Ten Ways to get Kids to Talk About Content

Ten Ways to Get Your Kids to Talk About Content (and not about other stuff)

Teachers talk too much, myself included (I apologize to everyone in every PD I have ever facilitated). We know that LISTENING is not the best way to learn. It doesn't help us process information. Listening alone is what makes content go in one ear and out the other. 

In order to make content stick, you have to DO something with it. No, not YOU-the-teacher. The KID has to do something with it. 

Talking about it helps. Talking about the CONTENT helps us all learn the CONTENT. Teachers can talk less and kids can talk more (about content)

(Shhh. Sitting quietly while we do a worksheet or read or while the teacher talks does NOT help us learn the CONTENT!)

10. Turn and Talk -- It’s a classic for a reason. Because it works, because it’s easy, because it requires little to no planning. Pose a decent, open-ended question to the class. Show them how to physically turn so that they face each other. Have them talk about the question. Teacher should physically walk around the room, listening to the conversations. (It’s not eavesdropping if it’s in your classroom!). Teacher should share what they heard from students. And if the kids struggle? Model it in the front of the room with a willing volunteer or another adult. Show them what it looks like. Sometimes, they’re not sure you’re serious about it. Be for real about all of it -- the turning part, the talking part, the “on-topic” part, the sharing what you heard part! 

9. Make them write it first (white board?). Sometimes, kids don’t know what to say. They don’t know what to think about content right off the bat. Sometimes, they need a little processing time. Just like they get scratch paper in math, it’s ok to let them jot down a thought or two in your class before they say it out loud. Whiteboards are brilliant for this, because they allow kids to erase every scrap of evidence that they ever had an answer or an idea that they suddenly feel is “dumb” or “wrong” or that they wouldn’t want their peers or teachers seeing. So give them a minute to get their thoughts together before sharing their words. 

8. THINK -- then pair, share -- How many of you have done a “Think/Pair/Share” -- but really cheated the “think” part? I have! Ten seconds is not enough think time, Tracy!  Make sure to give kids the THINK time before they Pair and Share. It honestly makes a difference in their conversations and in their understanding of content. 

7. Debate it -- Teenagers love to argue. It’s developmentally appropriate (not to mention bolstered by social media and election season). So give them a great question and as much or as little structure as a particular class needs and let them verbally duke it out. Nothing is more fun than arguing! Kids will suddenly care about stuff they didn’t care about before. Do you have a particularly boring unit or piece of text? Ask about the “best” or “most important” or “most significant” part and voila! Suddenly that boring topic is fun! And kids are talking! And engaged! And thinking and learning! 

6.Make it a court case --  Have kids argue famous court cases so they have to think about both sides of an issue. Whether it’s Marbury vs. Madison or the Trial of Socrates, it’s helpful for kids to see the arguments for and against a side and have to talk those out. 

5. Give them an interesting conversation topic --  I’ll be honest. Half the time a student conversation activity fell flat was because I had a not-so-hot conversation topic. Make kids pick the “best” or “should they?” or “most important” or “if you were” (but never about slavery or the holocaust!). Make them relate it to their lives or to something else they know or learned about. Make it interesting enough that it piques their interest.

4. Social Media -- Have them type/write it like a social media thread. There’s nothing like a Fakebook Post or a back-and-forth text-looking conversation to get kids involved in a way they prefer to communicate anyway Don’t judge them because they communicate differently than we old-grown-ups. Run with their strengths. Or, have them START with their strengths on fake social media/texts (try https://ifaketextmessage.com/ and then continue the conversation out loud

3. Sentence Starters/Historical Talking Tools -- Sometimes, kids don’t know what to say. Or, they don’t know where to begin. Or, they know what to say in a kid-way, but not in an academic way. Enter, sentence-starters or Historical Talking Tools! Start them off so that instead of saying “you’re stupid!” or “no! You're wrong!” they say “I disagree with you because...” or “Although you say __, I believe __”

2. Silent Conversation -- Put a quote or a short piece of text or a political cartoon on a piece of paper. And put that same piece of paper in front of every kid, but the kids are in groups of 3-4. And give each kid 1-2 minutes to write to respond to that quote/text/cartoon. Then, within the groups, have them pass the papers around to another group member and each kid will respond to what the previous group member wrote. Then, the pass it again to another member of their group, read what the previous two wrote, and add to that conversation. And another time (if you have 4 kids in a group). It’s brilliant for getting kids to dig deep into a great quote/text/cartoon and to have conversation with each other in a way you can structure and monitor. 

