At a recent book club discussion, I sat back and observed the conversation around me. I was intrigued (and amused too) at the passion with which everyone spoke about the book and the characters in the book. The characters in this book, I might add, were not particularly well liked, which really made the conversation interesting! On my drive home, I reflected on the evening and the conversation. Some of my ideas and thoughts had stayed the same, but by other hearing the opinions of others, I had made some changes in my views, as well as clarified some confusions.
Students in our classrooms need to learn how to have these conversations. Conversation affects their comprehension of the text and is so important throughout the students' day. Students in classrooms that promote productive, academic conversations have many opportunities to develop their thinking and language skills. As Hoyt and Stead say in Explorations of Nonfiction Writing, "they float their learning on a sea of academic talk."
Try this: create this type of learning environment by pairing each student with a thinking partner. Partners work together to express their ideas, justify thinking with evidence from a resource, pose guiding questions, establish conversational skills, and engage in critical thinking. Consider keeping partners for more than one activity, possibly a day or more. Providing students with opportunities to talk ensures that all students are engaged in and responsible for their learning, while building language and improving collaboration skills.
