Exile vs. Death

This moral dilemma worksheet is designed for students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 to explore ethical reasoning, philosophical argumentation, and civic responsibility through the trial of Socrates. Learners examine four thought-provoking scenarios that ask whether Socrates should have chosen exile instead of death, requiring careful analysis of Socratic philosophy, justice, integrity, and personal moral judgment supported by evidence and reasoning.

Learning Goals

• Ethical Dilemmas in Philosophy (Grades 6-8)
  Students evaluate complex moral choices using principles from Socratic ethics and virtue.
• Critical Thinking & Argumentation
  Learners defend positions with logical reasoning, textual evidence, and clear explanations.
• Civic Responsibility & Justice
  Activities connect individual moral choices to laws, citizenship, and societal values.
• Philosophical Interpretation
  Students analyze how Socrates’ beliefs about truth and integrity shape his decisions.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with middle school ELA, social studies, philosophy, and civics standards.
• Discussion-Ready Format
  Scenarios encourage debate, reflection, and respectful consideration of multiple viewpoints.
• Supports Evidence-Based Reasoning
  Prompts guide students to reference philosophical ideas rather than personal opinion alone.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for humanities units, Socratic seminars, writing assignments, or assessment tasks.
• Printable & No-Prep
  Easy to implement in classroom or homeschool settings.

This Exile vs. Death worksheet helps students grapple with enduring questions about morality, justice, and personal conviction. By evaluating Socrates’ choice and defending their reasoning, learners strengthen ethical thinking, argumentation skills, and philosophical understanding. Whether used in an ELA, social studies, or philosophy classroom, this printable resource fosters meaningful discussion and higher-order reasoning around one of history’s most influential moral decisions.

This worksheet is part of our Apology collection.