Ticket in the Door
Complete a QUICK WRITE when
prompted on the following
quote:
“Change your language
and you change your
thoughts." -- Karl
Albrecht
Critical Thinking and Academic Discourse
Session 2
Presenters: Sean Antonetti and Joe Hart
Teacher Development Specialists
http://heritagekids.info/
Learning Targets
The participant
will:
• Understand
what Critical
Thinking and Academic
Discourse is, why they are
necessary and how to
effectively implement them
into the classroom
Housekeeping
•
•
•
•
•
Start on time, end on time
Please silence cell phones
No laptop use unless otherwise instructed
Restrooms
Parking Lot
Course Objectives
• By the end of the course the participant will be able to
effectively implement critical thinking techniques into
their classroom while enhancing discourse academically.
• Participants will present a lesson
plan during the last session that
incorporates both critical thinking
and academic discourse elements
Academic language is the verbal
clothing we don in classrooms and
formal contexts to demonstrate
cognition and to signal college
readiness. – Todd Finley
No student comes to school adept in academic discourse.
It requires thoughtful instruction.
Read Different Versions of The Three
Little Pigs
• The Three Little Pigs
by Joseph Jacobs
• A retelling by
Violet Findley.
• Defendant Testifies
• Politically Correct
Three Little Pigs by
James Finn Garner
• The Three Little Pigs
by Roald Dahl
• The 3 Pigs & the
Scientific Wolf by
Mary Fetzner
• Use Academic
Conversations
Academic Conversations
Symbol
Hand Motions
Prompts for Asking Questions
Topic
(make a roof)
Why do you think the author wrote this?
What are some themes that emerged
in…?
I think the author wrote it to
teach us about …
One theme might be …
Elaborate and clarify
(pull hands apart)
Can you elaborate?
What do you mean by …?
Can you tell me more about …?
What makes you think that …?
I think it means that …
In other words …
Support with examples
(Tee shape)
Can you give an example …?
Can you show me where it says that?
Can you be more specific?
Are there any cases of that?
For example …
In the text it said that …
One case showed that …
Build on or challenge
another’s ideas
(layer hands)
What do you think?
Can you add to this idea?
Do you agree?
What might be other point of view?
I would add that …
Then again, I think that…
I want to expand on your
point about …
Apply/Connect
(Hook both hands
together)
So how can we apply this idea to our
lives?
What can we learn from this
character/part/story?
If you were …
In my life …
I think it can teach us …
If I were … I would have …
Paraphrase and
summarize
(cup both hands
into a ball)
What have we discussed so far?
How should we summarize what we
talked about?
We can say that …
The main theme/point of the
text seems to be …
X X
Prompts for Responding
Revised by Joe Hart
Source: How to Start Academic Conversations by Jeff Zwiers & Marie Crawford; Educational Leadership 4/09
Defendant Testifies
•
•
•
•
•
SOMERSET PA (AP) -- A. Wolf took the stand
today in his own defense. This shocked and
stunned the media who predicted that he
would not testify in the brutal double murder
trial. A. Wolf is accused of killing (and eating)
The First Little Pig, and The Second Little Pig.
This criminal trial is expected to be followed
by a civil trial to be brought by the surviving
Third Little Pig. The case has been
characterized as a media circus.
His testimony is transcribed below:
"Everybody knows the story of the Three Little •
Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I'll let
you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the
real story, because nobody has ever heard my
•
side of the story. I'm Alexander T. Wolf. You
can call me Al. I don't know how this whole
Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's all
wrong. Maybe it's because of our diet. Hey, it's
not my fault wolves eat cute little animals like
bunnies and sheep and pigs. That's just the
way we are. If cheeseburgers were cute, folks
would probably think you were Big and Bad
too. But like I was saying, the whole big bad
wolf thing is all wrong. The real story is about
a sneeze and a cup of sugar.
THIS IS THE REAL STORY.
Way back in Once Upon a Time time, I was making a
birthday cake for my dear old granny. I had a terrible
sneezing cold. I ran out of sugar. So I walked down the
street to ask my neighbor for a cup of sugar. Now this
neighbor was a pig. And he wasn't too bright either. He
had built his whole house out of straw. Can you believe
it? I mean who in his right mind would build a house of
straw? So of course the minute I knocked on the door, it
fell right in. I didn't want to just walk into someone
else's house. So I called, "Little Pig, Little Pig, are you
in?" No answer. I was just about to go home without the
cup of sugar for my dear old granny's birthday cake.
