Purpose
Students investigate, “How do identity and perspective shape the way people respond to one another?” and “What do the ways we respond to conflict say about us?” through The Poet X, spoken-word poetry, research, close reading, discussion, and comparisons of interpersonal, historical, and global conflicts. Beginning with a spoken-word performance and conflict-response quick-write, students work with a poet, counselor or social worker, and community mediator to practice emotional response, active listening, I-statements, nonviolent communication, and restorative dialogue. Students co-design realistic school, home, and community scenarios, reflect after readings and role-plays, and use peer, teacher, counselor, and partner feedback to revise escalating language and produce a De-escalation Cheat Sheet, companion handouts, and a spoken-word-inspired pocket guide. At a Turn-Down-to-Talk Night, students perform before-and-after conflict scenes, distribute their tools, and submit a reflection comparing their initial responses with their final de-escalation strategies.
Learning goals
Students will analyze how identity, perspective, voice, tone, and character development in The Poet X and spoken word poetry shape responses to conflict. They will research and compare interpersonal, historical, and current global conflicts, synthesizing credible sources to explain what conflict responses reveal about people and communities. Through collaboration with peers and community partners, students will practice active listening, I-statements, nonviolent communication, and de-escalation while drafting and revising realistic conflict scenarios with different outcomes. Students will use reflection and feedback to create, perform, and evaluate a practical De-escalation Cheat Sheet and related guides for the Turn-Down-to-Talk Night exhibition.
Products
Students will create reading and listening reflections that track how identity, perspective, voice, and tone shape responses to conflict in The Poet X, spoken-word poetry, and interpersonal, historical, and global contexts. Teams will research conflict resolution, write multiple teen and parent conflict scenarios with contrasting outcomes, and revise role-play scripts after peer, teacher, counselor, and community mediator feedback. Each student will produce a spoken-word-inspired De-escalation Cheat Sheet featuring 4–5 “I-statements,” nonviolent communication sentence starters, active-listening prompts, and examples for school, home, and community situations. For Turn-Down-to-Talk Night, students will perform before-and-after conflict scenes, distribute their pocket guides or posters, and submit a before-and-after reflection explaining how their language, tone, and strategies changed.
Launch
Open with a live spoken-word performance, followed by a dramatic reading from The Poet X that highlights identity, perspective, and conflict. Students complete a quick-write naming their emotional reactions, then discuss: “How do identity and perspective shape the way people respond to one another?” and “What do our responses to conflict say about us?” A school counselor and community mediator model two versions of the same teen conflict—one escalating and one using active listening, I-statements, and nonviolent communication—before students rehearse alternative responses in small groups. Students close by reflecting on which language changed the conflict’s outcome and saving their initial response for comparison with their final before-and-after assessment.
Exhibition
Host a Turn-Down-to-Talk Night for families, teachers, counselors, and community mediators. Student teams perform before-and-after versions of school, home, or community conflict scenes, using spoken-word techniques and revised de-escalation language to show how identity and perspective shape responses. Students distribute their De-escalation Cheat Sheets or pocket guides and invite guests to practice selected I-statements and nonviolent communication starters. Community partners provide feedback, and students close by sharing a brief before-and-after reflection on how their conflict-response strategies changed.
