Grand Conversations
Grand Conversations
Grand Conversations
Building
Series
SECRETARIAT
SPECIAL EDITION #18
Grand Conversations
in Primary Classrooms
Sowing the Seeds of Deeper Comprehension
Why grand conversations?
student engagement in discussions
about text results in improved reading
comprehension, higher level thinking skills,
and increased literacy motivation.
(Gambrell, 2004)
Oral language is the foundation for the complex literacy skills that are critical to
a childs success in todays knowledge society. The capacity to analyze rich text
(including media and digital representations), to explore different perspectives, to
negotiate meaning and to critically question authors (and authorship) are all expectations of todays literate learner. This monograph, building on Gordon Wells notion of
grand conversation, explores the kind of talk that enables students to meet these
expectations and build the comprehension skills that are the foundation for high
levels of literacy.
April 2011
ISSN: 1913 8482 (Print)
ISSN: 1913 8490 (Online)
A different talk pattern, one which has the potential to foster higher-level comprehension of text and improve students attitudes to reading, is termed a grand
conversation (Eeds & Wells, 1989). The grand conversation refers to authentic,
lively talk about text. The teacher initiates the discussion with a big question
or interpretive prompt. The talk pattern is conversational the teacher asks fewer
questions, but the questions she or he asks are an authentic reponse to what
students are saying. Turn-taking occurs spontaneously with students taking responsibility for shaping the content and route of the discussion. Decisions about who
talks, in what order and for how long, flow naturally as students and teacher alike
exchange ideas, information and perspectives. During the conversation, the teacher
participates as a member of the group, stepping in as needed to facilitate and
scaffold the conversation, but it is the students who carve out the conversational
path. The teacher typically brings closure to the conversation by summarizing,
drawing conclusions or establishing goals for the next conversation or by assisting
students to do this.
To be successful, grand conversations require a safe and inclusive classroom environment that can support students in freely expressing their ideas and opinions and
collaboratively constructing meaning.
Initially, teachers may take a more hands-on role, initiating the conversation with a
dilemma, big question or prompt and modelling appropriate discussion skills. They need
to be ready to step in just in time to contribute new questions or prompts to redirect
talk that has become tangential or remind students to direct their comments to group
members. Teachers need to be prepared to support students in negotiating and
accepting differences in ideas and opinions about the text and building upon the ideas
of others; they may also need to intervene to invite responses from quieter students
and to assist students in practising appropriate turn-taking and discussion techniques.
As Wells and Arauz (2006) note, keeping control of the floor does not necessarily
entail keeping control of the content of the discussion. Although it is almost always
the teacher who proposes the topic of an episode and brings it to a conclusion, the
topics of individual sequences are often selected by the students, as they propose
alternative perspectives on the issue that is on the floor or react to preceding
contributions by their peers (p. 420).
Both whole-class and small-group settings provide an opportunity for the teacher to
model skills and behaviours and for students to practise them with teacher guidance
and support. Anchor charts about rules and norms for productive conversations can be
collaboratively developed and posted for ongoing reference and revision. Over time,
as students become more proficient in applying these skills and behaviours, teacher
support gradually fades and students assume more responsibility for independently
conducting the conversation. The teachers role shifts from that of discussion director
to discussion facilitator to participant in the discussion as students gain greater
independence and proficiency as conversation participants and contributors.
Disagree constructively
Ask questions
In grand conversations, by contrast, the teacher invites the speaker to elaborate his or
her thinking and then invites other students to link to and build on it. This is a conversational move that acknowledges the intent of a student's contribution and keeps his
or her thinking in play.
Often the teacher simply remains silent, providing wait time for students to formulate
their ideas and reflect on their thinking and the thinking of others. The teacher monitors
the pace of the conversation to allow ideas to be fully developed and explored while
maintaining student interest and engagement. She or he draws out quieter students
and makes sure that all students who have something to say are given a turn. It is the
teachers role to keep the floor open, sustaining the conversation so that students
have both the time and space to explore the possible meanings of a text and work
collaboratively to create richer individual and collective understandings of the text.
Some ways to encourage students to share their thinking (adapted from Pearson,
2009) are suggested below:
invite elaboration of an idea (Uhuhh. Tell us more about that.)
ask for clarification (Im not sure I understand. Is there another way you can explain
that?)
encourage new points of view (Mmhmmm . . .so what does everyone else think?)
invite new voices to enter the conversation (Thats interesting. Im wondering if
anyone else has an idea to share.)
refocus the conversation (We were trying to decide why the character acted the
way he did. Any ideas?)
CONSENSUS BOARD
This advance organizer is suggested by McGee and Para (2009). After reading a rich text
worthy of discussion, each student is asked to draw a picture of what aspect of the text
they think should be the focus of the group conversation. Younger students can label
their pictures; older primary students can write a sentence or two to explain more
fully the aspect they have selected. The teacher works with the students to group the
pictures and attach them to large pieces of paper, labelling each group so that students
can see what was considered most important and worthy of discussion. The category
with the most pictures is then used as the starting point for the group discussion.
