Single Session Template
A two-hour standalone session. Useful for introductions, one-off topics, film screenings followed by discussion, or moments where the school responds to something happening in the community.
See the facilitator guide for guidance on running sessions. This document is the structural template.
Before the session
- Choose theme and lens (or combination)
- Choose material (one or two readings, or one short film, or one podcast episode)
- Read or watch the material twice yourself
- Write session plan (timeline with prompts)
- Send material to participants at least a week ahead
- Confirm space, snacks, and any equipment needed
- Arrive thirty minutes early
Session structure
Welcome (5 minutes)
- Greet people as they arrive
- Brief reminder of how the school works, especially for first-timers
- Name what the session is about and roughly how it will run
Opening check-in (10–15 minutes)
A simple prompt, one sentence each.
Sample prompts:
- “How are you arriving today, in one sentence?”
- “What is on your mind as we begin?”
- “What drew you to this session?”
Keep it brief. Resist the urge to follow up. Let it stay short.
Frame the material (10 minutes)
- What are we reading or watching, briefly
- Why this material, for this room, now
- What questions are we bringing to it
- Any housekeeping about the material (context, where it sits in a larger tradition, what we are not asking it to do)
First movement (30–35 minutes)
Open with a low-stakes question that gets everyone talking. Move to more substantive questions as the room warms.
Sample opening questions:
- “What stood out to you?”
- “What was confusing?”
- “What connected to your own experience?”
Then deepen:
- “What does the author seem to be arguing?”
- “What does this help us see that we did not see before?”
- “What does this leave out?”
Break (10 minutes)
Coffee, stretch, restroom. Do not skip.
Second movement (30–35 minutes)
Connect the material to participants’ lives, current organizing, or other things the room has read.
Sample questions:
- “How does this connect to what is happening in [our city, our workplaces, our movements] right now?”
- “What would it mean to take this seriously?”
- “What disagreements does this raise in the room?”
Closing reflection (10–15 minutes)
A round, one or two sentences each.
Sample prompts:
- “What stayed with you today?”
- “What shifted in your thinking?”
- “What do you want to return to?”
Look ahead (5 minutes)
- Next session, if there is one
- Reading or work between now and then
- Practical announcements
- Thank the room
After the session
- Notes on what happened, within a day or two
- Debrief with co-facilitator or core group
- Add notes to shared session log if the school keeps one
- Consider what to share back to the broader project if anything was newly developed
Variations
For 90-minute sessions: Cut the second movement to 20 minutes and the break to 5. Keep opening and closing the same length. Less material covered, but the same shape.
For 3-hour sessions: Extend both movements. Add a third movement focused on application or practice. Take two breaks. Consider whether a meal could be part of the structure.
For film or podcast-based sessions: Adjust the timing. Watching a 45-minute film in the session shortens discussion time. Watching beforehand and discussing in the session works better for longer films.