1. Introducing students to productive discourse
Student Discourse
Introducing students to productive discourse

2. The person talking is probably thinking
Gone are the days when a quiet classroom was equated with a good one. Productive student talk is essential to teaching and learning – here’s why.
The person talking is probably thinking
Sometimes thinking goes astray, and teachers have to take action
Talking facilitates reading and writing development
“Speaking Volumes” by Fisher and Frey
November 2014 | Volume 72 | Number 3  Talking and Listening Pages 18-23

3. Discourse Progression in the SMPs
Read SMP 1: Make Sense of Problems and Persevere in Solving Them
Underline differences you note amongst grades
Read SMP 3 and 6: Construct a Viable Argument and Critique the Reasoning of Others/Attend to Precision
Read SMP 1, 3, 6 for your specific grade level
Circle key elements of discourse

4. Find Your Math Buddy
Look at the picture on your paper and find your matching math buddy.

5. Talking With Your Math Buddy
What does talking with your Math Buddy look like?
What does talking with your Math Buddy sound like?

6. What Does It Look Like? 3 Characteristics
Focused: Talk About Math
Exchange: Take Turns Talking
Ideas Build: Ask Questions
*Hakuta, Zwiers, Rutherford-Quach, 2004

7. Live Theater Was our math talk about math? Did we take turns?
Did we ask questions?

8. Strategies for Student Talk
Share a strategy you use in your kindergarten classroom.
Find another pair in the room and share strategies.
Return to your table and share a new strategy with your table mates.

9. Building Conversation

10. Reflection Where during the Tower activity did you:
Talk about math?
Take turns?
Ask each other questions?
Site examples of each characteristic.

11. Why do this activity with our students?
We shouldn’t make assumptions about what students know about the art of conversation.
Students benefit from a less cognitively demanding activity when learning a new skill.
We need to teach students how to have a focused conversation where they take turns that build on one another.

12. “The amount of talk that students do is correlated with their achievement.”
“Speaking Volumes” by Fisher and Frey
November 2014 | Volume 72 | Number 3  Talking and Listening Pages 18-23

13. EGUSD Data Correlation between SBAC and our discourse data 2016-17
13.2 -2

14. Elk Grove’s Discourse Tool

15. EGUSD Data Goals for 2016-17: Quality: 2.75
Fall 2016: 2.2
Spring 2017: 2.9
Peer to Peer Time Ratio: 40%
Fall 2016: 21%
Spring 2017: 34%

16. EGUSD Goals Goals for 2017-118: Quality: 3.0
Peer to Peer Time Ratio: 36%