Pros & Cons Organizer

Pros and Cons list (arthobbit, iStockphoto)
Why use it?
- To process and filter information from an article, oral presentation or video
- To help students learn to organize information that is related to an issue
- To provide a structure to help students analyse features and/or options related to an issue
- To help students think critically about an issue to help formulate personal opinions and decisions
Tips for success
- Prior to having students work on a Pros & Cons Organizer, you may wish to model the process with the class on an overhead or interactive white board.
- Introduce students to the Pros & Cons Organizer with a topic, issue or event they can relate to, such as the pros and cons of taking Driver’s Education.
How do I use it?
- Chose an article for students to read or a video to view that presents opposing, or positive (pros) and negative (cons) perspectives about an issue or topic.
- You may wish to have the students analyse the pros & cons of a topic from different perspectives or points of view depending on the topic, such as:
- Personal or class perspective
- Socioeconomic group perspective
- Regional, provincial, national or global perspectives
- Provide students with a Pros & Cons Organizer reproducible to complete.
- A Pros & Cons Organizer may be done as an individual activity, a pair and share activity or group activity.
Variations
- Once completed Pros & Cons Organizers can be used in different ways:
- Students pair up and share their organizer with a partner.
- Have a class discussion about the various pros and cons students have determined and summarize the students’ ideas.
Extensions
- Students could prepare a written or oral argument presenting their reasons for defending or supporting their position on a topic, issue, etc., based on their developed Pros & Cons Organizers (e.g., why they support or oppose the genetic engineering of food crops).
Using this Strategy
Create Your Own
Pros & Cons Organizer [Google doc] [PDF]
Create Your Own
Pros & Cons Organizer [Google doc] [PDF]
Ready to Use
- A Merry Molecular Christmas: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- A Taste of Heavy Metal: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Algae biofuel: can pond scum power the planet?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Are Wind Farms a Threat to Wildlife?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Can Chocolate Make Your Brain Work Better?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Canadian Invaders!: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Catalytic Converters: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Clay-Adams Brain: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Cows, Methane and Climate Change: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Dealing with Asteroids and Other Space Hazards: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Energy Efficiency at Home: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Eye vs. Camera: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Farmed Salmon vs. Wild Salmon: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Genome Editing: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Green Chemistry 101: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How Do Plants Use Chemical Signalling?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How Do Sleeping Bags Work?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How Do Wind Farms Affect Birds and Bats?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How Does a Lithium-Ion Battery Work?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How It Works: Hydroelectric Power: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Hydraulics 101: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Is Vaping Safer Than Smoking?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's... a Drone!: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Microbial Fuel Cells: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Phages vs. Antibiotics: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Physical & Chemical Changes in the Kitchen: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Pollinators are important: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Polystyrene: The Pros, the Cons, the Chemistry: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Reaching the Arctic: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Should We Eat Bugs?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Space Junk: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Tapping Underground Energy with Heat Pumps: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Testing Parachutes for Mars: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- The Benefits of Going Outside: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- The Dirt on Soil Conservation: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- The History and Uses of Hydrogen: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence - and How You Can Help!: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Thermopower and the Body Heat-Powered Flashlight: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- What are the Pros and Cons of Ethanol Biofuel?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- What are the Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- What if You Could Charge Your Phone Using Radio Waves?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Who Created the Electronic Synthesizer?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
Ready to Use
- A Merry Molecular Christmas: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- A Taste of Heavy Metal: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Algae biofuel: can pond scum power the planet?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Are Wind Farms a Threat to Wildlife?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Can Chocolate Make Your Brain Work Better?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Canadian Invaders!: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Catalytic Converters: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Clay-Adams Brain: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Cows, Methane and Climate Change: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Dealing with Asteroids and Other Space Hazards: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Energy Efficiency at Home: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Eye vs. Camera: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Farmed Salmon vs. Wild Salmon: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Genome Editing: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Green Chemistry 101: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How Do Plants Use Chemical Signalling?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How Do Sleeping Bags Work?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How Do Wind Farms Affect Birds and Bats?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How Does a Lithium-Ion Battery Work?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- How It Works: Hydroelectric Power: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Hydraulics 101: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Is Vaping Safer Than Smoking?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's... a Drone!: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Microbial Fuel Cells: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Phages vs. Antibiotics: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Physical & Chemical Changes in the Kitchen: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Pollinators are important: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Polystyrene: The Pros, the Cons, the Chemistry: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Reaching the Arctic: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Should We Eat Bugs?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Space Junk: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Tapping Underground Energy with Heat Pumps: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Testing Parachutes for Mars: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- The Benefits of Going Outside: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- The Dirt on Soil Conservation: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- The History and Uses of Hydrogen: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence - and How You Can Help!: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Thermopower and the Body Heat-Powered Flashlight: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- What are the Pros and Cons of Ethanol Biofuel?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- What are the Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- What if You Could Charge Your Phone Using Radio Waves?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
- Who Created the Electronic Synthesizer?: Pros & Cons Organizer Reproducible [Google Doc] [PDF]
References
Toronto District School Board. (2004). Instructional strategies for making connections in science (grades 9-12), (pp. 101). Toronto District School Board.
Liberty Learning Commons. (n.d.). Organizing ideas - Making judgements: Pros & cons. Waterloo Regional District School Board.
Worksheet Library. (n.d.). Decision tree graphic organizer worksheets.