Building and Shifting the Discourse

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Identify unstated assumptions in a public debate and test how visual and text framing challenges or reinforces those beliefs.

Use it when: Use in media literacy, civic engagement, or strategic communication workshops when participants need to examine how repeated framing normalizes viewpoints.

Skip it when: Skip when participants lack established group norms for respectful discussion or when digital access and drawing alternatives cannot be provided.

Group arrangement: Small groups of 3 to 8 participants divided into up to 3 parallel teams, followed by whole-room debrief.

Timing: Source specifies a 60-minute running time across six distinct segments.

Materials and tools

• One copy of the Scenario Prompts and Meme Design Guide per small group
• Scratch paper and pens for draft captions and sketch templates
• Tape or adhesive putty for posting paper memes
• One internet-connected device per group for digital meme tools
• Projector, shared digital whiteboard, or dedicated wall space for gallery display

Before participants arrive

1. Print or link the Scenario Prompts and Meme Design Guide for each team.
2. Verify device access to an online meme creator or supply blank paper drawing frames for low-tech groups.
3. Prepare a central display space: clear wall space with tape or open a shared digital whiteboard or slide deck.
4. Divide participants into up to three small groups of 3 to 8 people.

Say this to open

Our experience of civic problems often depends on unspoken assumptions and worldviews. Today, each team will examine a public issue, identify what people take for granted, and create original memes to shift how others view that issue. To start, think about where you encounter memes every day and what makes them stick.

How to run it

1. Introduce worldviews and memes 10 minutes

   Deliver the opening script. Ask the room: Where do we see memes? When, if ever, do we share them? What makes a meme memorable? Gather four or five volunteer responses.

2. Define discourse 5 minutes

   Define discourse as a collection of shared ideas across society that shapes what feels normal or true. Explain that no single meme transforms a worldview, but repeated similar messages normalize assumptions over time.

3. Assign scenarios and rules 10 minutes

   Distribute one scenario and the Meme Design Guide to each small group. Remind participants of the rules on the guide: captions must be original, images must remain classroom-appropriate, and groups may sketch or use online tools. For example, in a transit cut scenario, a meme could pair an image of packed rush-hour crowds with a caption highlighting essential workers, rather than reciting budget balance sheets.

4. Brainstorm narrative tactics 5 minutes

   Lead a whole-room brainstorm on shaping discourse. Note key tactics: target underlying assumptions rather than extreme policy outcomes, use emotional hooks, and decide whether to stick strictly to known facts or stretch reality.

5. Draft and assemble memes 15 minutes

   Teams work together to create two to three original memes using the guiding questions on their sheet. Paper groups sketch layouts and tape them to the wall; digital groups paste image files directly onto the shared deck.

6. Present and debrief 15 minutes

   Invite each group to present their memes in order, using two minutes per team to explain their targeted assumption. Choose one or two debrief questions from the list below for whole-room discussion, using the remaining six to eight minutes.

Debrief questions

• Where did you notice common themes or emotional hooks across the different groups' memes?
• Did your memes rely strictly on verifiable facts, or did they stretch the truth to grab attention, and what are the risks of each approach?
• If you were running a sustained public awareness campaign, in what order would you release these memes to shift thinking step-by-step?

Finished output: Two to three original draft memes per team targeting unstated assumptions in an assigned scenario, displayed on a wall or shared deck.

Remote

Form breakout rooms of 3 to 8 participants. Provide a collaborative slide deck with dedicated slides for each team. Participants create memes using online tools or simple text boxes, then paste their work onto their team's slide. In step 6, screen share the full deck as each group speaks.

Hybrid

Form separate in-person and remote groups, or pair remote individuals with a dedicated in-person buddy. All groups post their final meme images or photos of paper drawings to a single online board so everyone reviews the same gallery during step 6.

Access and participation choices

• Provide blank paper frames for participants who prefer sketching or writing text-only captions instead of using image generators.
• Allow participants to choose non-speaking roles such as researcher, text scribe, or layout coordinator within their small group.

If the session gets stuck

A group struggles with digital meme generators or encounters web filters.

Provide paper templates with standard text boxes and let the team sketch the concept or write out the visual description and caption.

A meme caption becomes personal, aggressive, or inappropriate.

Intervene during group drafting, point to the classroom-appropriate rule on the guide, and refocus the group on the underlying civic assumption.

Terms used here

• Discourse: The collection of spoken, written, and visual ideas circulating in society that shapes what people accept as normal or true.
• Unstated Assumption: An underlying belief that people take for granted without naming or defending it directly.