How can poetry and art break down barriers to meaningful classroom discussion? How can language arts teachers help their students be more AWARE while engaging in civil discourse? In this episode, Shannon Edwards, a seasoned high school English teacher, shares her transformative approach to using visual art and poetry to help students—particularly multilingual learners—find their voices and engage in civil discourse. Discover how the AWARE framework creates structured pathways for academic discussion while building student confidence and breaking down the fear of disagreement that has become increasingly common among today's secondary students.

Main Topics:

• Teaching Diverse Learners and Finding Unexpected Pathways (00:29)
• Early Mistakes and the Power of Visual Entry Points (03:47)
• Breaking down the five steps of AWARE: Accept, Wonder, Assert, Respect, Establish (07:59)
• Overcoming the Fear of Disagreement (19:20)
• Unexpected Student Talent and Confidence Building (23:27)
• Practical Implementation Strategies (28:05)
• Speaking and Listening Standards in Practice (35:59)

Resources Mentioned

• Civil Discourse Through Slam Poetry Overview
• Memory Circles Lesson Plan
• Introduction to Civil Discourse Notes
• Introduction to Slam Poetry
• Using Poetry to Understand Place, Setting, and Tone
• Using Poetry to Understand Others
• Using Poetry to Understand Society
• The AWARE Framework - Five-step discussion structure (Accept, Wonder, Assert, Respect, Establish) in Sphere's Civil Discourse Primer
• Four Freedoms Speech by Roosevelt
• Sphere Ed | Teaching Civic Culture Together

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