Robert E. Probst's chapter of Adolescent Literacy: Turning Practice into Promise outlines the value of teaching students value of teaching students how to talk, focusing particularly on ways for teachers to aid in their student's growth in this area. As a future teacher, I plan on having my classroom revolve around class discussion, however I found Probst's chapter on this subject interesting. In the chapter, Probst refers to talking as a "natural skill that can be improved with attention and effort and... can be elevated with... training" (2007). This passage challenged my preconceptions of discussion, as I have always believed that the ability to speak well in public is a natural born gift, I often forget that the voice, like any muscle can be trained. As a future teacher, hoping to use discussion in her classroom, this passage proved to be very valuable, as it reminded me of the importance of teaching discussion not just as vehicle for teaching literature but also as a skill to be honed.
There were several tools Probst included in the chapter to ensure this happens, my favorite of which being his icebreaker activity entitled "Find the Poem" in which students have to piece together various poems from the lines they are given on an individual basis. I though this would be a wonderful activity for English teachers to do on the first day of school, as it gets the students accustomed to getting up out of their seat and moving around the classroom to discuss a literary work with their peers in a nonthreatening way. At the end of the chapter Probst also included a dialogue booklet as a subtle way of outlining for students ways in which to discuss a particular work without dictating to them exactly what must be said. As a student myself, I have received a handout very similar to this and found it to be a useful tool in discussing a work of literature. Overall, Probst's chapter outlined some good activities to teach students how lead discussions on their own while illustrating the importance off talking as a skill.
Again, yes, I agree - I had never thought about teaching students *how* to talk until I read this chapter. It seemed like it was just something that students did, but I quickly found out in my teaching experience that it does take a lot of work to facilitate effective discussions and especially to create spaces where students want to participate.
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