Small Group Discussion

Strategies

Think-Pair-Share

Carousel Brainstorming

Discussion Web

Read-and-Say Something

Roles With Cooperative TeamsSeed Discussion

Three-Minute Pause

Socratic Circles

Read and Explain

Sticky –Note Discussion

Small Group Discussions

ABC Brainstorming

Concentric Circle Discussion

Mind Streaming

Discussion Guidelines

Establish ground rules for student-led conversations.Develop these collaboratively with your class. Here a few critical ideas.• Listen to what your discussion partners have to say.•Let each person finish his or her thought; don’t interrupt.•Repeat the main points of the previous speaker before making your comments.•Repeating another person’s idea will help you listen and will also let the speaker know that you have heard his or her message.

I get what you a saying about…Another way to think about what you said is…Let me make sure I understand about what you said about…

•Challenge or support ideas, not people.I hear what you said… but I have a different idea...

What do you feel about…?• Support your ideas with examples and facts from the materials you are

reading.• Keep an open mind.• Make sure everyone has a chance to talk.• Look at the person who is speaking.• BE RESPECTFUL!

Think-Pair-Share

•Allows every student to become an active participant (Kagan, 1989)•Works well before, during, and after reading, as a problem-solving strategy, break in a lecture

Procedure1. The teacher suggests a topic or asks a question.2. Students think and write down what they know or have learned about the

topic.3. Students then pair with another student or small group and discuss their

ideas.4. Conclude with a whole class discussion.

Mind Streaming

Students work in pairs to generate background knowledge or to review learned information.

Use the circle map to write down what you know about friends and being a friend.

Kindergarten Friends

ABC Brainstorming

Use to elicit information before a lesson or before writing.

A B C D E

F G H I

J K L M

N O P Q

R S T U

V W X Y Z

The Best Christmas PageantEver

Eric Carle Biography

Three-Minute Pause

Students pause while reading, listening, or watching to a lecture and turn to their partner or small group for a 3-minute pause.•Summarize what they have learned.•Share something that piqued their interest.•Ask questions about confusing information and/or make a prediction about what they might learn next.

Explain that pausing every 10-15 minutes helps them “fix” new information in their memory.Why is hearing and viewing information not enough for constructing new meaning?

Concentric Circle Discussion

SIOP Strategy

Use to review concepts in whole-class groups or in groups of six or more.

1. Give each student an index card listing a key concept.2. Place students in 2 concentric circles facing each other.3. Students on the inside circle pair with students in the outside circle.4. Students use cards to explain their concepts to each other (1-2) minutes.5. Partners ask questions to make sure they understand the information.6. After completing both explanations, the two students trade cards. The outside

circle moves clockwise one person and each student is now paired with a new partner.

7. Students must now explain the information described on the new card to a new partner. The process is continued until all students have learned and taught all concepts and have received their original cards back.

Fishbowl

(A modification of Concentric Circle Discussions

Students form 2 circle with the smaller circle comprised of 3-5 students inside the larger one.Select a controversial topic or key concept for discussion.

Rules:•Only the students in the inner circle can speak.•No student leaves the inner circle until s/he has contributed to the discussion.•After a student talks once, he or she changes place with a student in the outer circle. •A student cannot re-enter the inner circle for 2 minutes.

Read-and-Say Something

•Students work in small groups or with a partner. The leader reads the first paragraph or section of the assignment aloud with the others read it silently.•After reading the first section, the student to the right of the leader says something that related to the information and/or purpose of reading. S/he may react to ideas, descriptions, images, and/or comment on confusing parts. Others may comment after the first person says something.•When discussion about the section end, or time is up, the person to the right of the leader reads the next section and the process continues.•Conversations about the meaning of the article occur naturally. Students conclude the sessions by writing down questions they want answered by the whole class or other groups.

Read and Explain

•A modified version of Read-And-Say Something, linked directly to the text content•Provides a more explicit way for readers to examine their own understanding•Sometimes, students do not know they are not comprehending what they read. Read and Explain slows readers down so they can process text more carefully.•Powerful metacognitive strategy •If students can’t explain what they’ve read they didn’t “get it.”•Additional strategies must be applied.

