In
my fifth grade classroom I rarely see any classroom talk. Everyday after lunch
the teacher stands in the front of the classroom and reads a few chapters from
a chapter book (they are currently reading Avi). The students do not
have their own copy and do not seem to be engaged or paying attention. A few
times I have heard her ask the students to re-cap what they have previously
read before beginning for the day but besides for a simple re-telling question
the students are not being asked anything more. Also, in this new marking
period the students have been working on a “Stone Soup” unit. My teacher had
read them the book; Stone Soup and the students were given a packet of
work regarding this book. Within this packet the students were required to
search through the dictionary for three words A-Z that they could include in
the soup. The students had to write these ingredients in cursive on line paper,
another worksheet required them to read another version of Stone Soup and
fill in a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two stories. They were
also given a small paperback version in which the students had to read and then
fill out a worksheet with several re-tell and comprehension questions. This
last Thursday the students read a portion of Shiloh from their Treasures
language arts book. Before reading this passage the teacher called on students
who had their hand raised to provide a definition for one of the eight
vocabulary words listed. After verbally reviewing all of the words the teacher
read the passage and after the students were given two worksheets. One
worksheet dealt with the vocabulary words and the other asked 5 questions about
the reading such as, “Do you think Marty will return Shiloh to Judd on Sunday
as promised, why or why not?” “Why do you think Ma offered to buy Shiloh from
Judd?” “If you needed to make some extra money for something you wanted what
might you do?”. With all of these stories there is some “recitation” but
certainly no discussion as Almasi talked about. Some recitation takes place as
my mentor teacher will stand in front and ask specific questions that have one
answer, and the teacher will call on students that have their hand raised which
tend to be the same handful of students every time. However, the students mainly fill out worksheets, even in
social studies the students read from their book and fill them out. Students should have the opportunity to discuss
their ideas, instead of the teacher just telling them what the text was about
or having them fill out worksheets. When incorporating literature into the
literacy curriculum, I think it is important to keep in mind that discussions
must be had in order for students to get meaning out of the literature. The
discussions will allow for students to work off of each other’s ideas in order
to reach new meanings. Students
could really benefit from a discussion in this classroom as they are all
diverse in their own ways and hearing each other’s thoughts and ideas could
help expand their thinking.
In
order for the students to even be able to take part in a meaningful discussion
my mentor teacher will definitely have to scaffold them. With this I mean she
will first have to teach them how to participate in response centered talk
meaning you let one person finish what they are saying before one speaks, you
do not interrupt, blurt out or make rood comments. When responding, the
students should be prepared to support their idea or argument but still be open
to other’s ideas and opinions. In this classroom there has been some issues of
bullying so coaching the students and reminding them that a student response
centered discussion isn’t time to make fun of others ideas or be off task. The
teacher will have to encourage all students to share ideas, ensuring each
student knows it is a safe environment and all thoughts are welcomed. The
teacher will also have to plan ahead, create open-ended discussion questions
and refrain from doing all of the talking. Instead, the students will speak
among themselves and the teacher will be there to guide students in certain
directions, to help keep them on track and possibly expand on their ideas.
Some types of
learning resources that are available that have the potential to promote rich
discussions are white boards, several copies of the same books, a classroom
computer, laptops that are available to all students, and a projector. While my
class does not have one, an Elmo could also be a great resource because the
teacher could display certain pages of the book (assuming there are not
multiple copies for everyone) so the rest of the class could see. If a student
was referencing a picture on a certain page she could flip to that page and
help keep everyone involved. The teacher can record a question on the white
board so students can make sure they are staying on task, and the teacher could
also use the board to record the student’s thoughts. My classroom also has many
books organized by genre, type or level and several dictionaries available. In our Weinsten reading, we are given
some great examples of props that will encourage shy students to feel more
comfortable speaking out. A few examples they gave were a special pen, a
wand, or a toy. Using a prop like this ensures that each student will get
a chance to speak while also preventing outspoken students from dominating the
conversation.
Some students in
my classrooms need scaffolding in order to participate actively in response-centered
talk. Some of the scaffolding that students need are probing for the main ideas
in a given text, probing for how those main ideas could and do connect back to
their own lives, things from the chapter that reminds them of specific memories
that pertain to them, scaffolding involving vocabulary, as well as questions or
ideas on how to start and continue a group conversation. For students who are
not as active in the classroom, there are many ways a teacher can scaffold.
For example, the Almasi article states that if a student gives a shorter
response, a teacher can simply ask the student to provide a rationale.
Furthermore, if a student doesn't give a response at all, a teacher can ask if
the student agrees or disagrees with the opinion just stated by another
student. Not only does this get the shy student to participate, but it
also puts them in the position of the evaluator.
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