Grand Conversations Intro Lesson Set

Based on http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_Grand_Conversations.pdf, Peels Accountable Talk TP and http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Talk_about_listening.pdf

1. Intro Class Norms

ask them to choose ONE of the class norms presented, and, turning to a partner, explain why they think this is a "good" norm/rule. (This could be scaffolded with a sentence started on chart paper or overhead that reads something like, "I think _____ is a good rule for conversations because _______")
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2. Practise talking in a small group

Have students meet in four corners:
Oldest Middle Youngest Only child

Set students up so they are facing each other discuss the importance of body language that shows you are listening They can respond to the following questions: - What is it like being the ____ in your family? - What are some advantages? Disadvantages? groups should refer to the class norms and check in to see what they did well, and what could be improved; one or two groups could fishbowl the discussion, and the rest of the class comment on how they met the class norms (i.e. I noticed that they were polite with each other, even when they disagreed about something) also have students demo bad examples, followed by practising/showing the right way ala Daily 5, remember to include body language (face to face, no fiddling with other things, etc.)

3. Intro Actions of Rich Talk (Criteria)

Tell students that this year we will be having many Grand Conversations. The difference between a GC and a simple discussion, usually, is that a GC focuses on more formal matters, rather than the type of discussion two friends might have at recess.
Add Focus on the topic and use academic vocabulary (no friend talk) to the norms chart

Note that there are some actions that can help to promote effective dialogue, and keep a GC going so that we can all learn the best we can
- Unveil the chart, with only the left hand column showing (right hand column to be blank) - Read the actions together; note that we will be exploring these in more detail over the coming weeks, but that you would like them to think about each of the actions, and what it might sound like during a classroom conversation with a partner or in a group

4. 22 Actions of Rich Talk (Criteria) LINK TO AND BUILD, DISAGREE CONSTR.

PREP: Post 4 corners of 4 animals and 4 plants (or four communities) Students choose one of the 4 corners on animals they know something about (from last years science class) have students discuss, being mindful of the Norms Call them back to the carpet. Ask them how they think they did (do another fishbowl, if needed) provide a sentence stem such as "I noticed that ___________ built on _________'s comment when he said ___________". Remind students of the Rich Talk chart model a think aloud, adding some phrases to the right hand, beside Link to and Build On Have students go back to their 4 corners group, and practise building on to Debrief on carpet, include think alouds such as What helped you make that connection? or What are you thinking right now? to guide students in becoming aware of your inner voice. Proceed to model/think aloud or co-construct examples for right hand of Disagree model with a student about should school be 7 days a week? and discuss, what are you thinking right now? when the student disagrees
Have students choose a plant, or community now, one they think might be interesting to learn more about, then turn and talk with few people nearby on the carpet they should practise disagreeing respectfully, as well as building on.

Have 3-4 students fishbowl this, and analyze as a class

5. 22 Actions of Rich Talk (Criteria) ASK FOR CLARIFICATION

PREP: print copies of seasons partners doc Students fill up their seasons partners page With summer partners: Something about intro and extra verts (which are you?) Meet on carpet, add to chart, then meet with summer partner again, and apply notes (criteria) from chart Carpet debrief, revisit previous actions of rich talk (from previous lessons) winter partner: ask questions about urban/rural community (or whatever you are studying in SES right now), eg what do you remember from yesterdays video? Fishbowl, or debrief in some other way

6. 22 Actions of Rich Talk (Criteria) ASK QUESTIONS

Review norms, revisit chart about rich talk criteria so far tell students today we will practise the next Action Asking Questions Invite students to think about what sorts of listen fors might illustrate Asking Questions; TPS, and add these to the chart Tell them we will practise this Action today in partners; Inside/outside circles have inside student tell outside student what they remember about patterns (or hundreds chart, or some other math concept from last years grade) Outside partner asks questions

7. 22 Actions of Rich Talk (Criteria) EXPLAIN YOUR THINKING

PREP: 5 picturebook & inferring questions, chart papers for placemat

A) Do a book talk about the five books, class chooses three they want read aloud over the next several weeks

B) (Read-Aloud First Book) Review norms, revisit chart about rich talk criteria so far tell students today we will practise the final Action Explain Your Thinking Invite students to think about what sorts of listen fors might illustrate Explaining Thinking; TPS, and add these to the chart Students work in their number groups to respond to a question based on the picture book in their section of the placemat, then read others, then have conversation, explaining their thinking and using the other actions Debrief, blah blah

8. 22 Meta-Talk About Listening A

(PREP Placemat) Tell students that listening, speaking, reading and writing are connected. Ask students to think about, then respond to the following: How does listening make you a better thinker/speaker/writer? In what ways does listening to someone else read help you to become a better reader? Why is talking through your ideas before writing them down helpful? In what ways does listening to someone else read aloud what you have written help you to improve your writing?