That's when my nose started to itch. I felt a sneeze
coming on. Well I huffed. And I snuffed. And I sneezed a
great sneeze.
And you know what? The whole darn straw house fell
down. And right in the middle of the pile of straw was
the First Little Pig - dead as a doornail. He had been
home the whole time. It seemed like a shame to leave a
perfectly good ham dinner lying there in the straw. So I
ate it up. Think of it as a cheeseburger just lying there. I
was feeling a little better. But I still didn't have my cup of
sugar. So I went to the next neighbor's house. This
neighbor was the First Little Pig's brother. He was a little
smarter, but not much. He has built his house of sticks. I
rang the bell on the stick house. Nobody answered. I
called, "Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig, are you in?" He yelled back."Go
away wolf. You can't come in. I'm shaving the hairs on
my shinny chin chin."
2
Defendant Testifies
•
•
•
I had just grabbed the doorknob when I felt another
sneeze coming on. I huffed. And I snuffed. And I tried to
cover my mouth, but I sneezed a great sneeze.
And you are not going to believe this, but the guy's
house fell down just like his brother's. When the dust
cleared, there was the Second Little Pig - dead as a
doornail. Wolf's honor. Now you know food will spoil if
you just leave it out in the open. So I did the only thing
there was to do. I had dinner again. Think of it as a
second helping. I was getting awfully full. But my cold
was feeling a little better. And I still didn't have that cup
of sugar for my dear old granny's birthday cake. So I
went to the next house. This guy was the First and
Second Little Pig's brother. He must have been the
brains of the family. He had built his house of bricks. I
knocked on the brick house. No answer. I called, "Mr.
Pig, Mr. Pig, are you in?" And do you know what that
rude little porker answered? "Get out of here, Wolf.
Don't bother me again."
Talk about impolite! He probably had a whole sackful of
sugar. And he wouldn't give me even one little cup for
my dear sweet old granny's birthday cake. What a pig!
•
•
•
•
•
•
3
I was just about to go home and maybe make a nice
birthday card instead of a cake, when I felt my cold
coming on. I huffed And I snuffed. And I sneezed once
again.
Then the Third Little Pig yelled, " And your old granny
can sit on a pin!" Now I'm usually a pretty calm fellow.
But when somebody talks about my granny like that, I go
a Little crazy. When the cops drove up, of course I was
trying to break down this Pig's door. And the whole time
I was huffing and puffing and sneezing and making a real
scene.
The rest as they say is history.
The news reporters found out about the two pigs I had
for dinner. They figured a sick guy going to borrow a cup
of sugar didn't sound very exciting.
So they jazzed up the story with all of that "Huff and puff
and blow your house down"
And they made me the Big Bad Wolf. That's it The real
story. I was framed. "
4
Operational Procedures of Critical
Thinking
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Identifying key definitions
Identifying ambiguity
Identifying variables
Formulating questions
Defining issue or problem
Classifying information
Sequencing information
Recognizing patterns
Determining credibility
Predicting outcomes based
upon evidence
• Distinguishing fact from
opinion
• Identifying assumptions
• Identifying values
• Noting missing evidence
• Identifying relationships
– Comparing & contrasting
– Cause and effect
• Summarizing information
• Using analogies
• Identifying conclusions
Question: Whose fault is it that
the stick house fell down?
Can your point of view be
supported by the text?
Point of View
Wolf’s Point
of View.
Pig’s Point of
View. It’s the
Wolf’s fault.
Someone who
would blame the
government.
Those who
would blame
the parents.
Those who
would blame
Society.
Someone who
would blame
Mother Nature.
Blame the Wind.
The wolf didn’t
touch the house.
Blame the
Woodsman. His
materials were
substandard.
Someone who thinks that
Public School Education is
the reason these Pigs
could not build a wolfproof house.
Academic Discourse
ALL Students are AELL:
Academic English Language Learners
• Academic English is not a natural language that
we acquire through extensive listening and
social interaction.
• Academic English—including vocabulary, syntax,
and grammar—must be explicitly and
systematically taught, not just caught.
Academic Language
to Ask for Assistance
• Could you please explain_____?
– the homework directions
• I don’t quite understand _______?
– this direction word
• I’m unsure about ______?
– where I should write
• Will you please explain ___ again?
– the listening task
• I have a question about ______.
