Direct Instruction

The learning intention for this lesson was:

Participate in natural conversations and discussions, listening and responding thoughtfully and respectfully

The video shows some key elements of the lesson, but it is important to note that not everything is captured. Make sure to check out the extended plan below for the full picture. This lesson is titled From Robotic to Real Talk and aims to help the children move from forced conversations to natural, authentic discussions. The video begins with the teacher launching the lesson. The children then watch videos of others engaging in robust debates and discuss what they notice. After this, they practise using specific strategies for real talk, based on a provocation connected to a short film.

Extended plan here

Reflection

This lesson works best when spread out over several sessions. There is a lot to cover, and to do it justice, I would recommend 2 to 3 sessions. Overall, it went well. The children enjoyed the variety, and they particularly engaged with the video.

In terms of having more natural conversations, this will take some time. The discussions started to feel more authentic towards the end, but it is definitely something that will require plenty of practice. One interesting challenge I noticed was that when given specific strategies to use, the children tended to focus too much on the strategy itself rather than the conversation. However, once I encouraged them to focus on the discussion rather than the strategy, the quality of their conversations improved.

Going forward, I plan to have the children practise using one particular strategy in a mini discussion. For example, debating a simple topic like "girls are better at netball than boys." Then, when it comes to the more in depth discussion about the text, I will encourage them to almost forget about the strategies, in the hope that with continued practice, the strategies will start to come through more naturally. I will also continue to model real discussions for the class, so they can see what natural, thoughtful talk looks and sounds like in action.

Class Site Content

Twits: EP2 2025

Learner Generated Content

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