Discourse Conventions: Helping Students Learn to Talk About Text

 

Conversational Move

Definition

Example (Student talk)

Scaffolds (Teacher talk)

Restating

Repeating a previous contribution

Linda said that the fish was sad, because he was lonely.

Can someone say that in a different way?

 

Inviting

Inviting a participant to contribute

IÕd like to hear what George thinks.

Do you want to invite anyone else to add to what you said?

Acknowledging or validating

Recognizing a response without agreeing or disagreeing

I can see why you said that.

I get what youÕre saying.

I hadnÕt thought of that.

Do you get what Juan is trying to say here?

 

Focusing/refocusing

Making a metacomment about the course of the conversation

We were talking about the reasons that Frank ran away from home.

I think IÕve lost track of the question we were trying to answer. Can anyone help me here?

Agreeing

 

I agree, becauseÉ

Yeah.

ThatÕs right, becauseÉ

Does anyone agree with Juan? (agreeing)

Disagreeing

 

I see what youÕre saying, butÉ

But what aboutÉ?

I disagree, becauseÉ

Does anyone want to disagree?

Does anyone see it another way?

Do you all see this the same way as Juan?

Elaborating

Extending oneÕs own or anotherÕs assertion

I agree with Juan that the fish was lonely, and I think that he...

AlsoÉ

Does anyone want to say something more about that?

Who can think of another solution or another reason?

Requesting clarification or elaboration

 

What do you mean? Can you say more about that? What makes you think that?

Does anyone want to raise any questions about the point that Juan is trying to make?

Anyone find anything confusing in this part of the story?

Providing an example

Providing an example from inside of the text or outside to support oneÕs own or anotherÕs assertion.

Examples can be explanatory or evidentiary

For exampleÉ

ItÕs like whenÉ

 

Can you give an example of É from the story?

Has anything like this ever happened to you or someone you know?

Can you think of an example from another story by this author?

Signaling a change

Changing the direction of the conversation

I want to talk about the mother.

Does anyone want to change the subject?

Are you ready to move on?

Does anyone want to ask a different question?

Providing evidence         

Supporting oneÕs own or anotherÕs assertions with evidence

I agree with Julie that the fish was sad. You can see his sad face in the picture on page 3.

Why do you think that?

Anything in the story to support that idea?

Can you point to something in the text that makes you think that?

Posing a question to the group

 

Does anyone thinkÉ?

Do you have a question for the group?

 


Some Conversational Norms:

Talk to each other, not just to the teacher.

Listen to each other. Listening is as important as (or more important than) speaking.

Avoid interrupting the speaker.

Link your comments to those of a previous speaker.

Wait until a topic is exhausted before moving on, or announce a shift in topic.

Take turns in the conversation and bid for turns using the established method.

Avoid monopolizing the floor and talking over others.

If you state an opinion, you have to back it up (or declare your uncertainty).

Feel free to disagree, but show respect for othersÕ ideas.

 

 

 

Promoting Higher Order Comprehension Moves

 

Comprehension Move

Definition

Example

Making connections

Connecting the text to personal experience

 

Connecting the parts of the text to earlier parts of the text

 

Connecting the text to other texts

 

 

Connecting the text to the world

 

 

Connecting the text to the writer

That part reminded me of when my brotherÉ.

 

ItÕs kind of like that part in the beginning, when the teacher saysÉ

 

ThatÕs like in that other book we read where the main characterÉ

 

This sounds like that thing that happened in San DiegoÉ

 

It seems like the author wants us to learn something about how friends sometimesÉ

Making predictions

Using evidence (from personal experience, prior knowledge, or the text) to make good guesses about whatÕs coming next, how a problem might be solved, etc.

I predict thatÉ

 

IÕm guessing thatÉ

 

HeÕs probably going toÉ

Asking questions or wondering

Posing questions about the text, the characters, the author, etc.

I wonder why sheÉ

 

How do you think the father felt when heÉ

 

Why did the author put in that part about theÉ

Recalling

Paraphrasing or summarizing the text

Well, first the main character went to the playground, but then sheÉ

Inferring

Integrating prior knowledge with new information in an effort to construct coherent meaning

You can tell she was worried becauseÉ