– the word synonym
• Did you say to _______?
– record or restate my idea
• If I understand you correctly, should I
___________?
– restate his/her idea before I
write it down
• What do you mean by _______?
– a past-tense verb, a myth
• Can you provide an example of __?
– a bias, a homonym
Academic Directions
Everyday Terms
• Answer
Academic Directions
• Respond
• Finish
• Complete
• Repeat
• Restate
• Talk about
• Discuss
• Share
• Report
• Think about
• Consider
Precise Terms to
Contribute to a Lesson Discussion
Everyday Terms
• Idea
Academic Terms
• Example, Experience
• Answer
• Response, Contribution
• Guess
• Prediction, Hypothesis
• Reason
• Justification, Evidence
• Opinion, Perspective
• Solution, Process
Academic Language to
Contribute a Response
Everyday English
– My idea is …
– My answer is …
Academic English
–
–
–
–
My example …
My point of view …
My reason …
My solution …
My prediction …
My experience …
My perspective … My process …
Concept Definition Map
• Focuses students’ attention on
main components of a definition.
• Encourages integration of
personal knowledge.
Venn Diagram
Let’s Try It!
•
•
•
•
•
Nuclear Power vs. Solar Power
1984 vs. Fahrenheit 451
American Idol vs. The Voice
Monopolies vs. Oligopolies
Ellen DeGeneres vs. Oprah
Winfrey
• Private vs. public universities
• Online vs. traditional classes
• Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B.
Jigsaw
• Use a Jigsaw to promote the
concept synthesis. What you
will need:
– A fairly complex piece of literature
– Enough students to form at least 3-4 groups
– Room
• Groups will be split up to go to
new groups to gain
information to bring back to
Let’s Try It
Using the article; “Has
Accountability Taken All the Fun
Out of Teaching and Learning?”
we will practice how to Jigsaw
effectively to promote academic
discourse.
Use page 13 (Academic Language
Function 10) from your Academic
Language Toolkit.
Gallery Walk
• Gallery Walks get students up
and moving around, reading,
analyzing, contributing,
summarizing, and solving
problems.
Let’s Try it!
• (Academic Language Function 9)
– The question that we need to
answer is: “What Makes an Effective
Teacher?”
– There are posters in the hallway
with different characteristics
that help us answer this question.
Write a suggestion and draw a
diagram or symbol that represents
the suggestion.
Precise Questions Elicit
More Precise Responses
• What precise synonym did you use to
replace the everyday verb __?
• Can you justify your perspective with
evidence from the article?
• What experience has influenced your
decision?
• What prediction can you make about
the author’s point of view on __?
30
True Story of the 3 Little Pigs – Student
Project
Questioning
Questioning
• Progress from Simple to Complex
• Write them in advance when
they matter
• Stock Questions
• Hit Rate: Ask harder questions
as your rate approaches 100%.
Caution: if the rate drops below
66% then students have not
masters the material.
What Questions Promote Critical
Thinking?
• Socratic Questions
•
– 1 Ask for clarification
– 2 Probe assumptions
– 3 Probe reasons & evidence
– 4 About views &
perspectives
– 5 Probe implications &
consequences
– 6 Questions about the
questions
Four Types of Questions
– 1 Summary & definition
– 2 Analysis questions
– 3 Hypothesis questions
– 4 Evaluation questions
In the script identify the
6 types of Socratic
questions.
Socratic Questioning Example
This questioning dialogue would take place after the unit had been introduced and was
well underway.
•
Teacher: How long do you think scientists have been doing
•
Teacher: What is happening to our global
this?
climate?
•
Chris
:Probably 100 years.
•
Stan: It's getting warmer.
•
Candace:Maybe a little more than that.
•
Teacher: How do you know it's getting
•
Teacher: Actually, it's been studied for about 140 years.
warmer? What evidence do you have to
Since about 1860.
support your answer?
•
Heidi: We were close.
•
Stan: It's in the news all of the time. They
are always saying that it's not as
•
Teacher: Yes. How did you know that?
cold as it used to be. We have all of these
•
Chris : I just figured that seems like when instruments
record heat days.
were available and
•
Teacher: Has anyone else heard of this
scientists had the means to measure climate like that.
kind of news?
•
Teacher: So, looking at the last 100 year's climate on this
•
Denise: Yeah. I have read about it in the
graph, what can we
newspaper. They call it global warming.
say about the earth's climate?
