Discussing and how to do it does not come naturally – we have to teach it! Over a 2-part blog series, I will give you the very simple steps to teaching kids how to discuss. It’s important to remember that discussion is the back and forth exchange of ideas! It’s not a situation where I sit quietly composing my thoughts until it’s my turn to say what I want to say! (Does that sound familiar?!)
So, here’s the explicitly teaching students how to have a discussion…perhaps we should share this with our colleagues for use during staff and team meetings, too? 😉 Tee hee!
Day 1
- Introduce the difference between responding (short blips of information typically directed to the teacher) and discussion (Quality comments, Text Dependent Responses, Active Listening)
Day 2
- Teach what Quality Comments are
- Model for the class examples and non-examples of Quality Comments
- Debrief Quality Comments
Day 3
- Break students into groups of three to practice giving Quality Comments to each other, using a very simple prompt
- Provide feedback to small groups and debrief
Day 4
- Teach what Text Dependent Responses are
- Model for the class examples and non-examples of Text Dependent Responses
- Debrief Text Dependent Responses
Day 5
- Break students into groups of three to practice Text Dependent Responses, using a very simple prompt
- Provide feedback to small groups and debrief