| CIVIL DISCOURSE PLAN |
| ENGAGE: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE |
SUPPORTING RESOURCES |
- Begin by asking participants if they are familiar with the concept of factions or interest groups.
- Explain that in a democratic society, different groups with similar interests are called factions, and they can have both positive and negative impacts.
- Ask participants to name any factions they can think of (historical or contemporary) and list on board or chart paper.
- Have a brief discussion to explore their understanding and examples of factions in contemporary society.
- Discuss examples of groups they belong to, such as clubs, sports teams, or social media communities.
- Introduce Federalist #10 as an essay written by James Madison to address the issue of factions in the early United States.
|
Chart Paper (1 sheet/group)
Markers
Sticky Notes
|
| EXPLORE: GUIDED/OPEN INQUIRY |
SUPPORTING RESOURCES |
- Tell participants that today we will be focusing on some of the big issues and ideas being grappled with during the early days of the United States of America.
Political Parties 60-second podcasts.
- Share the 1st podcast, “Functions of Political Parties” with your students. While they view/listen to the recording, ask students to pay attention to references being made to some of Madison’s thoughts about the impact of factions on the new nation.
- After watching/listening to the podcast, ask one student to share out a brief summary of the ideas and topics discussed. Prompt up to two additional students to correct or expand upon the shared summary.
- Repeat this process for the remaining 4 podcasts or utilize the optional small group activity below.
Small Group Activity (Optional)
- Divide the class into small groups (4-5 students each). Prior to the activity, set up “stations” with each station step up with 1 of the 4 remaining podcasts. Assign each group to a specific station.
- Podcast episodes can be cued up with a link or QR code on the paper. Students can use phones or devices, or tablets can be set at each station.
- Tell each group that they will have 5 minutes at each station until they are prompted to rotate.
- When they arrive, they will have one minute to actively listen to the podcast (taking notes on key points, interesting facts, or any thoughts that arise). At the end of the podcast, students will have 4 minutes to write down their reaction questions and thoughts on that station’s chart paper.
- After 5 minutes, students will be prompted to rotate counterclockwise to the next station.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 until each of the stations have been by each of the groups
- Each group will have 5 minutes to review the reflection notes found on the chart paper at their final station.
- Prompt groups to identify any trends or common reactions on their chart paper.
- At the end of the 5 minutes, ask each group to share their findings.
- EXTENSION OPPORTUNITY: Provide participants with text of George Washington’s Farewell Address (1798) referenced in the 5th podcast. Explore more deeply his fears of political parties.
- Which of these fears are still relevant today?
- EXTENSION OPPORTUNITY: Provide participants with text of Barry Goldwater’s Republican Nomination Acceptance Speech (1964) referenced in the 5th podcast. Explore more deeply how he defines conservatism while defining the goals and views of the Republican party at the time.
- How do these views relate to the current views and actions of today’s Republican party?
Beyond the Legacy Video Guide: Political Parties.
- EXTENSION OPPORTUNITY: After discussion of the 60-second podcasts, share the Beyond the Legacy Video: Political Parties and Conservatism. Use any or all of the questions noted below and additional questions in the resource Beyond the Legacy Video Guide: Political Parties.
- What is the essential view about central government power that relates to conservatism?
- How did the Republicans and Democrats in the 1960’s view Civil rights in relation to conservatism?
- What does Dr. Brooks say the parties have done for each other with regard to liberal and conservative threads throughout history?
- What are the purposes of political parties?
- How does the popular vote in 1824 shape the function and role of political parties?
- According to Dr. Brooks, what is one of the biggest challenges to political parties today?
- From your own views and experiences, what do you think about this challenge?
- Now that participants have been exposed to references to Federalist 10, transition to a review of that text to deepen their understanding of the nature of political parties, factions, and their role in our history and today.
|
Political Parties and Conservatism in American History 60-Second Civics Podcast
Federalist 10
George Washington’s Farewell Address
Barry Goldwater Speech
Beyond the Legacy Video: Political Parties and Conservatism in American History
Beyond the Legacy Video Guide: Political Parties.
|
EXPLAIN: DISCUSS & SHARE KNOWLEDGE FROM TEXT
|
SUPPORTING RESOURCES |
Discourse Launch Activity:
- Begin by asking participants if they are familiar with the concept of factions or interest groups. Explain that in a democratic society, different groups with similar interests are called factions, and they can have both positive and negative impacts.
