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Smiling children in classroom with hands up eager to answer

Resources for Teachers

This page has some resources for teachers and teacher-trainers to use to develop their own and their students' awareness of how talk is used in classrooms.

Many more useful resources can be found in the books for teachers listed on the publications web page!

For teachers to use with children

  1. Thinking Together Talk Tally
    This a simple observation sheet which a child can use to record the kind of talk they observe when a group of other children are working together.
  2. Ground rules for talk: traffic lights
    This worksheet can be used as the initial basis for an activity in which younger children (6-8) consider together how to make their talk in groups most effective. (For more about 'ground rules' for talk, see the journal article Reasoning as a Scientist which is downloadable from the publications' journals page.)
  3. Talking points about group talk
    This worksheet can be used as the initial basis for an activity in which children (8-12) consider together how to make their talk in groups most effective.
  4. Are these useful rules for discussion?
    This is a two-part worksheet which can be used as the basis for an activity in which children (10-14) consider together how to make their talk in groups most effective. (For more about 'ground rules' for talk, see the journal article Reasoning as a Scientist which is downloadable from the publications' journals page.)

Thinking Together lessons

These 3 typical Thinking Together lessons were created for our Smile project 'Thinking Together in Primary Maths': These lessons are also available in Spanish translated with thanks by Lorena Lopez Oterino.

  1. Lesson 1
    Lección 1 (Espanol)
  2. Lesson 2
    Lección 2 (Espanol)
  3. Lesson 3
    Lección 3 (Espanol)

There is also a Magic Square resource to go with Lesson 3 and a Preparing for Group Work document.

Creating a speaking and listening classroom

These resources are associated with the book 'Creating a speaking and listening classroom' by Lyn Dawes (as described in the 'Books' section)

  1. About Talking Points
  2. Examples of Talking Points activities
  3. Talk Cue Cards
  4. Ground rules for Exploratory talk
  5. Maths talk activity

More resources for teachers/teacher-trainers to use

  1. Teacher techniques checklist
    This is an observation schedule which education students or teacher can use to observe some different ways that teachers use talk in the classroom – and then go on to reflect and evaluate the ways these techniques are used. (For more information about these techniques, see the book The Guided Construction of Knowledge, as listed on the publications' books page.)
  2. Five examples of talk in groups
    This is a worksheet for helping teachers/ education students develop their awareness of how talk can be used in groups. It lists 3 types of talk which have been observed in classrooms. The idea is to see how well each or any of the examples which then follow fit the 2 types. (For more information about the 3 types of talk, see the book The Guided Construction of Knowledge, as listed on the publications' books page.)
  3. Preparing for group work
    Two key lessons for preparing children to work together.