192 Questions for Writing or Discussion

Past The Learning Network
A word cloud created from all the questions we asked in 2015-16.

For seven years, we accept asked a fresh Student Opinion question nearly every weekday. Each June, just as we do with that year'due south lesson plans, we circular them all upwards and post them in one identify.

Beneath are the 192 questions we asked in 2015-16 (and here, available in PDF), all still open to comment by any student 13 or older:

  • Questions for Debate and Persuasive Writing.
  • Questions for Artistic and Personal Writing.

Students tin can use them to practice writing persuasively or creatively, or equally inspiration for our contests.

Teachers might use them as jumping-off points for class discussions, equally part of their lesson plans or as encouragement for their students to engage with what's happening in the earth.

Each question is based on content from The New York Times, and each Times commodity is accessible without a digital subscription.

How have y'all used them? Tell us below.

Questions for Argue and Persuasive Writing

1. What Is a Hero?
ii. Should Restaurants Practice Away With Tipping?
3. Do We Crank Up the A.C. Too Loftier?
iv. Should Kindergarten Exist More About Play or Literacy?
5. Should Schools Give Students 'Body' Report Cards?
6. What Is Your Reaction to the Kentucky County Clerk Who Refuses to Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses?
seven. What Does it Mean to Be 'a Real Man'?
8. What Historical or Literary Figure Should Be the Subject of a Play or Picture?
nine. Are High School Students Existence Worked Likewise Hard?
x. Does Facebook Need a 'Dislike' Button?
xi. Can a GIF Piece of work Meliorate Than Words?
12. Should Schools Teach Children How to Melt?
13. Are Paper Books Better Than E-Books?
fourteen. Should High Schools Drop Football game Because As well Many Players Are Getting Injured?
15. Is Schoolhouse Luncheon Really All That Bad?
xvi. Is Shakespeare Too Difficult?
17. Are Affirmative Consent Rules a Skillful Idea?
18. What Are Some Answers to America'south Gun Violence?
19. How Much Should Professional person Cheerleaders Be Paid?
20. When Does a Halloween Costume Cross the Line?
21. Why Aren't More Girls Pursuing Careers in Computing and Tech Fields?
22. Is Competitiveness an Obstacle to Making or Keeping Friendships?
23. Should Prostitution Be Legal?
24. Should Voting Be Mandatory?
25. What Do Nosotros Owe Our Veterans?
26. How Big of a Trouble Is Sexting?
27. How Important Is It to Be Bonny in Our Gild?
28. What Role Should the Constabulary Have in Schools?
29. When Is Fauna Testing Justified?
xxx. What Current Slang Words and Expressions Do Yous Call back Volition Suffer?
31. What Responsibility Do We Have to Have In Refugees From Global Humanitarian Crises?
32. Who Are the People – Famous or Not – You Admire Most? Why?
33. If You Were a Super Rich Philanthropist, What Causes Would You Support?
34. Now That Women Tin can Serve in All Combat Roles in the U.S. Military, Should They Also Exist Required to Register for the Draft?
35. What is Your Reaction to Donald Trump'due south Proposal to Bar Muslims From Entering the State?
36. What New Tech Ideas Does the World Demand?
37. What Is Your Opinion of Hoverboards?
38. Is America Headed in the Right Direction?
39. Do We Demand More Various Superheroes?
xl. Should Colleges Find a Better Way to Admit Students?
41. What — if Anything — Does the Electric current Hollywood Moving picture Industry Lack?
42. Is It Possible to Split Art From the Artist Who Created It?
43. Should Students Wait College to Be Similar Domicile?
44. Are Schoolhouse Dress Codes a Proficient Idea?
45. What Do You Think of Beyoncé'southward 'Formation' and Her Operation at the Super Bowl?
46. Is Apple Right in Refusing to Unlock the iPhone of One of the San Bernardino Killers?
47. Should Nosotros Call back Twice Before Buying Online?
48. Is Social Media Making Us More Narcissistic?
49. Should Displays of Art Be Welcome in All Public Spaces?
50. Should Prisoners Be Given the Opportunity to Go an Education?
51. Do We Need a Improve Mode to Teach Math?
52. What Do You lot Call back of Donald Trump?
53. Should the Legal Age to Buy Tobacco Be Raised From 18 to 21?
54. Do Professional Women Need a 'Girls' Lounge'?
55. Should Anybody Learn at Least I Other Language?
56. If Teenagers Are Such Bad Drivers, Should They Be Allowed to Bulldoze?
57. Should Transgender People Be Immune to Utilize the Bathroom of Their Choice?
58. Practise You lot Like or Dislike That So Many N.C.A.A. Basketball game Teams Habiliment the Aforementioned Slogan?
59. Should There Be More Educational Video Games in School?
60. Should Schools Be Pedagogy, and Evaluating, Social-Emotional Skills Like 'Grit'?
61. Do Female Athletes Go Short Shrift?
62. Do We Need to Teach Boys and Men to Be More Emotionally Honest?
63. Is a Sorority a Expert Place for a Feminist?
64. Are Models Likewise Skinny?
65. Should All High School Students Be Able to Get a Summer Task if They Want One?
66. Should We Exist Privy to the Lives of Celebrities' Children?
67. Should Loftier Schools Do More to Gear up You for Careers?
68. Is It Ethical to Genetically Engineer Animals?
69. Is Information technology Harder Being a Girl?
70. Should Distracted Driving Be Punished Like Drinking and Driving?
71. Should East-Cigarettes Be Banned for Teenagers?
72. Do We Demand a Higher Minimum Wage?
73. What New Emojis Does the Earth Need?
74. Who Should Decide Which Schoolhouse Restroom Transgender Students Can Utilize?
75. What Are the Five Greatest Inventions of All Time?
76. Is 'Redskins' an Offensive Proper noun for a Team?
77. Is This Teenage Prank Art?
78. Should Students Exist Nowadays at Parent-Instructor Conferences?
79. Is 'Be Yourself' Bad Advice?
80. Should Schools Cancel Summer Vacation?
81. Do Gorillas Belong in Zoos?

