Lesson # in unit: 3 Topic: Community Agreements

Objectives:
 LT #7: Identify characteristics of effective civil discourse.
 LT #8: How will we have productive and meaningful discussions about political issues in this class?

Standards:
 USG.5.2 Analyze the roles and responsibilities of citizens in Indiana and the United States.
 USG.5.9 Use information from a variety of resources to describe and discuss current American political
issues.
Lesson Agenda:
Bell work:
 What was the WORST class discussion experience you’ve ever had? Why was it a bad
5 min
experience?
 Call on students to share their answers—no names allowed!
Community agreements
 Explain to students that this course will involve a lot of class discussion, and we need to come
up with a list of community agreements that everyone will abide by so that these discussions
can be meaningful. They do not all have to agree with each other or with me by the end of the
discussion, but they should be able to understand WHY they disagree.
5 min  Put students in groups of 3-4 to discuss the question below. Let students know that each
group will need to appoint someone who can report out their best story or a summary of
what they said.
o Now that you have defined a “bad” class discussion—what should a “good” class
discussion be like? What should it look like? What should you get out of it? How
should you feel during and after it?
 Call on students to share.
o Record ideas on a PowerPoint or document that students can view so that they can
7 min refer to the list. Ideally, kids should get around to listing things like: they learn about
each other and about the content, can walk away feeling heard rather than angry, and
hear a variety of perspectives.
 In their small groups, instruct students to create a list of principles that we as a class can
follow in order to produce the GOOD outcomes we listed and avoid the BAD outcomes they
discussed. Their list must meet the requirements below.
8 min o 3-5 bullet points
o Frame statements to be positive rather than negative. (Instead of saying “don’t get
distracted,” frame the idea as “be engaged.”)
 Each group should appoint someone who can share out their list with the class.
 Call on each group to share their list. As students share, compile a running list on the board or
on a PowerPoint slide.
 Ask each subsequent group, “What can you add to our list?” Groups often have similar or
10 min
overlapping ideas—this phrasing leaves it to the students to decide if their idea has already
been covered, or if their specific wording/phrasing is important enough that it should be a
separate bullet point on the list.
5 min  Give students time to read through the compiled list and first silently consider:
o How can these ideas be reworded/combined to be as clear and succinct as possible?
We can only have 4-6 guidelines total.
o How can we reframe negative statements to be positive?
o Does anything need to be removed, edited, added?
o Are these expectations reasonable for everyone in the class, regardless of their
personal ideologies and experiences?
o Do these principles help prevent the bad discussion experience your group described
earlier? How so?
o Is there anything missing from this list? Do these principles include a plan for what we
will do when something is said that makes the conversation explode, or prematurely
die?
  Then, prompt students to discuss their answers and proposed changes with their small group.
 Call on students to share their ideas for final edits on the community agreements, and vote on
the revisions as they are suggested. We are not finished with the agreements until we get 4-6
guidelines that the entire class can agree to.
 The final list should include the following ideas:
15 min o Use “I” statements. / Speak for yourself.
o Embrace messiness and kindness. / Give others the benefit of the doubt.
o Practice accountability. / Make a plan when someone says something hurtful—
intentionally or not. (intent vs. impact)
o Notice equity of voice (move up/move back, three before me)
After each class has created their community agreements, print/write them out on a poster paper
*** and hang each poster where it can be easily read from anywhere in the room. Refer to these
community agreements often—especially before small group or whole-class discussions.
Materials: Canvas:

 PowerPoint  Daily agenda

 Scrap paper/markers for groups to brainstorm
their lists of community agreements