1. Warm-up
Do you enjoy talking? Why or why not? Are you more talkative in a structured or unstructured environment? Why? What are some ways in which talking with one another helps us learn?

2. Brainstorm with your neighbor…
What is considered a conversation and what isn’t?
What are some important discussion norms that we should follow within this classroom?

3. Brainstorm with your neighbor…
A list of interesting or controversial issues that are relevant to you

4. Five core skills of academic conversation:
Elaborate and clarify
Support ideas with examples
Build on and/or challenge a partner’s idea
Paraphrase
Synthesize conversation points

5. Agenda Read through “Core Academic Conversation Skills”
Practice hand motions 
Mini- conversations

6. Mini Conversations With your partner: Pick a topic
Partner A will begin to speak on that subject
Partner B will respond with one of the conversation skills
Partner A will respond
Partner A will wrap up
Switch (Repeat the process with partner B leading the conversation)

7. Student Volunteers Two Mini-conversations in front of the class
Constructive feedback

8. Looking Ahead
We will be using these discussion skills in our discussion tomorrow
Be familiar with the sentence starters (study the handout tonight)
Have the handout with you tomorrow

9. Creating Meaningful Discussion Questions
You will be creating four questions which will be used in the discussion tomorrow.
Those four questions should reflect Bloom’s Question Starters from level 3 through 6.
Let’s look at the handout together

10. Remaining Time
Work on questions

11. Read and Annotate “After McKinley”
Annotate the article for ideas that you agree and disagree with
Highlight possible talking points
Write down your opinion of the issue in appropriate locations
You should have at least one annotation per paragraph

12. Looking ahead… Friday: In the commons After McKinley Discussions
HW: Read and Annotate “The Veldt”