I wrote the following reflection while completing the Learning to Talk by Talking : A Developmental Approach to maximizing Language and Literacy Skills course.
TASK ACTIVITY
I had a partner debate with two Year 4 (Grade 3) students. The question, “Which of you has written about the most interesting animal in your list arctic?.” They each shared their thinking for 2.5mins then switched for the second round. Ida (Finnish speaker) debated for lions. YoYo (Mandarin speaker) debated for cheetahs. Both girls are from the same homeroom class and were new-to-English in August. They have made remarkable progress developing their English skills so far this year.
Interestingly, a calm came over both of the girls. For the first round, they were both very respectful of each others’ ideas and listened attentively. They waited patiently for the timer to finish. The girls had their “published” list articles with them for support with specific details. When they switched, they had fun. Without much thought they helped each other by using their list articles for reference.
I was surprised. YoYo is usually quite excitable. However, she responded very well with a time limit and was patience to really challenge herself to communicate her ideas. She was even open to Ida’s help when they swapped roles.
I will adapt this strategy in a variety of ways with students in our next unit. I will be curious to see how students in pairs work together to agree on a position and hold it. I am also curious to see what students might come up with if they were asked to make their own script.
- Small-group debates with assigned positions
- Partner debates with position switch
I had a partner debate with two Year 4 (Grade 3) students. The question, “Which of you has written about the most interesting animal in your list arctic?.” They each shared their thinking for 2.5mins then switched for the second round. Ida (Finnish speaker) debated for lions. YoYo (Mandarin speaker) debated for cheetahs. Both girls are from the same homeroom class and were new-to-English in August. They have made remarkable progress developing their English skills so far this year.
Interestingly, a calm came over both of the girls. For the first round, they were both very respectful of each others’ ideas and listened attentively. They waited patiently for the timer to finish. The girls had their “published” list articles with them for support with specific details. When they switched, they had fun. Without much thought they helped each other by using their list articles for reference.
I was surprised. YoYo is usually quite excitable. However, she responded very well with a time limit and was patience to really challenge herself to communicate her ideas. She was even open to Ida’s help when they swapped roles.
I will adapt this strategy in a variety of ways with students in our next unit. I will be curious to see how students in pairs work together to agree on a position and hold it. I am also curious to see what students might come up with if they were asked to make their own script.
