Talking Points: Discussion Activities in the Primary Classroom

"What do children think? How can they learn to talk about their ideas with others? Talking Points: Discussion Activities in the Primary Classroom encourages and supports classroom discussion on a range of topics. Children learning to talk to one another are learning a skill for life. Children who can explain their own ideas and take account of the points of view and reasons of others are in the process of becoming truly educated. This book offers a straightforward way of teaching children discussion skills within the framework of a creative curriculum. What can children usefully talk about while working on a school topic? This invaluable resource offer engaging, stimulating and thought provoking ideas for children to pit their wits against. The book offers a brief section on how to help children learn the skills of group discussion. There is a section which shows teachers how they can create their own Talking Points to suit topics they are teaching. The main body of the book is the Talking Points resources which are an excellent, tried and tested way of stimulating and supporting extended talk about a topic. The Talking Points offer discussion in several curriculum areas including:

• science
• literacy
• philosophy and creativity for children
• history
• art and music.

''Talking Points'' provoke children to confront their own ideas and those of others. Creative cross-curricular learning happens as children share experience and knowledge, and listen to one another''s reasons. ''Talking Points'' can start, continue or end a lesson or topic. This book shows teachers how to create relevant ''Talking Points'' for their own class of children, and how to capitalise on the children''s discussion by orchestrating whole class dialogue"-- Provided by publisher.