On page 33 of Chapter 2, Allen quotes James Britton's idea that "writing floats on a sea of talk". This immediately made me think of my CPD. Yesterday I witnessed my mentor teacher review all of what they had learned so far in her 8th grade class. She had them answer questions for homework, then when they came in and sat down she announced that they would have a Socratic seminar answering the same questions. She said that she knew most of them spoke better than they wrote and she wanted to make sure everyone had a fair shot at expressing their ideas. I originally thought this was great, but after reading this chapter and thinking more critically about this example, I feel like my mentor teacher missed out on a great opportunity. She should have then had her students revise the questions they had wrote. I feel like this would have given students the chance to relate their discussion thoughts back to their pre-discussion thoughts and improve their writing skills.
I really liked the Questions Game which was also shown on page 33. It is a great way to get students involved in each other's learning. It makes answering peers' questions a game, and the students who can learn together like that will be much more willing to be open with each other in class discussions. Students have to interact with the text multiple times, each time looking for something different. This repetition can only help them.
I like how you see a way to revise or build on this lesson. And I like how you identify the value in the strategy as getting the kids to interact with the text multiple times. That's what questioning does and this strategy in particular! Great observation. I'd love to see you wrestle with the reading a bit more than you do - it feels like you are just addressing a small part and are missing some opportunities to connect with other posts here and other readings.
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