Edna Brewer Middle School
Vital Behaviors of Discourse
Behavior
Questioning
Think (wait) time
Talk or write time
Eliciting Answers
Responding to answers
Teachers are observed
Students are observed
● asking higher order questions
that leads to discourse or debate
● checking for understanding (of
the higher order question)
● asking scaffolded questions that
lead to a bigger question
● listening carefully to questions
● asking clarifying questions
● being silent during wait time
● looking at resources or
references for help with answers
● giving think time after a question
● differentiated wait time based on
the question
● using strategies to maintain think
time (silent gesture, write time,
etc.)
● giving students think time while
they are responding
● being silent during think time
● writing thoughts down
● responding to strategies
● allowing students who are
pausing during an answer finish
● circulating in order to observe
misconceptions and monitor
students
● unscrambling confusions
● asking clarifying questions
● talking about the question in an
on task manner
● following discourse protocols
● probing each other’s thinking
● using each other’s thoughts to
add or revise to their own
● eliciting answers equitably in
order to hear from as many
different students as possible
● eliciting answers from students
who have opposing answers or
ideas
● answering with an attempt of an
answer (no “I don’t knows”)
● expanding on their classmates
thinking by referencing it in their
answer
● speaking in complete sentences
with academic vocabulary,
reasoning and evidence
● revise their own thinking and
restate better answers
● allowing students to revise
thinking repectfully
● unscrambling a confusion with a
student when they get a wrong
answer
● prompting students to expand
their answers
● questioning an answer in order to
have a student have to defend their
position