Lesson 1: Norms, Purpose, and the Value of Civil Discourse
Duration of Days: 3
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to explain why civil discourse is essential to democratic societies and establish shared discussion norms.
Why does civil discourse matter?
What makes discussion productive or destructive?
What responsibilities do participants have?
Civil discourse
Norms
Deliberation
Respectful disagreement
D2.CIV.7.9–12 – Apply civic virtues and democratic principles to public issues
D2.CIV.9.9–12 – Use deliberative processes to address public problems
D1.INQ.1.9–12 – Explain how a question reflects an enduring civic issue
Analyzing claims
Evaluating reasoning
Listening and responding
Students examine examples of effective and ineffective discourse and collaboratively establish class discussion norms.
DOK Level: 3
Connections to online comment culture
Discussion of public breakdowns in discourse
“Being civil means being passive”
“Strong disagreement is disrespectful”
Norm co-creation
Sentence stems
Low-risk discussion formats
Participation in norm-setting
Written reflection
Discussion clips
Norm examples
Student input