Discussion STrategies

Build Language &

Background Knowledge

Jigsaw Reading

Different groups become "experts" on one portion of a text or aspect of a topic.

The teacher provides 3-4 different readings around the same topic.
Different reading levels can be addressed by providing sections of text that vary from simpler to more challenging.
Students should be grouped based on the difficulty of the reading.
Students are then regrouped with students who have each read a different reading or portion of the text.
Students will then "teach" the other members of their new group about the portion of text they are experts on.
Gives reading a real purpose and audience.
Allows readers of different levels to work collaboratively. Even lower level readers are able to meaningfully participate in group work.
Authentic way to practice summarizing skills, an aspect of academic language.
It may be beneficial to focus on note-taking skills or provide students with a graphic organizer to support students in identifying key details from their own reading.

Tips & Tricks

Teach & empower students to engage with one another in academic discussion.

Assign & Teach Roles:

Don't assume students know how to participate in a group or with partners. Explicitly teach how to work in a group.
Develop group and partner work expectations.
Assign and teach roles such as recorder, reporter, time keeper, manager, etc. to encourage participation by all students.

Modeling: When using a new discussion strategy, be sure to model and practice together before students are expected to use the strategy independently.

Sentence Frames: Use relevant sentence frames to support students with a lower level of oral English language proficiency. Examples:

I agree with _____ because _________.
I respectfully disagree with _______ because _____________.
I would also add __________.
_______ are like ______ because _____.
_______ are different than _______ because ___________.

Develop Thoughtful Prompts:

Prompts should be "meaty."
Prompts should require thinking beyond the text.
It is good to elicit disagreement between students. Controversy can encourage deeper discussion and more engaged students.
Simple yes/no questions or answers that come directly from the text will not encourage deep discussion or interest from students.

Barrier Games

Students practice more written-like talk.
Talk is required to complete this task.

Find the Difference:

Helps students practice more explicit spoken language.
Two students hold a picture which the other cannot see.
Students must use precise and explicit language to describe their own picture to find the differences between the pictures.
Teach children to ask questions to seek clarification.
Encourage students to give as much detail about their picture as they can.

Find the Difference Task from Scaffolding Language Scaffolding Learning, Pauline Gibbons, 2015.

3-2-1 Strategy

321 Strategy

3 things they learned, 2 things they want to know more about, 1 question they still have.

After shared, partner, or independent reading, students record in writing:

3 things they learned
2 things they found interesting or want to know more about
1 question they still have

After recording their own ideas, students can share and discuss with a partner or in a small group.

Students have the opportunity to think through their ideas before they are asked to discuss with another student.

**Sentence frames and/or a graphic organizer can be used to support students in both writing and discussing.

Fishbowl

Two students model a discussion while other students look on.

Two students sit in the middle of the room. Everyone else sits in a circle around them.

The two students will engage in a predetermined discussion or activity.

They may be practicing a specific skill such as paraphrasing or asking follow-up questions.

Options:

Other students may take turns taking a seat in the fishbowl.

Have other students coach the students in the fishbowl.

Each Teach

Students are paired up to read and teach each other chunks of text.

Students are paired.
The teacher "chunks" the text into sections.
Both students read the first chunk independently.
Partner A then "teaches" partner B about what they read.
Both students read the next chunk.
Partner B then "teaches partner A about what they read.
Continue until they have read and discussed the whole text.

Hot Seat

Drama-based instruction.

A teacher or student assumes the role of a character from a book, from history, or from any topic the students are familiar with such as an animal.

Students will then interview the person in the "hot seat."

Students should already be familiar with the book character, historical figure, or topic.

Have students write some interview questions ahead of time based on what they already know.

This strategy allows students to push their thinking to a deeper level. They can explore and analyze the thoughts and actions of a character or historical figure. They can experience events and actions from the past and think more deeply about a given topic.

Most Important Point

Students reflect on their learning and share with a partner or small group.

Following a shared reading, lesson, video, etc, students reflect and write down what they think was the most important part of their learning.

Students will then share their ideas with either a partner or a small group.

One option in a small group is to have each student share their own most important point. The group will then work to come to consensus and form one most important point for the group.

Snowball Discussion

Students start in pairs and progressively move into larger groups.

Students start with a partner. They discuss a given prompt.

One pair will then be grouped with another pair to form a group of four. They will again discuss the prompt in the group of four.

Then groups will be joined again to form a group of eight. The discussion will continue and groups will join until everyone is together for a whole-group discussion.

Benefits:

Students have the opportunity to think through their ideas, discuss, and practice the academic language in a safe pairing before moving into larger groups.

Students get multiple opportunities to practice the same language both verbally and through listening.

Students get to hear the ideas of many different students.

Option:

Students may be required to reach consensus before moving on to the bigger group.

Discussion STrategies

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