Even Better Conversations

Purpose: These techniques can be added to any discussion to help students express themselves more clearly with more robust language.

Prep Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials: A board and markers, a discussion topic.

Prep: Select a discussion topic related to the day’s lesson, select a brainstorming activity and then select a structured conversation activity. See Procedure below for suggestions.

Procedure:

Technique A: Thinking Time
Lead students in a brainstorming activity of your choice to generate a list of topics and words to express their ideas with more supporting details. For example, to prepare to give advice about  your first winter in Minnesota, the class can list out topics to cover such as clothing, driving, and housing. The teacher or a scribe can write the words on the board.

Note that brainstorming words instead of sentences is more effective because it results in more natural conversation when students refer to the list for ideas.

In this example, the teacher could emphasize on the board that students should use the word because in their discussions to ensure that they are offering supporting reasons.

Technique B: Opportunities to Talk to Multiple People
Use a structured conversation activity that gives students opportunities to discuss their ideas multiple times. Instruct students that they need to give more supporting reasons each time they talk to a new person. You can also instruct students that they should speak more fluently each time they repeat their ideas.

In the example discussion, one option is to have all students line up in two rows, facing each other. After a few minutes, one of the rows can move down so students have new conversation partners.

Resource: For more information about improving students’ conversations, refer to Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Content Understandings by Jeff Zwiers and Marie Crawford.