Civic Engagement and How Students Can Get Involved

What rights and abilities do you have when it comes to advocating for issues you believe in? Use the lesson plan to discuss civic engagement and the role citizens play in making their voices heard.

Reinventing American Democracy

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the challenges facing American democracy and then spur a conversation around suggestions for revitalizing civic engagement and strengthening democratic values.

Perspectives

A blended learning program that distills rigorous behavioral science research into practical skills that help improve students’ communication, sense of belonging, and openness to diverse perspectives. Anyone can use the program, but we make Perspectives free to educators and their students.

Co-Creating Resilient Group Norms

This activity aids in establishing explicit standards describing what students can expect to experience in a classroom and how they’re expected to participate.

Silent Listening With a Partner

This activity challenges students to practice listening to understand – not simply to respond— and allows them to share without fear of interruption.

Hopes and Concerns

This activity allows students to reflect, write down, and share out their hopes and concerns around engaging in constructive dialogue about issues of importance.

Dialogue Question Design Worksheet

Good questions are foundational to any constructive dialogue. This activity helps instructors craft questions that have a higher likelihood of promoting dialogue that connects – rather than divides.

The Questions Game

In pairs, students will take turns sharing a political stance they hold, and their partner will listen and only ask questions (rather than respond) in order to learn as much as they can about their partner’s views and why they hold those views.