Fall 2007

Civil Conversation Handout

In any school or classroom, conflict can be destructive or constructive. Today, you are going to use a constructive methods, called a "civil conversation" to discuss a conflict that has come up at your school.

Answer the question, "What is a civil conversation?" Use the Rules for Civil Conversations below to help you.

Rules for Civil Conversations

• Participate in the conversation.
• Listen carefully to what others are saying.
• Ask clarifying questions if you do not understand a point raised.
• Be respectful of what others are saying.
• Refer to the text to support your ideas.
• Focus on ideas, not personalities.

Working as a Class…

Begin the civil conversation by working with your teacher to:

1. Identify the incident or issue that sparked the conflict.
   
2. Find a broader, underlying issue that is the cause of the conflict.
   
3. Narrows the broader issue to a single Discussion Question that can be answered by an "Agree" or "Disagree" statement and explained by answering "Why?" or "Why not?"

What is your Discussion Question?

Working in Small Groups…

You are going to brainstorm Agree AND disagree answers to your Discussion Question.

Rules for Brainstorming

1. Create a discussion question.
2. Set a time limit for the brainstorm. Work as fast as you can to brainstorm many ideas.
3. Build on each other's ideas.
4. Do not criticize or judge ideas. That slows down the brainstorm.
5. Write down every idea.

Important: You must brainstorm Agree AND Disagree answers, even if you feel strongly about one side of the Discussion Question!

We agree. Why? Reasons for agreeing.

We disagree. Why not? Reasons for disagreeing.

Share back. Now, reporters are going to present their Agree and Disagree answers to the entire class. Be sure to give your reasons for both your Agree AND Disagree answers.

With the whole class…

Guided discussion--Choose Best Answers. You are now going to discuss the various answers listed on the board to find the most persuasive points of agreement and disagreement about your Discussion Question.

1. Look at all the answers under Agree and Disagree columns.
2. Choose the three to six Agree AND Disagree answers that have the most checks or asterisks. Are they the best? Are others better?
3. Draw a line through the "Agree" answers that you think are weakest.

Debrief

Now you are going to look at the answers still left.

1. What were the most compelling reasons for each side?
2. Were there areas of agreement? What were they?
3. What common ground did you find with other members of the group?
4. Did you gain respect for other people's opinions? Which opinions?
5. Did you gain a deeper understanding of your own opinions? Explain.

Taking Action

Discuss with your teacher:

• Does this conflict have an impact on morale or the learning environment at your school?
• What can you do to address this problem?

If you decide to create an Action Project to address the conflict or controversy, refer to Online Lesson Two: Building an Action Project to help you plan and implement your project.

 

(c) 2007, Constitutional Rights Foundation