Ethics Card Sort: Death Penalty

The issue about whether or not society should execute convicted murderers is highly controversial. Recent polls still show a lot of popular support for the death penalty but Parliament still opposes its reintroduction. In countries where the death penalty does exist, a large number of those on death row are often people who are foreigners, outsiders or misfits. Black people make up 10% of US society but 30% of those on death row. Could this be due to racist judges and juries? This outstanding resources has been tried and tested in the classroom over many years and aims to help students understand some of the main arguments for and against the death penalty. It can be used as a starter, plenary or main activity to accompany any main stream text book or resource on this topic. The nature of the task means that it appeals to the full range of ability.

The main activity involves getting students to cut out the cards in lesson, organize them into their most persuasive order under the two main headings and then sick them into their books. Once students have fed back their results to a class discussion, they can then have a go at the extended writing activity. Alternatively, they can create a key and then sort through the cards and then stick the sheet into their book or you could cut out the cards and place them into an envelope for them to sort prior to a discussion on the topic. This is a great resource that can be easily adapted to suit your classroom and expectations.

When you purchase this resource, you will be able to download a single page Word Document which contains a learning objective, instructions, two heading cards as well as sixteen statements that can sorted under them.

The aims of this lesson / activity are:

Theme: Moral Ethics and Philosophy
Know: What is the death penalty?
Understand: What are the moral arguments for and against the death penalty?
Evaluate: Should society execute convicted murderers?

WILF - What am I Looking For?
Identify and describe - What is the death penalty?
Explain - the moral arguments for and against the death penalty?
Analyse - Should society execute convicted murderers?

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Kind Regards

Roy