Activities

These are guided activities that build civic skills and capacity. They are generally meant for groups to use together and to discuss. They are appropriate for a range of backgrounds–some for experienced activists as well as students.

Appropriate activities are suggested under specific “Major Questions” on this website (see the Learning Map), but this is a complete list of the activities in one place.

• Assessing SPUD (Scale, Pluralism, Unity, Depth)
  Background Whether you’re building a social movement, organization, network, or media platform, you should strive for SPUD: Scale: You need a lot of people, at least relative … Continue reading →
• Asset-Based Community Development
  Although civic actors should think critically and address problems, it is also valuable to be able to identify and appreciate the existing assets of any community, no … Continue reading →
• Building a Party with Activists: The Case of the Uruguayan FA
  Building a Party with Activists: The Case of the Uruguayan FA by Verónica Pérez Bentancur, Fernando Rosenblatt and Rafael Piñeiro Rodriguez is a “case study is about the … Continue reading →
• Commons game (in person version)
  Lesson plans can be found all over the Internet for games that model the “Tragedy of the Commons” using goldfish crackers. This is a version used in the Introduction … Continue reading →
• Commons game (online version)
  This is a game that will play well for a large virtual group, and it is free. An in-person game is available elsewhere on this site. A … Continue reading →
• Connecting Public Dialogue to Action and Change
  Everyday Democracy offers a workbook entitled “Connecting Public Dialogue to Action and Change.” It provides detailed guidance on “Organizing (developing a Steering Group, planning, and recruitment),” “Dialogue” … Continue reading →
• Danielle Allen’s speech norms
  It is common–and a good idea–to develop norms for speech within a group, such as a classroom or a community association. In Talking to Strangers (2004), political … Continue reading →
• Equity analysis
  Tufts’ Equity in America website allows you to choose demographic characteristics and social outcomes and see how they relate. By comparing such results, you can detect differences … Continue reading →
• Facilitation
  Group discussions of contested issues depend on good facilitation, and we can learn to facilitate well. Lesson Six of Longo 2023 is a free guide to developing … Continue reading →
• Facing Racism in a Diverse Nation
  Everyday Democracy’s Facing Racism in a Diverse Nation “is a six-session discussion guide to help all kinds of people take part in meaningful dialogue to examine gaps … Continue reading →
• Feeling Exposed in Online Class: Safety in the Virtual Civics Classroom
  Feeling Exposed in an Online Class is a case study from Justice in Schools. According to the summary: A civics teacher at a vocational school (MBO) in … Continue reading →
• Grade Inflation and Teaching: The Private School Marketplace
  “Grade Inflation and Teaching: What Should Teachers do in a World of Entitlement?” by Meira Levinson and Ilana Finefter from Justice in Schools is a case that … Continue reading →
• Naming and framing issues
  In order to convene people to discuss an issue, someone must “name” it. The meeting or discussion must be about something that can be named in its … Continue reading →
• Nonviolent methods
  Gene Sharp (1928-2018) looked at thousands of specific examples of nonviolent episodes and campaigns and identified 198 methods. He categorized them under two major headings, “Nonviolent Protest … Continue reading →
• One-to-One Interviews
  A basic technique of community organizing is to conduct one-to-one interviews with members of a community to gain understanding of issues and needs, create relationships, identify people … Continue reading →
• Picking Battles: a case about guns in schools
  “Picking Battles” is a case from Justice in Schools. According to the summary: Florida high school social studies teacher Caitlin Crosby grapples with her school’s consideration of … Continue reading →
• Public Service–Spirited Media Takes on the Memory Wars
  “Public Service–Spirited Media Takes on the Memory Wars” by Peter Pomerantsev is a case “about how you can challenge bitter, cross-partisan divides in a society where disputes … Continue reading →
• Seeing Green
  “Seeing Green,” a Justice in Schools case by Allison M. Stevens “explores the challenges of teaching about climate change in a community where a large portion of … Continue reading →
• Story of Self
  The experienced community organizer Marshall Ganz advocates a process called Public Narrative that involves for thinking about one’s “story of self,” “story of us,” and “story of … Continue reading →
• Taking the Action Out of Civics?
  “Taking the Action out of Civics?” is a case study from the Justice in Schools initiative. The case examines the debate over a form of project-based civics … Continue reading →
• The “Christmas Tree Crisis” at Sea-Tac Airport
  The management of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) decided to remove plastic holiday trees “after a rabbi asked to have an 8-foot-tall menorah displayed next to the largest … Continue reading →
• The American Enterprise Institute’s Near-Death Experience
  “The American Enterprise Institute’s Near-Death Experience,” an SNF Agora Case Study by Steven Teles and Jessica A. Gover, focuses on issues of strategy and management in a … Continue reading →
• The Center for Popular Democracy’s Education Justice Campaign
  “The Center for Popular Democracy’s Education Justice Campaign” is a case study by Dmitri Holtzman, Ben Kirshner, and Tafadzwa Tivaringe. It “explores dilemmas that arise for a … Continue reading →
• The Institutional Analysis and Design (IAD) Framework
  Contents Concept As stated on the Ostrom Workshop website: The Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework was designed by Ostrom and her colleagues from the Ostrom Workshop … Continue reading →
• The ISAIAH Trash Referendum
  The ISAIAH Trash Referendum by Peter Levine and Liz McKenna is a case study “about an organization in Minnesota called ISAIAH, a faith-based organization that works to expand the … Continue reading →
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott
  The Montgomery Bus Boycott by Peter Levine is a case study about “a classic example of a social movement episode that accomplished its immediate goals despite severe … Continue reading →
• The Power Cube
  Political scientist John Gaventa and colleagues have developed the Power Cube as a tool for groups to use to analyze the situations that concern them. It breaks … Continue reading →
• Vote16USA’s Campaign to Lower the Voting Age in San Francisco
  This SNF Agora case study by Scott Warren and Brandon Klugman “explores challenges that emerged for a coalition of high school–aged activists involved in the Vote16SF campaign, … Continue reading →