Fostering Civil Discourse: How Do We Talk About Issues That Matter?
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The ideas and tools in this guide will help you prepare students to engage in reflective conversations on topics that matter.
![Student art on the topic of "we choose"](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/we_chose_ctp_344330005_o.jpg?h=c6d0d1c4&itok=r8HMDWBE)
David M. Kennedy: "Twoness”
In this film clip from American Creed, historian David Kennedy discusses the complexity of American identity.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_1344.jpg)
Big Paper Example
In a Big Paper activity, students respond silently to a text excerpt or image by writing their comments on a shared paper.
![A text quotation taped on a large piece of paper with student feedback written in markers.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/Big_Paper_Example.jpg?h=481317ef&itok=oivQYEYv)
Taking Down the Confederate Flag
Learn about the recent debate over the Confederate flag in South Carolina following the murders at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in 2015.
![Southeast view of the South Carolina State House with Strom Thurmond statue in the foreground.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/South_Carolina_State_House%2C_Columbia%2C_Southeast_view_with_Strom_Thurmond_Statue_FH2170671.jpeg?h=773321b5&itok=phpSrnZx)
Political Polarization in the United States
This Explainer defines the term political polarization and provides information on how it impacts US politics and society.
![Abstract red, white, and blue painting with thick brush strokes.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/PoliticalPolarization_full-res.jpg?h=5eef411c&itok=dyNgzenB)
Free and Fair Elections
This Explainer describes the standards that governments need to meet before, during, and after an election to ensure that the election is "free and fair."
![A line of U.S. voters submitting their ballots behind privacy screens.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Midterm_Elections_high-res_AP_17307716664453__Medium_res.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=qQHpMtyK)
How the Parkland Students Pulled off a Massive National Protest in Only 5 Weeks
Learn about the movement to end gun violence launched by Parkland students after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
![Millbrook High School students demonstrate against gun violence outside their school in Frederick County, Va., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, following a school shooting in which over a dozen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., one week ago. (Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star via AP)](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_2018_StudentProtestAfterParkland_FH289815.jpg?h=ffeece36&itok=XUEFh1qx)
"More in Common Than We Thought" – Chicago, Parkland Youth Stand in Solidarity
Read about the meeting of student activists committed to ending gun violence from Parkland and Chicago.
![Organizers Cameron Kasky, left, and Jackie Corin, student survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School address fellow students before boarding buses in Parkland, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, to rally outside the state capitol. The students plan to hold a rally Wednesday in hopes that it will put pressure on the state's Republican-controlled Legislature to consider a sweeping package of gun-control laws, something some GOP lawmakers said Monday they would consider.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_2018_ParklandGunControlRally_FH158108.jpg?h=c8c4bcd6&itok=tgHv9vT1)
Why MLK Encouraged 225,000 Chicago Kids to Cut Class in 1963
Learn about the 1963 Chicago Public School Boycott, when students demanded better schools for black neighborhoods and equal opportunity for all.
![Crowd fills LaSalle Street between City Hall and building housing Board of Education as hundreds of demonstrators marched in Chicago on Oct. 22, 1963 following a one-day boycott of public schools.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_1963_AfricanAmericanIntegrationAntiSchoolBoycott1963IL_FH2169828.jpg?h=12de4a96&itok=CAfhRaQg)
“I Am Jewish”
Journalist Thomas Friedman reflects on his identity as he responds to the phrase "I Am Jewish."
![High school students participate in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2018_ACommunityConversationfeaturingCondoleezzaRice_FH280418.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=7m_kxiTM)
Di'Vennci Lucas: "Colorblind"
In this clip from American Creed, Lucas, a first generation Stanford University student, reflects on the relationship between race and identity.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_754.jpg)