Discussion Strategies
I realized that I cannot just expect kids to be able to do handle a task just by giving them directions and telling them what to do. I guess as an intermediate reading teacher I was operating under the false assumption that my students already possessed the ability to collaborate and discuss reading with partners and in small groups.
One of the areas I have placed a lot of emphasis on is teaching my students how to engage in discussions about books. I would often pair them up and tell them to talk about what they read. Very rarely, did I give them any direction or guidance about what they should be talking about, how to read with a partner, and what it should look and sound like. Teaching my children those things has made a tremendous impact on my kids ability to think critically about text.
One of my favorite strategies that I have taught my students is the EEKK strategy for partner reading. I came across a shorter version of the EEKK strategy poem on a teacher blog and modified it to make it more suitable for 3-5 grade students.
Over several weeks, we practiced partner reading on the rug together. I would tell my students' ERT (Everyone Read To) a certain point using the EEKK strategy.I would then stop them, have them turn and talk to their partner about a specific question, responding using thinking stems, re-telling etc. I would circulate as they read and discussed, recording some of the ideas I heard . After a set amount of time we would come back together to share and record our ideas, point out the good partner reading behaviors, and highlight the key ideas I heard from their discussions.
I realized that I cannot just expect kids to be able to do handle a task just by giving them directions and telling them what to do. I guess as an intermediate reading teacher I was operating under the false assumption that my students already possessed the ability to collaborate and discuss reading with partners and in small groups.
One of the areas I have placed a lot of emphasis on is teaching my students how to engage in discussions about books. I would often pair them up and tell them to talk about what they read. Very rarely, did I give them any direction or guidance about what they should be talking about, how to read with a partner, and what it should look and sound like. Teaching my children those things has made a tremendous impact on my kids ability to think critically about text.
One of my favorite strategies that I have taught my students is the EEKK strategy for partner reading. I came across a shorter version of the EEKK strategy poem on a teacher blog and modified it to make it more suitable for 3-5 grade students.
Over several weeks, we practiced partner reading on the rug together. I would tell my students' ERT (Everyone Read To) a certain point using the EEKK strategy.I would then stop them, have them turn and talk to their partner about a specific question, responding using thinking stems, re-telling etc. I would circulate as they read and discussed, recording some of the ideas I heard . After a set amount of time we would come back together to share and record our ideas, point out the good partner reading behaviors, and highlight the key ideas I heard from their discussions.