Demystifying Discussion: How to Teach and Assess Academic Conversation Skills, K-5

How do you take the passion and chatter that K–5 students bring to the classroom and turn it into conversation skills that make them better learners?

Academic conversation can help hone speaking and listening, critical thinking, and social-emotional skills, as well as deepen content knowledge. But despite its effectiveness, this kind of purposeful, student-led discussion is rarely taught or used at the elementary level. The mystery for teachers is how to support students at various stages o...