Discussion Web

Helps student untangle different points of view by actively involving everyone and helps students understand opposing sides of an issue

Discussion Web

This strategy helps students untangle different points of view by actively involving everyone and helps students understand opposing sides of an issue.

1. Model with a whole class discussion. Begin with a controversial and familiar topic that you know will generate strong feelings.

2. Write the question in the middle of the grid.3. Have the class brainstorm opposing arguments. Challenge students to take

students to take side contrary to their personal view.4. Develop conclusions on both sides.5. Then ask students to work in pairs and decide which conclusion seems more valid.6. Ask that pair to join another pair to see if they can develop one conclusion. Have

the group explain their ideas to the whole group, explaining the reasoning that led them to their conclusion.

7. Write a persuasive essay using the notes from the Discussion Web Frame.

Sticky-Note Discussions

1. Establish a purpose for reading and noting specific information.2. Read aloud. When you come to a spot you want to mark, explain why and

record a few key words on the sticky note.3. Students should mark 1-2 places per section.4. Begin Sticky-Note Discussions as a whole class, beginning with a place you

have marked. Ask for questions or comments.5. Use 2 or more colors of sticky notes: argument, vocabulary, question notes.

Guidelines for younger children in preparation for literature study groups:•Questions I have•Parts that are beautifully written• Places that make me sad, angry, laugh•Parts that make me want to keep reading•Parts where I learn more about the characters•Places where I learn about where the story takes place

Guidelines for older students in preparation for literature study groups (elements of fiction)•Tension, excitement, suspense, nervousness, anticipation that keeps us turning pages•Character: conversations, actions, descriptions that teach us about the characters•Place and time: descriptions that paint mind-pictures; sections creating time and place•Mood: feelings of reader, characters; parts that arouse emotionsSymbols: symbols contributing to mood, tension or resolution; what they represent

Guidelines for Nonfiction•Questions I have•Information I don’t understand•Places where I need more examples•Powerful images to help me remember•My opinions, feelings, reactions•Connections I make to ideas and content

Carousel Brainstorming

Process

• Pick about 5 topics and post on chart paper around the room.

• Assign student teams to each topic.

• Teams take one minute to brainstorm everything they know

about the topic. They use a “team” colored marker.

• Teams move to the next topic and brainstorm with their team

marker.

• Teams stop when they return to their original topic, read what

has been entered after their entry, then “carousel” around the

other topics reading the new information.

•Write a one sentence summary on what they think is the most important information about each topic. Follow the same carousel procedure until each group has added a summary sentence to all of the charts.•Use for reviewing key vocabulary. Write one word per chart.•Use for analyzing characters in a novel, writing the name of each character on the charts.•Write a problem on each chart. As groups go through the Carousel, they one of the process steps required to solve each problem.

Extensions

Seed Discussions

Post suggestions for discussion on a large chart:•Information or situations I don’t understand•Comments about what I have learned•Things that are interesting or surprising•Vocabulary I want to know about•Descriptive writing I enjoyed•Things that remind me of other things I know

Seed examples: (Julie of the Wolves)Strong: I am not sure what this quote means: “Patience with the ways of nature had been instilled in her by her father.” Discussions could center on what is meant by “ways of nature.” How would “patience” relate to the “ways of nature?”Weak: “Miyax is a pretty young girl.” There is nothing to discuss.

Model discussion behavior so students can respond to one another’s questions:I really like what you said about…Do you have any other ideas about…I agree with you…but I also think…

Roles of Group Members:

Role DescriptionLeader Responsible for calling on each person to share his or her

discussion seeds

Manager Makes sure that everyone has all necessary materials for the discussion

Checker Makes sure that everyone has a chance to talk about his or her seeds.

Communicator Summarized the main points generated in the discussion

for the group and the class. Alerts teacher when the discussion is complete. Only the communicator may leavethe group.