SKETCH-TO-STRETCH
Sketch-to-stretch (originally from Whitin, 1996; discussed in McGee & Para, 2009 ) is
an activity in which students use sketches to respond to a text that has been read to,
with or by them. Rather than drawing a picture to show a part of the story or the
main idea of the story, students use images, words, shapes and other symbols to
show what the story means to them. The teacher can have students stop at key points
during a read-aloud to record their sketches or wait until the reading is complete.
Students meet together in small groups to share their sketches and use them as a
starting point for the group discussion. Sketch-to-stretch requires students to create
an abstract representation of their thoughts, connections and reactions to a text.
Additional scaffolding may be necessary for students who are very literal and want
to draw a picture of their favourite or most important character in the story.
TRAFFIC LIGHTS
This strategy (Marcell, 2007) can be used with students who are able to read a text
independently to help them prepare for discussion. Each student in the group is
provided with narrow strips of sticky note paper, two to three each of green, yellow
and red. Students are directed to think of these three colours as traffic lights. They
use the green GO strips to mark points in their text that they agree with, think are
important, make a connection with, made them laugh and so on. They use the red
STOP strips to mark points that they disagree with, did not like, made them upset
(sad, angry, unhappy) and so on. They use the yellow CAUTION strip to mark points
that they are unsure of, found confusing, left them wondering, raised questions and
so on. Students are encouraged to use at least one of each strip.
TEACHER READ-ALOUD
The teacher read-aloud provides a context for rich conversations at all grade levels,
but especially in the primary grades when many students are unable to read more
challenging and conceptually complex texts. Although teacher read-aloud can occur
in a small-group setting, it is most commonly used as a whole-class activity.
In the primary grades, teachers most frequently use picture books, both fiction and
non-fiction, for their read-aloud activity. As they read aloud, they bring students
physically close to the text and hold it so that students can observe the pictures as
the teacher reads. Students are encouraged to listen to the words and simultaneously
examine the pictures in order to make sense of the text. Often the teacher interjects
questions to assist students in clarifying understandings and constructing an overall
understanding of the message conveyed by the text. After reading, teachers can use
the read-aloud text to kick off a grand conversation. Students are asked to form a circle
so that all speakers can see and hear one another. The teacher and students review
collaboratively-established norms for group discussions. The teacher introduces a big
question or prompt to initiate discussion and scaffolds the conversation as necessary.
LITERATURE CIRCLES
In primary classrooms, small groups of students (about three) can come together
around a common theme or big idea (or umbrella question) using one or more texts.
The teacher selects books for these small-group discussions based on student needs
and interests. After listening to book talks given by the teacher, students may choose
the text for their group discussion by holding a vote. Before beginning the discussion
the teacher may want to introduce students to various conversational roles such as
discussion director, illustrator, word wizard and connector as a way of scaffolding
student-led conversations. Although these roles can be helpful, teachers need to be
cautious that learning the role and doing it right do not become more important
than the actual conversation and inhibit the natural exchange of ideas characteristic
of a genuine conversation. The goal is for students to be able to participate in grand
conversation without taking on a specific role.
INSTRUCTIONAL CONVERSATIONS
Instructional conversations (Tharp & Gallimore, 1998) are whole-class or small-group
discussions about a common text that combine instruction and conversation. They
share many of the characteristics of grand conversations, but are intended primarily
to help students extract information from a text. The teacher begins with a specific
curriculum goal in mind a theme, topic or concept and facilitates classroom conversation in order to meet that goal. Teacher and students share their prior knowledge
and integrate it with new information gathered from the text to extend understanding
IDEA CIRCLES
Idea circles are heterogeneous small groups that support discussion focused on learning
about a concept. Their purpose is to have students build an understanding of a concept
through the dialogic exchange of facts and information (Guthrie & McCann, 1996).
The goal of the discussion is to ensure that each student leaves the group with a
clearer, more thorough and more accurate understanding of the target concept.
Multiple concept-related texts, at varying levels of reading difficulty, are provided by
the teacher. Each student reads their selected text, either independently or with a
partner, for the purpose of gathering information about the topic under discussion.
Students then bring their information to the circle where the information is shared,
clarified, extended and debated in order to co-construct a deeper and more elaborate
understanding of the concept.
In Sum
Student engagement increases when students are given opportunities to think deeply,
articulate their reasoning and listen with purpose in conversations about issues that
are important to them. When teachers open up a conversation that allows students to
take the lead, the classroom becomes a place where learning from one another is the
norm, not the exception. Involving students in collaborative structures and teaching
students how to engage in meaningful conversations about text makes a difference
in student learning and achievement, supporting the development of the higher-order
thinking skills which are so critical to todays learner.