Discussion and resolution of social problems are at the heart of citizenship. 

While social media is here to stay, the clues present in face-to-face communication are important in sensing the reactions of others and developing empathy and respect for other points of view. This is one reason why there is so much emphasis the so-called 21st Century Skills (sometimes called the Six Cs) of  

Critical thinking, 

• Creative Thinking, 
  
• Collaboration, 
  
• Communication, 
  
• Citizenship
• Character.
  

(Michael  Fullan: Pedagogies for Deep Learning). 

Development and enhancement of all of these skills involves students talking to each other.  One idea is to incorporate the idea of Accountable Talk   http://rpdp.net/admin/images/uploads/resource_11524.pdf  so that students practice active listening, civility and inclusivity during their discussions.

Civics and Citizenship provides an opportunity to look for interconnections through its Achievement Standards which state at each year level that students are to investigate social issues. 

Any social issue will have at least an historical basis, will occur in a place or places and possibly have an environmental connection, will generally be accompanied by economic costs and/or benefits, and will have a political or legal frame of reference for resolution. The Development Compass Rose  is a way of helping students metacognitively recall four perspectives (as per the compass directions N,S,E and W).  See http://www.globaleducation.edu.au/verve/_resources/dev-compassrose.pdf.