Poster Dialogue asks participants to use words, images/symbols to respond individually and reflect collectively to a series of open-ended prompts. The prompts invite participants to make personal connections between the topics to be explored and their lived experience. The facilitator uses this strategy to assess participant knowledge and opinion.
Space
Open Area, Large Space
Materials
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Large space to write (paper or board)
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Markers
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Music (if desired)
Age Group
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Upper Elementary/Primary
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Middle School/High School/Secondary
See Poster Dialogue in a lesson:
1
Directions
Prior to the activity, write open-ended statements/questions at the top of a poster-sized piece of paper or spread out on a whiteboard/chalkboard–one statement/question per page or area of the board. To begin, invite participants to use a marker to silently respond to each question/statement, in any order they prefer. If participants finish early, ask them to read and respond to what other participants have written. Once the task is complete, assemble the pages in the same space in front of the full group. Facilitate the groups’ meaning making process to synthesize meaning on individual posters. For large groups, read the words – or most of the words – aloud from each page as a way to build interest and support those who can’t read what is written from a distance. Conclude by making meaning between and across posters that look at the same idea from different points of view as described below.
2
Reflection
Individual pages:
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Which words/responses got the most check marks on the page or did you hear the most as I read what was written?
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What does this group value or think is most important in relationship to this topic?
Comparing pages:
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Are there specific words/phrases that appear on multiple pages? Why do you think this happened?
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What do these ideas have to do with each other or our larger inquiry?
3
The House on Mango Street Adaptations
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What roles do neighborhood and community play in shaping who we become?
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What identities, if any, are permanent and which do we have the power to change?
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How does a person’s environment shape their identity?
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How do gender expectations define a person’s experience of the world and dreams for the future?