An Introduction to

Civil Discourse

SHANNON EDWARDS

Day 1

Content

• Definitions

• Author’s Purpose Learning Target

• Word Web Group Practice

• Class Discussion

Definitions

Civil discourse is “robust, honest, frank, and constructive dialogue and deliberation that seeks to advance the public interest” (National Institute for Civil Discourse).

Discourse is just another way to describe an academic conversation.

Robust means that we share a variety of perspectives.

Honest and frank means that we should be able to state our opinions without fear.

Constructive means that we build understanding through sharing diverse perspectives.

Public interest relates to things that affect our community at the national, state, or local level.

Author’s Purpose Learning Target

• In this class, any creator of communication such as art, music, or speech, is considered the author.

• The ELA author’s purpose standard for grades 9-10 is; “Determine and author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that purpose.”

• Rhetoric is a broad term that relates to the tools or devices a person uses to communicate.

•Tone is an example of rhetoric that can indicate how an author feels about a topic.

• Repetition is a type of rhetoric that emphasizes what the author considers most important.

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Vocabulary

Organize your notes to record synonyms, related words and a definition for each word. Create Cornell Notes, a chart, web, outline, or any format you wish. We will work on the notes together.

• Factual

• Agree

• Productive

• Viewpoint

• Respect

• Disagreement

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Group Instructions

1. Individual work (4 minutes)

• Complete a word web or other organizer for your assigned word.

2. First group rotation (4 minutes)

• Revise your notes with your first group and add missing information.

2. Second group rotation (8 minutes)

• Share your notes for all the words with your new group.

• Write a definition for civil discourse that a middle school student would understand.

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Word Webs

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Let’s look at one together:

Civil

Word Webs

Now you try!

Factual

Word Webs

Now you try!

Agree

Word Webs

Now you try!

Productive

Word Webs

Now you try!

Viewpoint

Word Webs

Now you try!

Respect

• example (root word)

• example translation

Word Webs

Now you try!

Disagreement

• part of speech

• simple definition

Why does civil discourse matter in school?

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”

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"I think education is power. I think that being able to communicate with people is power. One of my main goals on the planet is to encourage people to empower themselves."

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—SIR WALTER SCOTT

Scottish Historian and Biographer

—OPRAH WINFREY

Television Personality

Class Discussion

Let’s practice what we learned.

ThePhoto by PhotoAuthor is licensed under CCYYSA.

Sphere Education Initiative works with �grades 5–12 educators and administrators to �provide them with the knowledge, experience, resources, and professional development opportunities to bring difficult conversations on the most pressing issues to the classroom and equip our country’s students to engage in civil dialogue. By bringing facts and reason to the conversation, and through emphasizing viewpoint diversity, Sphere works to rekindle �the foundation of civic culture in America.