Students investigate how conflict grows and changes by reading Romeo and Juliet, comparing key scenes with live or filmed performance choices, and practicing restorative responses in community circles. Over five weeks, they use counselor-modeled strategies, collaborative discussion, and rehearsal feedback to create dramatized before-and-after conflict scenes that show more constructive ways to respond when people disagree. The experience builds speaking, listening, analysis, reflection, and revision skills while helping students strengthen empathy, shared decision-making, and confidence in handling real conflicts in school and community life.

Students will analyze how conflict is represented in Romeo and Juliet and in a live or recorded play performance, noting what each medium emphasizes or leaves out to better understand choices people make in moments of disagreement. They will participate effectively in community circles, rehearsals, and peer feedback discussions by listening closely, building on others’ ideas, and speaking clearly and respectfully. Students will apply restorative response strategies to create and revise short dramatized scenes that show more harmful and more constructive ways to handle conflict. They will reflect on their own communication, collaboration, and decision-making to strengthen both academic understanding and relationship skills.

Students create conflict analysis notes from key Romeo and Juliet scenes, circle participation trackers, and quick strategy posters as they study how disagreement is represented in text, rehearsal, and live performance. In teams, they develop and revise a short collection of dramatized before-and-after conflict scenes that show an initial harmful response and a stronger restorative response shaped by counselor and peer feedback. They also produce reflection highlights that name one academic insight and one relationship skill developed through weekly community circles. The final public products are live performances, response strategy posters, and a facilitated restorative circle for guests at the From Clash to Calm Festival.

Open with a Conflict Kickoff Lab in which students rotate through a role-play gallery of short disagreement scenes based on everyday ninth-grade conflicts, then pause to track what escalates or repairs each interaction. A school counselor or restorative practices facilitator leads a brief community circle to model active listening, respectful turn-taking, and response strategies students will use throughout the project. Students then compare a high-conflict moment from Romeo and Juliet with a performed modern version to notice how conflict shifts across mediums and what each version emphasizes. Close with a quick design challenge in teams: revise one scene’s response plan and share how stories, scenes, and circles might help people respond differently when they disagree.

Host a “From Clash to Calm Festival” where student groups perform their short before-and-after conflict scenes for families, peers, teachers, and community guests, followed by a final restorative circle led with the school counselor or restorative practices facilitator. Alongside the live performances, students display response strategy posters that name the listening moves, circle norms, and resolution choices they used, helping guests see how their ideas connect to Romeo and Juliet and to real school conflicts. Invite audience members to join brief post-performance discussions so students can explain how they revised their scenes based on weekly feedback about clarity, tone, and respectful dialogue. Close with student reflection highlights that share one academic insight and one relationship skill each group strengthened over the five weeks.