Instructional Conversation

This year we will use Instructional Conversation to deepen understanding across subject areas, strengthen a sense of community, nurture empathy and boost communication skills. According to the Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE), "Thinking, and the abilities to form, express, and exchange ideas are best taught through dialogue, through questioning and sharing ideas and knowledge." 

What will it look like, you ask? Conversation stems like these will be slowly introduced, then the students will ask each other (and me) questions to increase the level of student talk. 

But shouldn't the teacher be doing the talking? Children often discover concepts and fresh ways of thinking from each other, and Instructional Conversation brings an equality to communication lacking in teacher-centered instruction.

Parents often ask how they can extend their child's learning at home. One way is to simply talk to them. While reading to your child, or vice-versa, these questions can heighten comprehension, while getting to know each other's perspective on characters, conflict, setting, etc.  

The stems will increase in complexity throughout the year, and I encourage you to make conversation a priority whenever possible.

Click here for more on Instructional Conversation.

Close and Critical Reads

Close reading is when a person dives deeper into a text to figure out what it all means. How does this connect to something else I have read? What is the main idea? How are the author's ideas organized? What are some of the key words I need to understand, and how are they related?

Critical reading occurs when that person digs even deeper into the text. How do I feel about what I just read? What is the author not saying? Does this have anything to do with me? How does the author feel? Does the author do a good job in communicating their ideas? If I was the author, what would I do differently? How does this connect to the world around me? Can I figure out motivation? What questions do I still have?

The human mind is like a lightbulb. Even when the lightbulb is on, it can become dusty and dim. When someone can read a piece of text, the lightbulb is on. They recognize the letters and words, but they can't really see what it means because everything is a bit dark. Reading closely and critically dusts off the lightbulb. When it shines brightly, the person sees and understands how the world really works. Click the the image above, or right here to begin dusting off your lightbulb.