Questions for Creative, Personal or Reflective Writing

82. How Has Your Family unit Helped or Hindered Your Transition to a New School?
83. Practice You Find Information technology Easier to Brand New Friends Online or In Person?
84. Are You a Hoarder or a Minimalist (or Somewhere in the Middle)?
85. What Would Y'all Be Willing to Wait in a Really Long Line For?
86. What Heroic Acts Have You lot Performed or Witnessed?
87. What Ideas Do Yous Accept for Enhancing Your Community?
88. What Practise You Wish Y'all Could See, Hear, Read or Experience for the First Time All Over Over again?
89. Which 2016 Presidential Candidates Interest Yous Virtually?
xc. What Current Trends Annoy Yous?
91. Practise You Recognize Yourself in Descriptions of 'Generation Z'?
92. Who Are Your Sports Heroes?
93. What Food or Flavour Do Yous Call up Tasting for the First Time?
94. Are You Distracted by Your Phone?
95. Accept You Ever Felt Left Out?
96. Accept You Fallen Into 'Friends' or Any Other Older Goggle box Shows?
97. Have Your Teachers or Textbooks Ever Gotten It Wrong?
98. What'southward the Story Behind Your Name?
99. Does What Yous Wearable Say Anything About You lot as a Person?
100. Which Artists Would You Similar to See Team Up?
101. Do You Bask Playing Games or Solving Puzzles?
102. What Advice Do You Have for Younger Kids Almost Navigating Social Media?
103. What Are Your Most Memorable Stories Nigh Wildlife?
104. Are You 'Addicted' to Texting?
105. If You Could Time-Travel, Where Would You Get?
106. What Issues in the 2016 Presidential Race Are Most Important to You?
107. What's So Great About YouTube?
108. How Excited Are You About the Possibilities of Virtual Reality?
109. Are You a Off-white-Weather condition Fan?
110. How Well Do You lot Know Your Neighbors?
111. Is Your Family Stressed, Tired and Rushed?
112. Would You Desire to Hang Out at a Cat Buffet?
113. What Would You Similar to Say to the People of Paris?
114. Would Yous Share an Embarrassing Story Online?
115. What Are Your Thanksgiving Traditions?
116. What Are Yous Grateful For?
117. How Existent Are You lot on Social Media?
118. What's Your Favorite T-Shirt?
119. How Do You Try to Reduce Your Impact on the Environs?
120. What Are the All-time Books You've Read This Yr?
121. Does Your School Offer Enough Opportunities to Larn Computer Programming?
122. Do Screens Get in the Way of the Rest of Your Life?
123. What Are the Best Things in Life and Are They Free?
124. Do You Become Enough Exercise?
125. What Are the Best Things Yous Ate in 2015?
126. What Kind of Tourist Are You?
127. What Were the All-time and Worst Things About 2015 for You?
128. What Was the Biggest Tendency of 2015 — and Did You Cover Information technology or Skip It?
129. What Reality Television Show Would Yous Want to Be a Guest Star On?
130. What Is Your Most Prized Possession?
131. What Part Does Stress Play in Your Life?
132. What Are the Sounds That Brand Up the Background Noise in Your Life?
133. Is Winter 'Cuffing Flavour' a Existent Miracle?
134. What Advice Would You Give to Your Mom, Dad or Guardian on How to Be a Better Parent?
135. What Musicians or Bands Hateful the Most to You?
136. Where in the Globe Would You Nigh Like to Travel?
137. When Was the Concluding Time You Did Something That Scared or Challenged You?
