My Spotlight on Strategies (SOS) addresses the topic of conversation in the classroom. Now, as teachers, we all know that students are constantly talking and conversing on a frequent basis in the classroom. Why not take what students are already great at, and use it to their own advantage! Introducing and implementing purposeful, academic conversations in the classroom is a great way to provide students with opportunities to relate to their peers and to the content being taught, as opposed to the back-and-forth “telling” that happens often.
The example I shared for my SOS was an activity that I have used many times in my 4th grade classroom, Conversation Dots. I was introduced to this activity at a training on the Student-Centered Classroom. This activity gets students involved in a conversation with their peers, requiring them to share their ideas as well as listen to the ideas of their peers. This activity can be implemented into any lesson in any subject. Teaching students how to effectively have a conversation is an important life skill. Not only does conversation benefit students in the classroom, but it is also something that will be present all throughout their lives. Conversations help students deepen their understanding in a purposeful way.
While Conversation Dots is an activity that is mostly used with paper and pencil, I have facilitated this in my 4th grade classroom using GAFE. I shared a Conversation Dots template with my students via Google Docs, which gave students access to the document and they could type their ideas. After typing their ideas in response to their question, students still had a verbal discussion about their responses. With 4th graders, typing is a challenging activity. I hope to build my students stamina with typing so that in the future they can type more detailed answers, and then can respond to their peers electronically via Google Docs. While digital media is very important and beneficial in this day and age, sometimes there are teachable moments that do not always lend itself to technology. Teaching students how to have a conversation is a skill that does not require digital media, but as students prove they have a good foundation of conversational skills, digital media can be introduced to support and build upon those skills.
The example I shared for my SOS was an activity that I have used many times in my 4th grade classroom, Conversation Dots. I was introduced to this activity at a training on the Student-Centered Classroom. This activity gets students involved in a conversation with their peers, requiring them to share their ideas as well as listen to the ideas of their peers. This activity can be implemented into any lesson in any subject. Teaching students how to effectively have a conversation is an important life skill. Not only does conversation benefit students in the classroom, but it is also something that will be present all throughout their lives. Conversations help students deepen their understanding in a purposeful way.
While Conversation Dots is an activity that is mostly used with paper and pencil, I have facilitated this in my 4th grade classroom using GAFE. I shared a Conversation Dots template with my students via Google Docs, which gave students access to the document and they could type their ideas. After typing their ideas in response to their question, students still had a verbal discussion about their responses. With 4th graders, typing is a challenging activity. I hope to build my students stamina with typing so that in the future they can type more detailed answers, and then can respond to their peers electronically via Google Docs. While digital media is very important and beneficial in this day and age, sometimes there are teachable moments that do not always lend itself to technology. Teaching students how to have a conversation is a skill that does not require digital media, but as students prove they have a good foundation of conversational skills, digital media can be introduced to support and build upon those skills.