Routines to Encourage Peer Talk In shared text talk everyone is an equal partner in the meaning-making process. No one controls the conversation (although you facilitate, especially as your students are learning how to explore text analysis through an interactive read-aloud). What this means is that each member of the club must listen intently to what is being said, wait for an opening in the conversation, and slip in with his or her response. Help your students learn to use active listening and natural turn‑taking. You may feel uncomfortable allowing students to speak without first raising their hands. But try, over time, to help your students develop real conversational turn‑taking, so that you don’t need a “traffic monitor” to signal who can speak and who must wait. To help your students succeed, spend time introducing each talk routine that encourages peer-to-peer talk. We suggest three configurations: Pair Talk One of the most effective ways to spark conversation and thinking is the instructional strategy, turn and talk . Try these guidelines: • Students have an identified partner. At the signal for “turn and talk” or “turn and talk about ____,” they turn to each other (when seated on the floor or in chairs) and have time for one or two quick interchanges about the issue at hand. (If you have an uneven number of students, you can partner with a student.) • Partners talk and then turn to another pair and quickly share a summary of what they have been saying. Your students will easily learn the turn-and-talk routine with a quick share; both partners share their thoughts and always listen to each other thoughtfully and politely. After you demonstrate with a partner, turn to your students and ask: • Did you express your own ideas? • Did you share quickly? • Did you listen carefully to each other? Trio Talk After watching you demonstrate text talk with two partners, students try it themselves in a preassigned group of three. The routine is similar to pair talk, but students must be even more efficient and pace their talk so that all three can share. Circle Talk in Two Pairs Again, demonstrate this configuration yourself before guiding your students to try it on their own. Have two partners turn to each other and talk about the text. Once your students are comfortable with this arrangement, they will be ready for the small-group conversation of the book club.
15 Comprehension Clubs Grades K–5 Implementation Guide
Interactive Read-Aloud
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