9. 22 Meta-Talk About Listening B

Some questions to engage students in silent (mental) conversations include the following: How do you check to be sure that you understand correctly what others are saying during a discussion? What listening strategies help you to contribute effectively to group discussions? How do you know your presentation is effective? Which elements work really well? What types of questions do you ask yourself as you are listening to others? How does listening to different kinds of texts help you to create ideas for your own writing? Which listening strategies help you the most in developing interpretations of media texts? What strategies help you understand and follow a discussion with another person or among several people?

The following activities encourage students to practise their listening skills: Quick Writes Provide a prompt to specific topics in an oral text and give students a few minutes (three to five) to jot down a first-draft response. Graffiti Write the main points from an oral text that the class has shared on large sheets of paper (one idea per sheet) and post them around the room. Divide the class into partners or small groups to take turns generating and recording responses to each point. When students have had a chance to respond to all the points, bring them together as a group to cluster related ideas, eliminate duplication and reach consensus. Tableaux Give students the option of using graphic forms of expression such as a drawing or a living tableau to depict the key ideas or scenes referred to/described in an oral text. ReQuest Have students read two to three pages of text and then ask an open-ended, higherorder question. Following discussion, have them read the next few pages and again pause, this time encouraging one of the students to pose a rich question for the group to explore (a good strategy for stimulating student thinking during a read-aloud or guided reading lesson). Inside-Outside Have students form an inner and an outer circle, designating one circle as speakers and the other circle as listeners. Pose a question and then invite the speakers to share their thinking, solutions or viewpoints with the classmate directly in front of them. Have each listener paraphrase what each speaker has shared, adding his/her own response. Then have the outer circle rotate one person to the left (or right) and begin the cycle again, this time exploring a new question (Ministry of Education, 2006b, p.130). Carousel Following an oral presentation, divide the class into groups, designating one student in each group to remain in place as the designated speaker while the other students rotate to each of the other groups, on signal, to listen to the other designated speakers. Again, on signal, have students rotate to a new group and continue in this manner until all groups have been visited (Ministry of Education, 2006b, p.121).

Literature logs (or reading logs) were used so that students could write their thoughts or feelings about characters, story topic, or plot. Consensus board is a strategy to determine what should be discussed during the grand conversation. Older students write down thoughts and connections to a story and then share them with a small group with the objective of trying to come to a consensus as to which issues should be discussed during the conversation (Namba, n.d.). We adapted the strategy to use

with younger learners. Each student drew a picture of what they thought was the most important issue that should be the topic of our conversation. They labeled their pictures. We grouped the pictures and glued them onto butcher paper and then added a label to categorize the pictures so that the students could see what they felt was most important and wanted to talk about. The category that had the most pictures was our first point of discussion. Sketchtostretch is where students draw a symbolic representation of the story instead of a picture of the story. According to Tompkins (2007) students focus on using symbols to represent what the story means to them. Students can use not only pictures but also words, colors, or shapes. (p. 286). Sketchtostretch can be a challenge with young students who are very literal and want to draw a picture of their favorite part of the story. Instead drawings should show what the story means to students. This might be something you practice together whole group first. Life lessons chart developed by Drew (n.d.) can be used after reading to identify story theme and make personal connections to the theme. On a piece of chart or butcher paper write the story title at the top. Underneath write the heading Theme and together identify and write the theme or lesson the author wants the readers to understand. Some stories may have several themes so you may want to choose one at a time to analyze and use another piece of paper for another day. Next write the heading Supporting Evidence from Story and find and list under the heading all of the examples in the story that support this theme. Write the final heading underneath So what? What does this theme mean to me? How does it relate to my life? This is the part that can be used for your conversation. Ask students to share how the story connects to their lives. Maybe they or someone they know has experienced a similar situation. Maybe they have learned something new and can tell you how it will affect their lives.

What Rich Talk About Text Might Sound Like

Action What it might sound like

Link to and build on others comments I agree with him but I also think I think thats a good idea and also Yes, but I also feel Disagree constructively I dont really agree with that because I dont think so because Thats not what I think it meant because Ask for clarification What did you mean when you said that I dont understand what youre saying. Tell me again. Can you explain that again? Ask questions I was wondering why How come ... Why do you think Explain your thinking Cause in the book it says Me and my family did something just like that when I think so because Well thats not what I meant. What I meant was