Talk, Read, Talk, Write Strategies

Here's how:

Talk #1

1-2 minutes

Engage with content concept and set a purpose for reading (the “hook.”)

Overview Strategies:

• Ask a provocative question.
  

· Post a thought-provoking question related to the content concept.

· Give Ss an opportunity to discuss answers with each other.

· Tip: Random calling so that all students speak

· Tip: Use sentence stems to scaffold

• Make a choice.

· Post a situation or question that requires students to make a choice.

· Ask students to explain and defend choices with each

• Respond to a visual.
  

· Post an interesting or dramatic visual related to the content concept.

· Ask students to share their thoughts about the visual with each other.

· Tip: Use productive partnering

Read

10-15 minutes

Read an academic text to develop content understanding. Tip: Best text if text is teacher-created (or adapted; i.e., rewordify.com)

Overview Strategies:

• PAT List
  

· Create a list of significant words, phrases, or ideas from the text.

· Ask students to use that list while reading to ensure they understand important concepts.

• Annotation
  

· Directly teach students ways to annotate.

· Ask students to annotate while reading so they have a record of their thinking.

• Highlighting PLUS
  

· Ask students to highlight important ideas from the text.

· Give students the opportunity to refer to their highlighted text after reading, and have them explain why they highlighted it.

· Tip: Sit with students, dialogue, ask questions.

Talk #2

5-10 minutes

Process the text and prepare for writing.

Students talk to one another.

Overview Strategies:

• Envelope, Please!
  

· Create 1-3 open-ended questions related to the text.

· Give student groups open-ended question in an envelope.

· Ask groups to discuss answers to questions.Tip: Teacher may want to gauge students’ time at first, gradually add minutes (no more than 10) as they are more able to speak on topic for longer.

· Tip: Embed the writing assignment in the talking assignment; introduce target vocabulary and have students practice using it in context of conversation – consider using sentence stems for explicit use of vocabulary words.

• Check-in Conversation

· Give student groups an opportunity to discuss their annotations from the text.

· Give student groups an opportunity to brainstorm ideas for writing.

· Tip: After students understand process, dialogue should be student-driven.

Write

10-15 minutes

Communicate content understanding.

This can be used as a formative assessment to see the learning; can be taken for a grade.

Overview Strategies:

• Clear Explanation
  

· Give students a clear purpose and audience for their written explanation.

· Provide students with Ways to Expand and Explain Thinking Chart.

· Analyze examples and non-examples of written explanations.

• Make a Claim with Evidence
  

· Give students a clear purpose and audience for their claims.

· Provide students with Ways to Expand and Explain Thinking chart.

· Analyze examples and non-examples of claims with evidence.

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