I think.
•
Raja:
The 20th century has become much warmer than
•
Teacher: Are you saying that you learned
previous centuries.
about global warming from
•
Teacher: Can we hypothesize why?
newscasters? Are you assuming they
•
Raja:
One word: pollution.
know that global warming is
•
Teacher: What are you assuming when you say that
occurring?
pollution is the cause for the
•
Heidi: I heard it too. It's terrible. The ice
temperatures to rise?
caps in the Arctic are melting. The
•
Heidi: Carbon dioxide from cars causes pollution and
animals are losing their homes. I think
chemicals from factories.
the newscasters hear it from the
•
Stan : Hair spray causes dangerous chemicals to get into
scientists that are studying the issue.
the atmosphere.
•
Teacher: If that is the case and the
•
Teacher: Okay. Let's take a minute to review what we've
scientists are telling the newscasters,
discussed so far.
how do
the scientists know?
•
Chris: They have instruments to measure
climate. They conduct research that
Non-Accountable Responses
Questions/Tasks that Fail to
Who knows what _ means?
Can anyone tell me _?
Who has an example of _?
Would anyone like to share?
Are there any questions?
Is that clear?
Share your answer with your
neighbor.
Discuss these questions in your
group.
Stock Questions
Stock Questions for
Math
Generalization:
What did you already know that helped you solve this problem?
Is that true for all cases?
Do you see a pattern? Pacman Patterns
Can you predict the next one?
How does this relate to ...?
Have you ever solved a problem like this ? Hangman Math Problems
Flexibility:
Can you solve it a different way?
Can you draw a different picture?
What is alike/different about your method of solutions?
Can you use a different model?
Does anyone have the same answer but a different way to
explain it?
Reversibility:
Can you think of a counter-example?
Can you give me another problem with the same answer? Another?
You just gave me the right answer to a different question! What is a question
for that answer?
How would you change the problem so your answer was larger? Smaller?
Stock Questions for
Science
1. What materials are readily available for conducting experiments on _________?
2. How do(es) __________ act?
3. How can you change the set of ________ materials to affect the action?
(Independent - change it!)
4. How can you measure or describe the response of __________ to the change?
(Dependent - It changed!)
Analyzing
Classify the parts or features of ... ?
How is _______ related to ... ?
Can you list the parts ... ?
What inference can you make ... ?
What conclusions can you draw ... ?
How can you classify ... ?
How can you categorize ... ?
Can you identify the difference parts ... ?
What evidence can you find ... ?
What is the relationship between ... ?
Can you make a distinction between ... ?
What is the function of ... ?
Evaluating
How can you prove ... ? disprove ... ?
How could you determine ... ?
What choice can you have made ... ?
What can you select ... ?
How can you prioritize ... ?
What judgment can you make about
... ?
What data was used to make the
conclusion ?
Creating
What way can you design ... ?
What can you combine to
improve/change?
Suppose you can ____ what can
you do ..?
How can you test ... ?
Can you formulate a theory for ... ?
Can you predict the outcome if ... ?
Construct a model that changes ...
?
Wait Time – Thinking Time
A. Wait Time - Before Calling on Student:
• Gives the teacher time to count those students who have been
students who have been answering questions and those who have not.
and those who have not.
• Gives the teacher time to assess which students might answer the
might answer the question correctly.
B. Wait Time I - After Calling on Student:
• Gives student time to frame an answer.
• Gives teacher time to think of what a comprehensive answer could be.
comprehensive answer could be.
C. Wait Time II - After Student Answer:
• Gives the student time to elaborate on or complete an answer.
complete an answer.
• Gives the teacher time to think about whether the answer was correct,
the answer was correct, incorrect, partially correct or evasive.
correct or evasive.
• Provides time for the teacher to frame a response.
response.
Wait Time
Everybody Writes
Teach Like a Champion
The Jeopardy Approach: Is
an answer the answer?
• Normal assessments
– Multiple choice
– True / False
– Fill in the blank
• Can we give students an answer
and have them ask the question?
– Yes!
• The Jeopardy approach can be
applied to all curriculum areas.
Plate Tectonics Jeopardy Game
Jeopardy Game
• Use Game to Create questions
for each Subject. (Have teachers
create questions)
How and what our students
learn is a reflection of how
and what we teach!
For Our Next Café’
• Plan a lesson using critical thinking techniques
that promote academic language. Utilize
sentence and question