ACADEMIC CONVERSATION – TAKING IT FARTHER WITH ZWIERS/CRAWFORD David Irwin Language Development Opportunities

LAST YEAR WE COVERED  Academic Conversation – 5 skills  Elaborate & clarify  Support ideas with evidence  Build on or challenge an idea  Paraphrase  Summarize/synthesize  Questioning strategies & taxonomies – 3 kinds  Leaf & root  Depth of knowledge  Costa  Talk Write Learn – blending writing with conversation  Talk Moves- brought by one of you, supported at MelroseMathGradeK  Model lessons – several different ones  The Stranger  The Battle of Hastings  One assessment model  Conversation Counter

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER  With your co-teacher, make a visual about what stuck, especially what you used, from each of these five areas. (If you weren’t here last year, join a group and listen in. If you’ve done something similar, add it!)  Academic Conversation – 5 kinds  Questioning strategies & taxonomies – 3 kinds  Talk Write Learn – blending writing with conversation  Model lessons – several different ones  One assessment model

TAKING IT FARTHER  Teach students to identify each others’ body language and conversation markers (p74)  What does it mean when your partner  Makes a facial expression  Leans in (or out)  Pauses  Speaks faster or louder  What are more resources and methods of teaching students to recognize body language?  Teach students to include compliments (p83)  Be specific about what’s being complimented  I like how you responded to my exact question  I really like your examples – they support your claim perfectly  What are more situations for compliments, and how can you teach them?

TAKING IT FARTHER  Stay on the road! (p84)  Stay on the road  Keep random ideas out of the conversation – keep out of the weeds  Don’t lose your keys  Keep thoughts and comments on the topic  What do you think – about what superficially?  Stop to get your bearings  Pause to paraphrase every so often  If it stalls, get out & push or ask for help  Ask for more ideas or more insights  What other ways can you promote to help students stay on topic at your grade level?

TAKING IT FARTHER  Preventing or Repairing Conversation Stoppers (P88)  Ridicule – laughing, sarcasm, rolling eyes, etc.  Popcorning – too many unrelated ideas at once  Hogging the floor – one person likes the sound of his/her voice  Going off the topic – squirrel, that poor animal  Arguing – knows he/she will win if the bell doesn’t ring first  Awkward silence – it died – get the paddles  What are ways to teach students to correct these situations in your grade?

TAKING IT FARTHER IN MATH  How does conversation apply to math in your grade?  Have you used MelroseMathGradeK?  Have you used any other resources for math and language?  What are your examples and successes with math and academic conversation?