Many students have learned to "play the game” of school, answering with one word answers or using just enough language to get the teacher to move on to someone else. At times students are asked to use a sentence starter that they might not fully understand to answer a question to which the teacher already knows the answer.
Many educators are justifiably concerned about increasing both the quantity and quality of classroom talk--especially in grades 4 through 9. Both can and do happen, but usually with a fair amount of work in two areas: structured interactions and academic conversations.
Quantity and quality mutually reinforce each other--after students (and teachers) go through some conversational growing pains. I recommend starting with structured interactions while also giving students opportunities to practice interaction skills in short "freestyle" conversations.
Structured Interactions
Structured interactions are oral activities that you structure more than a free flowing "you have two minutes to talk" back and forth conversation. Examples of structured interactions are think-pair-shares, info gap cards, pro-con, stronger & clearer each time, jigsaws, and interviews. In each of these activities student turns are set up so that each student gets a chance to talk, often with some modeling or sentence frames, when helpful. Each activity should also provide practice in idea-building, with an emphasis on asking and answering clarify and support questions (What do you mean by...How...What is an example of ... Why...?)
Academic Conversations
In effective academic conversations, students use their knowledge and language to build up valuable ideas in a discipline. This means that students advance from simply choosing answers to posing questions, exploring different points of view, and building meaning with others. Here is a visual showing what students do as they co-construct ideas.
In effective academic conversations, students use their knowledge and language to build up valuable ideas in a discipline. This means that students advance from simply choosing answers to posing questions, exploring different points of view, and building meaning with others. Here is a visual showing what students do as they co-construct ideas.
After posing or choosing the most relevant and buildable idea (concept, claim, pattern, solution, etc.), students clarify terms and support the idea with evidence, examples, and logical reasoning.
If there is argumentation, which means that there are two or more opposing sides to an issue, students co-construct both ideas first. Then they evaluate the evidence on each side to compare the weights (or strengths) and choose which one is heavier (stronger). This is called collaborative (not competitive) argumentation. Here is a visual that shows this process.
If there is argumentation, which means that there are two or more opposing sides to an issue, students co-construct both ideas first. Then they evaluate the evidence on each side to compare the weights (or strengths) and choose which one is heavier (stronger). This is called collaborative (not competitive) argumentation. Here is a visual that shows this process.
RESOURCES FOR ACADEMIC CONVERSATIONS
Argument Balance Scale Organizer (2D) (3D version)
This visual helps students to evaluate and weigh the evidence for and against two different positions
Argument Balance Scale Organizer (2D) (3D version)
This visual helps students to evaluate and weigh the evidence for and against two different positions
Zwiers, J. (2019). Next Steps with Academic Conversations: New Ideas for Improving Learning through Classroom Talk. Stenhouse.
STRUCTURED INTERACTION RESOURCES
Stronger & Clearer Each Time Overview
This overview describes how to help students build language and content as they talk with successive partners.
This overview describes how to help students build language and content as they talk with successive partners.
These cards provide different information to students in pairs and small groups. Students need to have a reason to ask for and provide information. (Other Info Gap Cards)
Classroom Talk
Classroom Talk