By: Anja Norris, ELL Instructional Coach
As you reflect on a structured conversation in your classroom, what is going well? What needs tweaking? What sets structured conversation apart from other discussions? Structured conversations are very intentional, with specific, explicit guidance. In structured conversation the teacher plans:
- to whom students will speak (and for how long)
- what students will talk about
- how they are to say it (using sentence stems, specific vocabulary)
- who will talk first
- the role of the listener
What makes a reading or writing activity structured? Task, Purpose, Plan, and Process!
Task: READING
- Purpose: Why am I having my students read this?
- Plan: How will I make sure my students are ready to read this?
- Process: What strategies will students use to make sense of the text?
Task: WRITING
- Purpose: How will the writing task help students gain an understanding of the content?
- Plan: Can my students successfully complete the writing task on their own? What supports will they need?
- Process: What specific writing strategy, structure, or process will reinforce the content goals?