In an increasingly polarized society, training students to engage with controversial issues is essential. Most empirical research in this area has focused on older students. This study is based on a collaborative research project involving teachers and researchers aimed at developing teaching strategies for addressing controversial issues in Grades 4–6 (ages 10–12) at two Swedish schools with a student population with very different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. Consistent with previous research, the results indicate that what becomes controversial in classroom practice is context-dependent. The study also finds that as students age, their ability to consider various perspectives improves with age; however, this skill is primarily trainable, influencing the strategies teachers need to implement. Furthermore, teachers often felt foremost a responsibility to promote democratic values, leading them to adopt a norm-mediated role in the classroom rather than highlighting different perspectives and training students in critical thinking.