the judicial branch to be especially powerful, and on which do you expect it to exert less power?
Critical Thinking Questions. 12. Is citizen engagement necessary for a democracy to function? Explain. 13. Which is the more important reason for being engaged: to gain power or improve the quality of life?
Which solutions would you propose? 26. What are the implications of the Supreme Court decision in Burwell v. Hobby? 27. How does the provision for and the protection of individual rights and freedoms consume government resources of time and money? Since these are in effect the people's resources, do you think they are being well spent?
28. Should all activities of the government be open to media coverage? Why or why not? In what circumstances do you think it would be appropriate for the government to operate without transparency? 29. Have changes in media formats created a more accurate, less biased media? Why or why not? 30. How does citizen journalism use social media to ...
State and Local Government. Introduction. Critical Thinking Questions Suggestions for Further Study. Critical Thinking Questions. Review Questions. 14.2 State Political Culture. 14.1 State Power and Delegation. 14.3 Governors and State Legislatures. 14.4 State Legislative Term Limits.