Argument Games for Secondary ELA
Ok, I’ll admit it. Our students are already good at arguing, but we can lean into that and embrace it to inspire persuasive essay writing and speaking.
Here are some games and activities to try out with your next persuasive unit in secondary ELA!
PowerPoint Parties: Straight from TikTok
In their pure sense, PowerPoint Parties started becoming popular due to COVID, and friends/ family members would get together (albeit virtually) to present a PowerPoint on a topic of interest. This eventually morphed into a fun game for high school and college-age students (is it ok for me to add “drinking game” in here?). Currently, PowerPoint Parties have become popular on TikTok, which provided the inspiration for this post. Head over to TikTok and search for “PowerPoint Parties” to find ideas… be forewarned that some of these ideas will not be “school appropriate” but still humorous.
For this activity, students create a PowerPoint to persuade their group members!
Read more about it here! Plus, pick up this Free Resource from Bespoke ELA.
Devil’s Advocate
One way to practice argumentation skills is through a game called “I Couldn’t Disagree More.” In this game, students play the devil’s advocate and disagree with debatable thematic claims.
In this game, students draw a thematic claim such as “Ambition leads to corruption” (a la Macbeth), and they begin their responses with “I couldn’t disagree more…” and disagree with each statement. Teams can earn points by creating the best-constructed response. Students can also take the game round-robin and continue disagreeing with each other in a circle until someone just can’t disagree any longer and runs out of ideas. That person can be out, and then the remaining students keep playing until there is a single winner.
The Rhetoric Board Game
I have designed a board game that tests students' abilities to identify rhetorical devices, give convincing arguments, and also give their own examples of devices. Students must select an avatar and race for the "Rhetorical Triangle" at the center of the board to win! Oh and... there's a twist... the person to the right decides how many spaces you get to move! Strategy is part of the game. Students will have fun trying to outwit their opponents while practicing argumentation.
Grab this game along with seven others in this bundle of Argument Games!
These games are sure to get your students arguing for the right reasons and engaging more in the persuasive process.
Do you have any other argument games that you like to play with your students?
We’d love to hear from you over here on the blog. Please leave a comment below!
Related Resource
You might also like:
Gothic-Inspired Creative Writing Assignments
The "Leads to" Thematic Claim Concept
Texts to Diversify Your Secondary Curriculum
About the Author
Meredith is the founder and creator of TeachWriting.org and Bespoke ELA. She has taught high school English for 14+ years in Dallas, Chicago, and New York City and holds a M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She has always had a connection to the written word-- through songwriting, screenplay writing, and essay writing-- and she enjoys the process of teaching students how to express their ideas. Meredith enjoys life with her sweet daughter and Yorkie.