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. What should peer-to-peer discourse look like?
What is
our first step
in this
situation?
I think we
should...

4. What Does It Look Like? 3 Characteristics
Focused on intended learning
Sustained for at
least 3 turns
Ideas build on each other
*Hakuta, Zwiers, Rutherford-Quach, 2004

5. Building Conversation

6. Reflection Where during the Tower activity was your conversation:
Focused?
Sustained for 3 turns?
Building on each others’ ideas?
Site examples of each characteristic.

7. 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.

8. “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

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

10. Elk Grove’s Discourse Tool

11. 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%

12. EGUSD Goals Goals for 2017-18: Quality: 3.0
Peer to Peer Time Ratio: 36%