Oral Language Development
Oral Communication
I use daily turn-and-talks to help students develop their oral language. This instructional strategy helps students increase their vocabulary and practice the English language. The questions I ask are based on the cycle’s essential question or the day’s read aloud. The open-ended questions are intended to start a conversation between students about the learning material. I include a sentence starter to support my EBL in this activity. I also include additional visual aids to give students ideas for their conversation. The development of oral language not only helps students become more effective communicators, it also helps them develop many of the skills needed to be effective readers. In first grade, students are working on mastering standard SL.1.1 "Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups." Turn and talks help students practice this standard in a low-risk environment as well as build realtionships with peers. This task allows students to develop the skills they need to master this standard.
I start each turn and talk with a routine chant to remind students to face their partner and take turns sharing. This also prepares students for the task at hand through the use of a routine. The call and response format supports students who are developing their English language skills as they are able to listen first, then repeat. It is also a fun time for students to lead the call and response and be the big voice in the classroom and me to be the audience. Since students know the script, it helps them develop their confidence being the leader in the classroom in a low risk way.
Students work with their partner to share their ideas using the sentence starter if needed. One of the common core standard we focus on in first grade is RL.1.1 "Ask and answer questions about key details in a text." Developing oral language through turn and talks will help students master this standard. The video shown here is of two students participating in the turn and talk introduced above. They take turns sharing their ideas and listening to their partner. Students will be asked to share their partner's answers with the group, which encourages active listening.
This video shows students sharing their partner's ideas after the turn and talk concluded. Students share their partner's ideas in a full sentence to practice their oral communication and work towards mastering SL.1.1, RL.1.1 as well as RL1.6, "Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation." This acts as a check for students to make sure they were truly listening to their partner. Active listening is an important skill for students to develop not just for academic success but also to help them develop greater empathy and relationships with peers.