Beginning in 2021, educators and students in Newburyport, MA, engaged in a school-wide reading of the book Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson, supported by an dialogic advisory period syllabus as well as self-facilitated dialogues.
EP collaborated with school librarian Lynn Cote to design a series of six advisory lessons, 20–30 minutes each, that used a standard structure, communication agreements, and a single dialogic prompt followed by several other questions. Each unit also included a short video that aligned with the themes in the chapters covered as well as slide decks, guides, and lesson outlines for teachers.
When educators at the middle and high schools requested support for dialogues about the book as well, a self-facilitated dialogue resource was produced. It provides process, structures, and prompts to hold a dialogue about the book and its topics without a trained facilitator present.
Both the outline for their dialogue program as well as the self-facilitated dialogue are available below. If you have questions about these resources—or if you want to bring EP to collaborate with your school community—sign up for a free consultation call with a member of our program team.