1.Model it -- Kids don’t always know how to collaborate effectively. So SHOW THEM! Literally, act it out in front of them and model it. The more explicitly you show them what you want, the more they “get it”. Modelling is a great way to help them get better at what you want them to do, the way you want them to do it. 

Non-negotiables -- These things are non-negotiable when it comes to student collaboration. 

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  Walk around and monitor their conversations by joining in. As kids talk, teachers can’t sit back. Teachers need to be monitoring and listening to every student conversation. And it's ok to join in conversation with the kids so you can ask them probing questions. 
• Raised hands is NOT student talk. Having kids raise their hands is STUDENT talk. Studnet, singular. As in one student can talk while the other 28 cannot. So, one kid is thinking about content while the other 28 are thinking about pizza or sports or their crush or whatever. It is the least efficient way to have students talk. It’s like painting your whole house with a q-tip. Least efficient tool for the job. Why wouldn’t you have ALL the kids talk so ALL the kids are thinking and learning?

How do you have kids talk about content? How can you mix it up and do more student-talk about content, more often? As always, I love to hear from you! Email me newmantr@pcsb.org

Shut Up and Talk With Me

If you haven’t been hiding from pop music in the past year or two, you have heard the earworm  song called “Shut Up and Dance With Me”

Aaaand ... You’re welcome!  for getting that stuck in your head when you thought it was gone for good!

It’s a fun pop song but  I’d like to change it to “Shut Up and Talk To Me”

How do you shut up AND talk at the same time?

It’s every teacher’s favorite strategy -- the Silent Conversation!

Silent Conversation strategy is the best of both worlds -- quiet, peaceful classroom management AND collaboration between students. It’s where the students write their conversation -- like a pencil-and-paper note passing session -- about content

How do I do it?

1. Kids move into groups of four (three or five are okay, but four tends to work the best)
2. Have something multi-dimensional, intriguing, and interesting for the kids to write about. Try a photograph of Gold Rush Forty Niners  in California, a primary source on Franz Ferdinand, or a political cartoon. Find something that has some depth and interest. A textbook section is rarely going to inspire good academic conversation.
3. Each kid takes out a sheet of paper and signs his/her name at the top. He/she then starts writing about the topic or prompt. Each kid writes for the whole announced time until the teacher says “pass”.

*Hint - -use the http://www.online-stopwatch.com/ or something similar to keep time on your screen. Start out with a short period of time - -two or three minutes, and add time next time you do it, or as the topics grow more in depth.

4. When the teacher says “pass”, the students pass their papers to the left (or right, whatever you choose) and the kids write new entries, responding to the previous entry on the new papers.
5. If they have trouble responding, compare this assignment to a low-tech version of a Facebook conversation. People comment and respond to each other in “threads” online all the time. This is just on paper. Remind them to keep it on topic – you have proof (written proof in their own handwriting) if the kids start talking about their video games or other stuff.
6. They write for the whole time - - two minutes or whatever you tell them.
7. They keep passing until they have written on each paper at least once.
8. When done, allow the class to have a few minutes to read their papers and then continue their conversations out loud. The more often you do this, the better the kids get at having informed academic conversation!
9. Wrap up by having each group report out to the whole class about one thing their group discussed.

How do I keep my kids on task? This is fixed once they realize that you now have a written (and graded) record of their conversation about each other’s mommas (or whatever)

Why should I try this one? We know that when kids think deeper about things, they learn those things better. They retain them better. They process that information better and more thoroughly.

This may be easier the first time with higher-level kids, but it’s more beneficial for lower-level kids. It just sometimes takes an extra practice or two before struggling kids really get used to the procedure. Stop, take a deep breath … and try it again. The more they practice, the better they will do with it and the easier it will become for them.

Struggling kids don’t always “get it” the first time. But if you give up and you don’t try it with them again, they’ll NEVER get it. Try it again until they get the strategy.

What could go wrong? Well, maybe we don’t choose a discussion-worthy topic... Maybe your kids don’t take the assignment seriously. That will be fixed easily as a grade is given or as you the teacher respond in writing in the margin of the student conversations. What about handwriting? They kids will fix that when they write back to each other things like “Man, I can’t read that!”

Please don’t call it “Shut Up and Talk”. Some parent or administrator is going to be upset. But do call it the “Silent Conversation” And try it with your kids!

As always, let me know how it goes! Email me newmantr@pcsb.org