Implementing Quality Discussions

"...the format for discussing literature that many children have been exposed to in elementary classrooms is characterized by teacher talk and literal questions rather than student involvement and thinking." (Almasi 1996). I think this is the main point Almasi was trying to convey, that the mainstream idea of what a quality literary discussion is needs to be revolutionized and implemented in the classroom. This is due to a series of benefits Almasi proposes students obtain through powerful discussion opportunities. Similar to the previous quote, I believe a lot of issues are raised with "teacher talk" and "literal questions" because those are the tools teachers are given in their literature guide books. In my placement, I have taken a look at the literature book that my teacher uses. At the end of each chapter, there is a set of discussion questions. All of the questions are dead-ended and are in search of one response from one student. It is evident that no discussion will actually come from the given prompts. Although it is very convenient for teachers to use pre-made post-reading questions, one might reconsider how they choose to lead classroom discussions about literature as important student benefits are being bypassed. Among these benefits are social, emotional, cognitive, and affective growth, which I have not previously considered but find intriguing. I found it interesting that studies show a positive correlation between students that are involved in discussions and how it contributes to their interest in increased reading. I do not feel like I had many opportunities in my K-12 schooling to participate in quality discussions, nor do I see them occur often enough in my field placement, but I do hope to learn more about this subject so that I may incorporate powerful literary discussions with my future students.