138. Under What Conditions Do You Do Your Best Work?
139. What Role Does Hip-Hop Play in Your Life?
140. How Accept Y'all Helped a Friend in a Time of Need?
141. What Are Your Healthy Habits?
142. Do Y'all Wish Your Conversations Were Less Small Talk and More 'Big Talk'?
143. What National or International Events That Y'all Lived Through Do You Call back All-time?
144. What Are Your Favorite Board Games?
145. Accept You Experienced Racism or Other Kinds of Discrimination in School?
146. Have Your Parents and Teachers Given You Room to Create?
147. How Materialistic Are You lot?
148. How Much Do You Worry Well-nigh Taking the Sabbatum or ACT?
149. How Trustworthy Are You?
150. What Are Your Reactions to the Results of the Primaries So Far?
151. Accept You Ever Been Humiliated by a Instructor? How Did information technology Impact You?
152. What Does Your Trunk Language Communicate?
153. How Do You Celebrate Your Birthday?
154. When Have Yous Failed? What Did You Learn From Information technology?
155. What's Your Dream Job?
156. What's Your Favorite Joke?
157. What Songs Are on Your Favorite Playlist?
158. How Frequently Practice You Fight With Your Parents?
159. Why Do We Honey Watching Animal Videos So Much?
160. What Old, Worn Out Matter Can You Only Non Part With?
161. How Do You lot Deal With Haters?
162. What Are the Animals in Your Life?
163. What Skill Could You lot Teach in Ii Minutes?
164. What Do You Know Near Your Family'southward History?
165. Where Do You Remember Yous Volition Live When Yous Are an Adult?
166. What Makes Yous Happy?
167. What Marketing Slogan Would You lot Use for Your Boondocks or City?
168. Do Yous Want to Be 'Promposed' To?
169. How Often Does Your Family Eat Together?
170. What Would You Miss if You Left Your School?
171. How Do You Celebrate Earth Day?
172. What Have You lot Learned From Older People?
173. Would You Want to Take a Gap Twelvemonth After Loftier School?
174. Do You lot Meet Great Disparities of Wealth in Your Community?
175. Where, and How, Do Yous Watch Movies?
176. How Much Practice You lot Think About Your Weight?
177. What Aspects of Modern Life Annoy Yous Most?
178. What Has Arts Instruction Done For Y'all?
179. What Are Your Earliest Memories of Music?
180. What Does Feminism Mean to You lot?
181. What Words Do Y'all Detest?
182. What Practice You Collect?
183. What's Your Favorite Candy?
184. What Famous Person Would You Like to Visit Your School?
185. Are You lot an Introvert or an Extrovert?
186. What Are Your Favorite Viral Videos?
187. What Boring Activities in Your Life Would Yous Like to Liven Up?
188. Exercise You Hang Out in the Park?
189. Have Yous Inherited Your Parents' Attitudes Toward Their Looks?
190. Tin Y'all Sum Up a Recent News Consequence in Merely Six Words?
191. Do Your Parents Try As well Hard to Exist Cool?
192. What Do You Want to Exist When You Abound Upward?

Not Enough? Here are 183 Pupil Opinion questions from 2015, every bit well as 184 from 2014, 182 from 2013, 163 from 2012, 150 from 2011, and 55 and another 40 from 2010.

Please annotation: From June 17 through Aug. 26, we'll inquire only one Student Opinion question: What Interested You Well-nigh in The Times This Week? Posting an answer whatsoever week will automatically enter anyone thirteen to xix years erstwhile in our Summertime Reading Contest.