They do this naturally on social media by posting comments to a video on Youtube or an image on Instagram. Modern learning requires that students interact with the text and with other readers by asking questions and answering each other’s questions. Show Students the Parallel to Social Media
This change in strategy shifts a classroom discussion from being a teacher-student exchange to a student-student construction of meaning. īy having ELs seek the answers from each other, we move away from the sage on the stage approach and lean towards a one that’s more like – the guide on the side. They are the ones responsible for providing responses (not me) because a student-led discussion is a collaborative process of constructing meaning between students and assisted by the teacher. Here’s the part everyone forgets: the students answer each other’s questions. I ask, “Which Padlet notes do you want to start with?” Sometimes, the questions I was going to ask were asked by the students. Then we come together to have a Harkness discussion about the text using these notes. Once students have finished placing their questions and observations on the Padlet, I have them read the all the notes. It’s similar to physical sticky notes, but with improved functionality, such as the ability to:īelow is an example of a Padlet my 7th graders used to discuss Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Padlet is a free online program that allows people to post ideas on digital sticky notes, view each other’s ideas on one site, and comment on the notes. Students post these juicy questions, often more inferential in nature, on our classroom Padlet. When students come to class, I have them evaluate which questions they most want to explore. I emphasize that the questions have to be ones they don’t know the answers to. They pause to write a brief note about what they read, and many choose to write a question or make an observation of something that surprised them. It reminds students to stop and think about the text. Annotating strengthens the interactions between the text and the ELs, which cultivates comprehension.
In the previous post, I described how my ELs are taught to annotate a text using Google Docs. Collecting Questions with Padlet Student Annotation However, the volleying of ideas about texts needs to be between students and promoted by their questions and observations. This teacher-centered approach corrals students to guess the teacher’s thinking. However, I’ve seen many deflated discussions caused by teachers who lob question after question to guide students to think and discuss. įew things can send an English teacher’s heart soaring like a lively student-led discussion of texts. This article on using Padlet to enhance discussions of texts is part 4 of Transforming Instruction Through Technology series.
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