- Have a brief class discussion to explore their understanding and examples of factions in contemporary society. Discuss examples of groups they belong to, such as clubs, sports teams, or social media communities.
- Introduce Federalist #10 as an essay written by James Madison to address the issue of factions in the early United States.
Primary Text Inspectional Read:
- Distribute the texts, “Federalist #10”. Discuss with participants what they anticipate the text is about.
- Have them number the paragraphs in the text (1-24). Then ask participants to read the text while highlighting unfamiliar words and phrases.
Vocabulary:
- Have participants share the words and phrases they found unfamiliar while a volunteer lists them on the (interactive) white board. Be sure to include:
- Factions
- Democratic
- Ratification
- declamations
- Liberty
- Compromise
- Checks and Balances
- Individual Rights
- Common good
- Democracy
- Assign the words and phrases to groups of participants to research and define. Then have the groups share out to the entire class and discuss until all participants are comfortable with the surface meaning of the text.
Analytical Read:
- Have participants read through the text selection again, slowly highlighting the 3 most impactful lines or sentences.
- Then in the margins of the selections, ask students to write notes on what makes those lines or sentences so compelling
|
Chart Paper (1 sheet/group)
Timer (optional)
Sticky Notes
Markers
Federalist #10
Highlighters
|
| ELABORATE: APPLY NEW LEARNING TO CIVIL DISCOURSE |
SUPPORTING RESOURCES |
CIVIL DISCOURSE MODEL #1:
- Paideia Seminar: A Paideia Seminar is a collaborative, thought-provoking dialogue about a text selection, facilitated with open ended questions. The main purpose of the seminar is to arrive at a fuller understanding of the textual ideas and values, of ourselves, and of each other. The discussion occurring over days 2-3 will be on the Federalist #10 and James Madison’s views on factions. Participants will make active connections between these ideas and the impact political parties have on our lives today.
CIVIL DISCOURSE MODEL #2:
- Structured Academic Controversy (SAC): In the structured academic controversy, participants are assigned a stance on a question and work to come to a consensus on a contentious issue. The strategy reinforces the idea that before people commit to a side, they should seek to understand the argument of the other side. The goal with a SAC is not to win; rather, SACs should give participants adequate time to present content knowledge and diverse perspectives as well as time for clarification questions, small group discussion, large group discussion, and consensus building. The predetermined format allows for structure and support for multiple viewpoints to be heard, understood, and validated while informing everyone’s views on the question of whether political parties have had a net positive effect on America.
|
Paideia Plan -Federalist #10
- OPTION: Use the Paideia Plan template and engage with a different text such as George Washington’s Farewell Address or Barry Goldwater’s 1964 speech.
SAC Plan -Political Parties
|
| EVALUATE: ASSESS & AUTHENTICALLY ENGAGE |
SUPPORTING RESOURCES |
- Highlight some of the ideas discussed during the previous day’s discourse model(s). Be specific and explicitly connect comments and ideas to the participant that shared it.
- Return to the Inquiry question: Are the ideas and warnings about factions shared in Federalist #10 still applicable today? Or Have political parties had a net positive effect on America?
- As a pre-writing exercise, participants should be encouraged to revisit notes they captured on the margins of their text selection, personal recording space, etc. and during the Launch Activity to refresh their memories of earlier discussions on this topic.
- Select one or both activities below to assess and authentically engage participants as you conclude this discourse.
Writing Task:
- Are Madison’s thoughts and arguments from Federalist #10 still valid today? Pick a contemporary issue and evaluate whether or not factions have made the United States stronger or weaker as a result of their influence.
Extension Task:
- Identify and analyze a mission and/or vision statements from the official website of a faction of your choosing. Would Madison have agreed with their stated goals and practices?
|
|
This site is brought to you by the Center for Civic Education. The Center's mission is to promote an enlightened and responsible citizenry committed to democratic principles and actively engaged in the practice of democracy. The Center has reached more than 30 million students and their teachers since 1965. Learn more.
