This Graded Discussion is Perfect for Emerging Learners

This week marked my second week of school with my sophomores. With my Honors students, I want to push them towards close reading and Socratic style discussions as early as possible. That’s why I do a graded discussion in the first week of school.

Graded Discussion vs. Socratic Seminar

A Socratic Seminar asks students to prepare answers on a text. Students bring these answers and participate in a round table discussion where they share, build on, and contrast with each others’ perspectives. Successful Socratics are based on close reading, classroom respect, and critical thinking. Students who don’t participate or don’t understand the text often perform poorly in a Socratic Seminar.

In a graded discussion, students read a text during the lesson and discuss as they go, rather than reading beforehand. A graded discussion emphasizes close reading, discussion, and critical thinking but trains these skills rather than assesses it.

What You’ll Need

• A text (preferably something short, between 1-3 pages)
• A handout with instructions and questions
• Optional: Written instructions on a slideshow or a whiteboard

Procedure

Here’s a rundown of what I used with my students. I’ll share the discussion questions they must answer in the next section as well.  I put students in groups of 2-3 and walked them through the expectations for the day. For this lesson, students studied “A Rice Sandwich,” a vignette from Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. I chose a vignette for this activity because it doesn’t give a lot of context to the conflicts and characters, requiring lots of close reading and inferences.

Their instructions ask them to read the vignette, annotating as they go. Once they finish, they are to complete the first three questions on their own.

Once students finish answering these questions, they are to answer them together in their small groups. These questions encourage a variety of answers and facilitate discussion. With students writing their own questions, then working to answer each other’s, discussions can start off in a less awkward way.  

Next, students go back to individual work and compose a one-sentence summary of the story. This proves difficult, because it is often hard to summarize both plot and intended meaning in one sentence. When each student finishes, they share their answers again.

Finally, I bring the discussion back to the intended theme. In my lesson, we’re doing a thematic unit on Making Assumptions, so that’s what we talk about. Rather than writing a sentence or two that explains the theme, I ask students to show me a sentence or paragraph that best shows the theme. Then, they write a sentence to explain their answer. Once again, students share their answers when they finish individual work.

Overall, the time for this lesson, including reading and discussion, is about 30 minutes. This leaves me enough time to talk through the story. I like “A Rice Sandwich” because many students struggle with the significance of the canteen and the key kids, but that is answered in the first paragraph. The text is short enough to talk through the story and clear up any lingering questions or misreading without needing time the next day.

Since I call this a graded discussion, students usually assume their grade is based on their answers to the questions as they wrote them down. But I actually form a grade based on their insights and behavior. I ask students to rate their contribution to the lesson and I combine that score with one of my own, based on my observations during the class. See below for the self-assessment questions.

Sample Discussion Questions & Procedure

Think, Pair, Share

1. Write one question for discussion. Record your partner’s answers below it once you get to the “share” part.
2. Pick out a quotation that you believe is significant. You can use an ellipses (…) if it goes longer than one sentence.
3. Circle one of the questions below and answer it, using details from the text to support your answer.
   • Esperanza makes a point to mention how “the special kids” are the ones who wear keys around their necks.” Consider the symbolism of keys. What does the fact that the special kids wear keys reflect about them, in contrast to Esperanza?
   • Why is Esperanza’s mother reluctant to accommodate her request to write a note to the principal?
   • Explain how Esperanza persuades her mother to accommodate her request.When Sister Superior points to the decrepit 3-flats, she reveals her prejudice. Explain what this incident reveals about Mother Superior’s mindset.
   • Esperanza cries after telling the Sister Superior that she lives in the 3-flats. She notes, I always cry when nuns yell at me, even if they’re not yelling,” but there is another implied reason for her tears. What did Esperanza do that compelled her to cry?
   • An epiphany is a sudden awareness, or understanding, of something. By the end of the vignette, Esperanza experiences an epiphany. What does she come to realize?

One Sentence Summary

• Compose a one sentence summary of this story. Be as detailed as possible while also avoiding a run-on sentence.

Making Assumptions

• In the space below, write down the first sentence of the paragraph that you find to be the most important paragraph of the story, considering our theme on making assumptions. Why did you choose this paragraph?

Self-Reflection*

• Think about your involvement in this paired discussion. Give yourself a score out of 5 for each of the parameters below:
  • Focus: I always remained focused on the text and the discussion
• • Close reading: I read the text closely, using annotation and close reading skills to make sure I fully understood the story.
• • Speaking: I chose my words carefully and was sure to speak clearly and articulately.
  • Listening: I shared my time in this discussion and balanced listening with speaking. I recorded my partner’s thoughts and didn’t ask them to repeat themselves.

*Your score will not go in as a raw score out of 20, as added from your numbers above. They are simply to help you honestly reflect on your involvement.

Explain your answers above and your own participation in this discussion.

The Benefits of a Graded Discussion

To close, here are the benefits of using graded discussions with emerging learners.

1. The graded discussion emphasizes the importance of close reading with the opportunity to reread for understanding.
2. Graded discussions don’t require previous reading or pre-written answers, so preparation is needed.
3. Students’ reading comprehension is improved by periodic checks for understanding and interpretation.
4. The assessment for this activity is based on self-reflection and teacher observations, rather than “right” or “wrong” answers.

If you have a group of students unfamiliar with discussion requirements, a graded discussion is the perfect activity to get them started!