Open Discussion
Spark discussion
Activities that get students talking, listening, and exchanging ideas.
Agree or Disagree
Simultaneous reveal prevents social pressure from influencing initial responses.
Start nowBig Question
Teaches sustained philosophical thinking — slows discussion down to the point where it becomes real.
Start nowConsensus Five
Teaches the hard skill of genuine consensus — listening, persuading, and compromising.
Continuum Discussion
Makes thinking visible and dynamic — students see reasoning in action, not just final positions.
Devil's Advocate
Teaches students to separate their identity from their opinions — and to understand the other side.
Fishbowl
Teaches the difference between talking and listening — and makes listening an active role.
Four Corners Debate
Makes abstract opinions physical and visible — students see the distribution of views in the room.
Hot Conscience
Makes moral complexity embodied rather than abstract — students feel the pull of competing values.
Hot Seat
Creates genuine curiosity between students — they learn things about each other that never come up in normal class.
News Stand
Connects classroom content to the real world — and builds the habit of paying attention to what is happening.
One Question
Surfaces genuine curiosity — the questions students actually have, not the ones they think they should have.
Question Tennis
Forces students to think before they speak and to listen carefully to what was actually asked.
Ripple Effect
Builds systemic thinking and empathy simultaneously — students see that every action has a human cost and benefit.
Silent Debate
Gives slower thinkers time to formulate arguments — levels the playing field in discussion.
Socratic Circle
Shifts authority to the students — they discover they can sustain a discussion without the teacher driving it.
Statement Storm
Gets honest reactions before students have time to give the answer they think you want.
Talk Back
Builds on ideas rather than replacing them — teaches the difference between discussion and parallel monologue.