HISD  Everyday  Excellence  Literacy  Routines                 ©  2014  building  academic  language  and  disciplinary  literacy  in  classrooms  across  the  district    

In  the  Let’s  Talk  routine,  we  regularly:  

! Remind  students  of  Let’s  Talk  procedures.  ! Plan  and  post  conversation  questions  and  

stems.  ! Guide  students  to  use  academic  language.  ! Implement  the  Q3SA  strategy.  ! Monitor  Let’s  Talk  conversations.  ! Coach  students  to  clarify  and  paraphrase.  

Let’s  Talk      

ELPS    1C.  1D.  1E.  1G.  2D.  2E.  2G.  2I.  All  of  Strand  3  IP  Rubric    I-­‐2,  I-­‐3,  I-­‐4,  I-­‐8  

 

     

   Why  Let’s  Talk  works:    

When  students  participate  regularly   in  structured  academic   conversations,   they   are   able   to   make  better   sense   of   new   content   while   building  academic  language.  Let’s  Talk  conversations  also  help   students   retrieve   prior   knowledge   and  connect   it   to   new   learning.   These   conversations  serve   as   scaffolds   for   writing   and   whole-­‐group  discussion.   As   we   circulate,   we   gain   insight   into  individual  student  understanding.    Suggested  Let’s  Talk  strategies:  

Think-­‐Pair-­‐Share  Numbered  Heads  Together  Two  Before  Me  Open-­‐Ended  Questions  Sentence  Stems  Recasting  Q3SA  Wait  Time  100%  Paraphrasing,  Clarifying,  Extending    

Let’s  Talk  tech  tools:  

Socrative.com  Classdojo.com  Screencast-­‐o-­‐matic.com  

 

• How  do  I  get  my  reluctant  students  talking?  • How  can  I  make  sure  students  are  talking  on  task?  • How  do  I  get  students  to  use  academic  language?  

 

 

HISD  Everyday  Excellence  Literacy  Routines                 ©  2014  building  academic  language  and  disciplinary  literacy  in  classrooms  across  the  district    

How  to  implement  Let’s  Talk  in  your  classroom:    ! Remind  students  of  Let’s  Talk  procedures.  

 

Students  need  a  structure,  a  purpose,  and  accountability  for  their  academic  conversations.  Two  versatile  structures  are  Think-­‐Pair-­‐Share  and  Numbered  Heads  Together.  Post  your  procedures  for  a  few  go-­‐to  structures  and  practice  them  regularly.  Establish  and  reinforce  norms  for  protecting  the  talk  time  of  reluctant  speakers,  such  as  Two  Before  Me.  

   

! Plan  and  post  conversation  questions  and  stems.    

Decide  when  during  your  lesson  students  will  need  to  process  new  content  or  retrieve  prior  knowledge.  Compose  open-­‐ended   questions   and  matching   sentence   stems   to   guide   students’   conversations.  Choose  questions  and  stems  carefully,  since  different  questions  promote  different  kinds  of  thinking.  

   

! Guide  students  to  use  academic  language.    

Model  how  to  respond  to  questions   incorporating  the  sentence  stem.  Set  expectations  for  speaking   in  complete   sentences   and   using   academic   language   by   reminding   and   recasting   (rephrasing   subtly  without  requiring  student  repetition).      

   

! Implement  the  Q3SA  strategy.    

John  Seidlitz  introduces  Q3SA  in  Sheltered  Instruction  Plus  (Seidlitz   &   Perryman,   2008).   This   is   an   effective,   flexible  strategy  for  structuring  academic  conversations:  

 

Question:  Post  and  introduce  an  open-­‐ended  question.    

Signal:  Prompt  students  to  signal  (e.g.,  thumbs  up)  when  they  are  “ready  to  finish  this  sentence  …”    

Stem:  Provide  a  sentence  stem  to  match  the  question.    

Provide  students  wait  time  or  thinking  time.  Wait  for  100%  of  students  to  signal  before  continuing.      

Share:  Instruct  students  to  discuss  with  their  partners  for  a  set  amount  of  time  using  the  stem.    

Assess:  Call  on  students  at  random  to  share  then  check  for  agreement  from  others.    

 

! Monitor  Let’s  Talk  conversations.    

During  student  conversations,  move  among  pairs  or  groups,   listening   in  and  prompting   if  students  are  stuck  or  off  topic.  Make  note  of  student  participation.  

   

! Coach  students  to  clarify  and  paraphrase.    

Teach   students   prompts   they   can   use   to   clarify   and   expand   on   their   peers’   comments.   Model  paraphrasing  and  clarifying,   then  have  students  practice  using  phrases  such  as,  “So  what   I  hear  you  saying  is  …,”  “Can  you  tell  me  more  about  …,”  and  “I  agree  with  your  idea  that  …”