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Productive Discourse - Modern Day Persuasion (2022): Introduction

Opening Activity

Connecting with your Audience: Focusing on "Empathy and Respect" 

The speaker in this TEDTalk argues that those who "craft a message that reflects their opponents' moral values are more likely to open minds". The more polarized society becomes, the more people struggle to have productive discourse about divisive subject matter. To that end, we ask ourselves the following essential questions

How do you discuss debatable issues in a productive way?

How can you prepare to persuade an audience with substantially different ideas from you? 

Learning Targets 

Today I will analyze a variety of resources connected to a current issue, scrutinize the bias of information, and evaluate evidence from the text set to assemble a balanced argument. 

So that I can purposefully reflect on the essential questions ( see above).

I'll know I'm successful when I answer the questions: 

  • How does the text type & / or authorship of a source impact your assessment of information? 
  • What are some ways the creators demonstrate their points of view OR bias regarding topics?

Guiding Questions

As you watch the TEDTalk, consider the following questions:

  • Why do people with different beliefs often "talk past one another"?

  • How does recognizing bias, in ourselves and in those around us, relate to the ideas in this TEDTalk?

  • What can be done, according to the speaker, “to chip away at the polarization in our everyday lives”?

  • So What? How do these ideas relate to you as a student and as a citizen?

TEDTalk

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