Chalk talk thinking routine
- 1. Chalk Talk Thinking Routine A Chalk Talk is a silent activity that provides all students the opportunity to reflect on what they know, and then share their thinking and wonderings while connecting to the thoughts of their classmates. With this thinking routine students are asked to think about ideas presented to them, make connections to others' responses and then question the ideas and responses of their peers. It allows all learners to be part of the conversation anonymously. Students are not asked to sign their name to their comments in order to encourage risk-taking in their thinking. Chalk Talks provide a forum for introverted or hesitant students to share their ideas with peers. It is great for increasing comprehension of a topic by having students present ideas, question those ideas, and then build upon the ideas of others. Students change or expand their thinking after seeing their classmates' ideas. Why are Chalk Talks useful? Chalk Talks work very well to: Engage all learners Promote independent thinking Allow all students to have an equal say Expose students to different ideas and perspectives Start conversations Generate ideas and prompt questions Help students to make connections to different ideas Encourage problem-solving Promote reflective thinking
- 2. Additionally, they help the teacher to: Assess knowledge before a topic is introduced Check on understanding in the middle or at the end of a unit How do you do a Chalk Talk? All you need is a prompt or question, a sheet of paper, and something for students to write with. Before the Chalk Talk Prepare the paper(s) for the activity (it is advisable to do the activity in small groups). In the middle of a large sheet of paper write or glue a question or statement to which you want students to respond. You can display this sheet:
- 3. When it's time to begin, students head to their assigned centre with a pencil or a marker. During the Chalk Talk Students write their thoughts and ideas about the question or prompt on the paper. The teacher watches how SS are interacting with the questions and the ideas other students have written down. After the Chalk Talk Afterwards, we gather once again to debrief our findings. This is a good time to: Discuss new ideas and surprises Provide clarifications Correct misconceptions Try to answer questions that were left unanswered You can hang the posters up for students to see. They can act as living documents that children visit to make additions to or even to cross out something they wrote when they learn new information that contradicts their original thought.
- 4. Here are some examples: Another way of doing this activity is using a Chalk Talk Graphic Organizer with this structure:
- 5. It can be used as a poster, laminating it in order to be used throughout the year, writing on it with dry-erase markers. You can also make copies of the graphic organizer to give to students as a note-taking sheet where they can capture their ideas before writing them on the class poster. It's a joy to see all students, from the meekest to the most extroverted, simultaneously sharing their thoughts and ideas in perfect harmony. The Chalk Talk thinking routine can be used in almost any subject area, and on a wide variety of topics. It can be used prior to covering a topic (brainstorming) or as a reflection at the end of a lesson or unit, ever for assessment.