Very Helpful!

I loved the idea of the Friendly talk and having students choose a statement to agree with This get students talking and justifying answers before they do the investigation . As a teacher , ... See More

I loved the idea of the Friendly talk and having students choose a statement to agree with This get students talking and justifying answers before they do the investigation . As a teacher , you can see the misconceptions and problems with vocabulary as well. Students then revisit the question after investigation and justify their answers. I plan on trying this in one of the 4th grade classes soon. .

Improving Student Communication Skills

Among other things formative assessment can help develop scientific skills of communication. In the probe called “Me and My Shadow” student must predict what will happen by selecting the re... See More

Among other things formative assessment can help develop scientific skills of communication. In the probe called “Me and My Shadow” student must predict what will happen by selecting the response of one of the five characters in the question and then writing why they agree with that character. What makes this article so valuable is the chart that provides five ‘talk moves’ and examples from “Ready, Set, Science”. This sort of probe is what the author calls ‘friendly talk’ and it is designed to help students clarify and expand their reasoning and arguments. The author explains how this can be done in a classroom setting.