I practiced two interactive modeling exercises. My CT wanted her students to practice having discussions where you build upon each other’s ideas and having real conversations. Since the students were already reading “Island of the Blue Dolphins”, I thought I could do a three-part lesson where we practice the elements of good discussions using sentence frames to support and then apply those skills to discussing opinions and predictions in chapter 21.
In the beginning we practiced my signal in getting their attention by counting down from 5-1. This part went well, as each time we practiced, they got better and better at it. However, when it came to real discussions and watching them get excited about what they were discussing, they had to be reminded of what good listeners do when one person is speaking. I had to say phrases like, “I am going to wait until you all are showing me you are listening” or “Don’t speak until you see that everyone is listening to you”. These phrases helped support the 5-1 countdown and whole class discussions.
I was amazed to see with the practice of general topics such as holidays or favorite food, the use of sentence frames, modeling weak ways and better ways to discuss topics, their conversations were getting better and better. Also, I had them practice phrases to keep conversations flowing without them falling apart by saying, “How about you” or “What do you think”, etc. Another skill I added in was suggesting they make connections with one another in their conversations with their own personal life, a book they read or other ideas. There were some discussions that I observed and I asked the pair if they would mind modeling to the class what they were talking about. By the end of our lesson, some of the kids were able to say that they think that discussions can be interesting when you add interesting details, make connections, listen, and add more to the conversation. One student said that she liked having discussions because she was able to change her opinion.
I would like to do more of this in Science and Math and see how their conversations become more advanced throughout time.
In the beginning we practiced my signal in getting their attention by counting down from 5-1. This part went well, as each time we practiced, they got better and better at it. However, when it came to real discussions and watching them get excited about what they were discussing, they had to be reminded of what good listeners do when one person is speaking. I had to say phrases like, “I am going to wait until you all are showing me you are listening” or “Don’t speak until you see that everyone is listening to you”. These phrases helped support the 5-1 countdown and whole class discussions.
I was amazed to see with the practice of general topics such as holidays or favorite food, the use of sentence frames, modeling weak ways and better ways to discuss topics, their conversations were getting better and better. Also, I had them practice phrases to keep conversations flowing without them falling apart by saying, “How about you” or “What do you think”, etc. Another skill I added in was suggesting they make connections with one another in their conversations with their own personal life, a book they read or other ideas. There were some discussions that I observed and I asked the pair if they would mind modeling to the class what they were talking about. By the end of our lesson, some of the kids were able to say that they think that discussions can be interesting when you add interesting details, make connections, listen, and add more to the conversation. One student said that she liked having discussions because she was able to change her opinion.
I would like to do more of this in Science and Math and see how their conversations become more advanced throughout time.