Reference, Education Theory, Elementary Education 

When you make classroom discussion an important part of your curriculum, you add a new dimension to the learning experience: Your students begin to explore ideas, develop new insights, dispel misunderstandings and misconceptions, and discover ways to build relationships and take action that promotes their own well-being as well as that of the group. Talking Classrooms shows you how to use students' oral language to enrich their understanding not only of what they read, but also of how they see themselves in relation to the rest of the world. This collection combines exemplary scholarship with practical suggestions in a way that will be welcomed by academicians and practitioners alike. At one end of the spectrum are theoretical perspectives on oracy, models of application, and reflections on how assessment practices, home life, school, curriculum, classroom, and teachers affect language development. At the other end are wonderful transcripts of children engaged in classroom discussions, and tools for creating a curriculum that promotes active learning through talk. Talking Classrooms will enrich your knowledge and perspective about children's oral language with thoughtful contributions that apply language and thought processes through talk. - from Amzon