What is the "Talking Stick?"
This refers to either the strategy or the actual "prop" that is used as part of this language strategy. Essentially, it can be as simple as a popsicle stick, as commercial as a plastic microphone or as creative as a personally created crafty decorated stick.
What does the Structured Language Practice look like?
Essentially, students respond to a prompt by taking turns in a structured way. Only one student at a time is allowed to speak/respond to a prompt/ produce a grammatical form-language response; the holder of the "talking stick." Other students should be active listeners, either ensuring the student who talks is producing a particular grammatical form, using a particular language response frame or simply attending to the content of the response.
When is it appropriate to use?
As this is best for use with a small group, it lends itself to be used during Supervised Independent Time, when English Learners are practicing the language response frames with the appropriate grammatical forms and/or topical vocabulary under study. However, it is a very versatile strategy and can also be used as a process activity, e.g. reflecting upon learning, sharing out, building community, etc.
I hope these strategies feel easy enough and applicable enough to be able to use in your own classrooms.
More to come!
- W
About Me
- Weezy
- I am an extrovert by nature and an introspect when necessary. I enjoy life and do not take it for granted. My passion is to help educators become more effective at what they do, not only through changing practices, but changing assumptions about the students they teach- particularly, students of color, Standard English Leaners, English Language learners and all others who have been systematically denied access to core curriculum and subjugated to low expectations.
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