Debate Topics for Kids

Easy debate topics by grade

Every topic on this page is marked as suitable for kids, and each one has a level. Younger kids holds 115 topics for elementary students. They are about things kids already know: recess, pets, snacks and bedtime. A child can argue them from daily life without any research.

Middle school holds 80 topics with a bit more to weigh, such as "Students should grade their teachers each semester" or "Social media does more harm than good for teenagers." Students in grades 6 to 8 can still argue these from experience, but a quick look for one fact makes the case stronger.

For a mixed group, leave Difficulty on Any and let older students help younger ones build a reason.

Debate topics for elementary students

Start with topics that touch a child's own day. These come from the Younger kids level:

• Homework should be banned in elementary school
• Every school should have a pet
• Students should be able to choose their own seats in class
• Kids should get an allowance for doing chores
• Summer vacation should be shorter
• Board games are more fun than video games
• It is okay to tell a white lie to protect someone's feelings
• Reading comics counts as real reading

How to explain debate to kids

A debate is two sides taking turns to persuade a listener. One side argues For the statement and the other argues Against it. Kids don't pick their side: the generator does, so nobody argues only what they already believe. Teach three parts:

1. Opening: say your side in one sentence, then give one or two reasons with an example from real life.
2. Rebuttal: listen to the other side, then answer their best reason. "They said uniforms save time, but..." is a strong start.
3. Closing: repeat your side and your best reason in one or two sentences.

Run short rounds in class

Young speakers do best with short turns. Set the Timer to 30 seconds for younger kids and 1 minute for middle school, and keep the 2 minute setting for openings once students are comfortable. Here is a round that fits in about 5 minutes:

1. Press Generate and read the topic and side out loud.
2. Give each team 1 minute to plan with the timer running.
3. Each side gives a 1 minute opening.
4. Each side gives a 30 second rebuttal.
5. Each side gives a 30 second closing, then the class votes on the stronger case, not the side they agree with.

Put the topic on the board

Press Full screen to show the topic on a projector, so the whole class can read it from the back row. Press the Space key for the next topic. Topics don't repeat within a round, so you won't get the same one twice in a lesson.

Press Save on topics that worked well; they stay in this browser, next to your History. Use Share to send a topic and its side to another teacher, or Copy to paste it into a lesson plan.

Keep topics kid friendly

Every topic here is written and checked by people, not made up by AI on the spot, and each one is marked as suitable for kids. Still, you know your class best. A topic about family money or pets may land differently for a child who just lost a pet or whose family is struggling.

Read the topic before you press Start. If it feels too close to home for someone, press Generate again. Set one rule before every round: argue the idea, never the person.

Fun debate topics for a warm up

Silly topics are the best way to start. Nobody feels hurt, and kids still practice giving reasons and answering the other side. The Fun & silly category has 37 of them, such as "Cereal is a soup", "Dinosaurs would make great pets" and "Sneezing in your elbow should be an Olympic event."

For older students and adults, the full debate topics list adds harder levels. For solo speaking practice, try 1 minute speech topics.