Strategies to Enhance Student Discussion in All Subject Areas

I come to the water one last time as the sun goes down on summer. It's going; I can feel it slip away, and it leaves a cold, empty spot. A hole in my warm memories of endless golden days and dreams as ripe as watermelons. I'd give the world to make the summer stay. The water is calm around me. It's a warm, silent sea of thought dyed in the rich blues of night and memory. Why can't things just stay the way they are? Instead, the days rush headlong into change and I feel like nothing's ever going to be the same. Soon school will start again. And all the things I thought I'd left behind will come back, and it won't be gentle water I'll be swimming in--- It'll be noise and people and schedules and passes and teachers telling everyone what to do. One more year of homework, tests and grades. Of daily popularity contests and pressure-cooker competition and heaps of frustration. The first day is the worst. Not knowing who your friends are, or what's changed since last year. Trying to pick it up where you left off. I'll look real hard for a last-year's friend to get me from one scrambled class to another, through halls crawling with people. Read from your handout

 What are the themes in the poem that emerge?  Read the second stanza. Is the poet really talking about water?  What does the poet mean when he writes, “I wonder if I’ll fit in”?  What does this poem say to you? Make you think?

 Let’s talk about the discussion we just had about “The Sun Goes Down on Summer”.  What worked? What would you like to be different?

 Let’s view an example: Lively Classroom Discussion Example  What are your experiences with discussion in your classroom?

 Discussion Web  Ticket to Talk (entry and exit tickets)  Fishbowl Discussions  Discussion Collage  ThinkPairShare  Sticky Note Discussions

Unhealthy School Lunches Not Making the Grade Processed foods that are high in fat, sugar, and salt have become a mainstay of lunches in schools across America and the results are in — experts say these unhealthy school lunches are a contributing factor to the childhood obesity epidemic. A movement is afoot to bring change to school lunch programs across the country. Read article and discuss Discussion Web Question Should schools limit students’ choices to healthy foods? Should schools invest in more costly healthy meals?

The Start of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. The Civil Rights Movement in the United States has been a long, primarily nonviolent struggle to bring full civil rights and equality under the law to primarily African American citizens of United States. There have been many movements on behalf of other groups in the U.S. over time, but the term is often used to refer to the struggles between 1955 and 1968 to end discrimination against African-Americans and to end racial segregation, especially in the U.S. South. Read article and look at photos  On your note card, write down one or two questions or thoughts you’d like to discuss

We can have engaged and active discussions or we can rely on traditions of teacher led discussions. Video Clip

Active Discussion  Students are active participants and have their own talk time  Emphasis on real conversations, real questions, not pseudo- questions  Draw on multiple sources of information  Focus on learning concepts, principles, & skills (big ideas) Passive Discussions  Are typically teacher led and teacher centered  Emphasis on verbal lectures  Teacher is “verbal” textbook  Focus on “mugs and jugs” or transmitting knowledge (facts)

Bruce Taylor, Ph.D. Center for Adolescent Literacies Resources literacy.uncc.edu literacyuncc.pbworks.com