Engaging in Productive Dialogue & Civic Discourse
Respectful Conversation Starters
This resource is a list of simple sentence starters to help guide respectful conversations. I find it to be a really helpful tool in the elementary setting during a Socratic seminar or any classroom discussion. I especially like to give students the language to support their ideas with evidence and to be open to changing their minds.
~Created by Beth Harju, 2022
This book is a great tool to help students see how to implement civic discourse/dialogue in their lives. The book contains references to many outside sources that can be used to teach civic discourse and dialogue. In addition. I have added a paradigm bingo sheet to help students start to practice civic discourse. The tool is simple. Students have to find someone in the class with the same view as them as well as someone with a different view than them. They must have two signatures in the box to have one spot filled. Of course, you can change the questions to suit your own needs in your communities. After playing bingo, you can see where students differ and create spaces with these topics and have them practice using a tool from The Coddling of the American Mind to have a discussion.
This lesson from the College, Career, and Community Writers Program is suggested for grades 4-6, but can be used as a review of good argument as conversation at nearly any level. This lesson challenges students to see an issue through multiple perspectives and take on one of those perspectives at a table of discourse.
~Created by Ambur Miller, 2022
This lesson introduces students to classes in Pre-Victorian England and gives them comparisons for Modern America. I created this gallery walk and questions to help student engage and understand the differences in Victorian economic groups and make connections to differences in economic classes today, as a way of addressing the struggle for happiness.
~Created by Adam Pritchett, 2022
This children's novel by Alfredo Soderguit is a simple way of exploring the acceptance of others. I have used it with my college age students to start conversations, but it could be used with other age groups as well.
Discussion Signs (3).pdfI created this resource to give students the opportunity to participate in dialogue with sign language as well as verbally. It gives introverted students a signal to show that they want to participate in the discussion safely and other students the opportunity to listen and respond without their voices.
~Created by Charissa Chatburn
A great framing of how people from opposite sides of the political spectrum arrive at their positions. A reflective listen with expert Johnathan Haidt helps provide the necessary perspective on how people from different world views are rational in their positions on big issues. In fact, you'll that the thinking methods are the same, just based in different core values as they relate to morality. A great opportunity to humanize and understand the political perspective of the people we disagree with.
This resource is a general organizational format for teaching current events. It is loaded with resources linked throughout. It is prepared by reimagining migration so a lot of the resources are focused on immigration and immigration experiences, but the format can be used for any current event topics. Provided scaffolding and framework around our discussion and engagement with current events is key to training ourselves and our students to be confident in issues facing our democracy.