Debate and Discussion Questions for Any Group to Argue Over
One deck for each kind of argument worth having.
22 pages
Debate and vote 16
Cards with sides. Read one out, let people argue, then tap a side for every hand in the air.
- Funny Debate Questions With Both Sides and a Show of Hands240 low-stakes arguable claims in four tones, from Is cereal a soup? to Should voting be compulsory?, each with both sides, a vote count and a speaker clock. Should museums be free to enter?
- Moral Questions to Ask111 invented everyday dilemmas about honesty, loyalty, fairness, rules and promises, each with two choices and a vote count. Your best friend pockets a candy bar in a shop without paying. What do you do?
- Funny Poll Questions155 joke polls for work, friends and any group, each with four written options, a vote count and a button that copies it into a chat. What is the best sandwich filling?
- Science Debate Topics132 science motions in seven branches, from space to how science is done, each with an opening line for both sides and a class vote. Should every town have free charging points for electric bikes?
- Debate Topics for College Students131 seminar-level motions in six subjects, from campus life to ethics, each with an opening line for both sides and a vote count. Should phones be collected at the door of every exam?
- Social Media Debate Topics71 motions on one subject in six topics, from age limits to attention, each with an opening line for both sides. No app or company is named. Should autoplay be off unless you switch it on?
- ESL Debate Topics90 two-sided questions in plain English at A2, B1 to B2 and C1, each with a model sentence for both sides and a class vote. Are mornings nicer than evenings?
- Sports Debate Topics93 sports motions in five themes, from fair rules to what counts as a sport, each with an opening line for both sides and a vote. Should youth leagues keep score for players under eight?
- Topics to Start a Debate in the Work Place74 workplace motions on meetings, desks, tools and team customs, with an opening line for each side and nothing about pay or politics. Should a shared document have one editor at a time?
- History Debate Topics128 history motions in seven groups, from ancient worlds to American history and what-ifs, each with an opening line for both sides. Should an old monument get a new plaque instead of being moved?
- Debate Topics for Psychology Class131 psychology motions in five groups, from nature and nurture to how experiments are run, each with an opening line for both sides. Does nature shape us more than nurture?
- Math Debate Topics121 math questions for middle school and high school, from rules mathematicians chose to unsolved problems, each with a line for both sides and a class vote. Do we count in tens only because we have ten fingers?
- SPAR Debate Topics124 short motions for spontaneous argumentation in five groups from silly to serious, each with an opening line for Pro and for Con. Walking backwards should be a school sport.
- Parli Debate Topics123 parliamentary practice motions sorted by how they open (would, believes, regrets, prefers), each with a line for Government and for Opposition. This house regrets the five-star review.
- Halloween Debate Topics103 light Halloween questions about candy, costumes, trick-or-treating and pumpkins, each with a line for Yes and for No and a show of hands. Is a creaking door scarier than a howl?
- Thanksgiving Debate Topics99 friendly Thanksgiving questions about the plate, the pie, the table and the leftovers, each with a line for Yes and for No and a show of hands. Should every pie get a lattice or a decorated top?
Talk it through 3
Open questions with no sides to pick. One card can fill ten minutes.
- What If Questions to Ask165 open hypotheticals with no options on the card: 104 What if and 61 What would you do if, each with a follow-up question. What if you could teleport, but only to places you have already been?
- Mind Blowing Questions With a Checked Answer on Every Card174 guess-first questions on the scale of the universe, deep time, numbers and logic knots, each with a checked answer behind Show answer. How many people must be in a room before two probably share a birthday?
- Dumbest Questions to Ask150 questions that are dumb on purpose, in six kinds from dumb but fair to confusing, each with a follow-up. Why does a round pizza come in a square box and get cut into triangles?
For kids and classrooms 3
Written for school-age kids, with nothing a teacher would need to skip.
- Debate Questions for Middle Schoolers and Elementary Classes164 school-safe debate cards in an elementary band and a middle school band, each with an opening line for both sides and a show-of-hands count. Are board games better than video games?
- What If Questions for Kids, Ages 5 to 12150 open what if scenarios for ages 5 to 12 in two age bands and five themes, each with a what happens next line that turns the answer into a story. What if every class was taught outdoors, all year round?
- Debatable Topics for High School135 motions for grades 9 to 12 in six themes, from school rules to fairness, each with an opening line for both sides and a class vote. Should phones be allowed on school trips?
Decks of discussion questions for a group that likes a friendly argument: pick by what you want the room to do. The funny, sports and workplace debate decks give both sides of a low-stakes claim, such as whether cereal is a soup, and count a show of hands.
More about these tools
The moral dilemma deck puts a dilemma to a vote between two choices. The funny poll deck gives four options and counts votes. The what if decks are open questions with no options, good for a long drive or a slow dinner. The mind-blowing deck hides a checked answer behind every card. Two decks are written for kids: debate topics for a classroom and what if questions for ages five to twelve. Every deck runs from one phone with the full list under the tool, and none of them touches party politics, religion or anything aimed at a group of people.