Speaking and listening skills…where does one begin? We teach this all the time, in every lesson, right? We tend to console ourselves by adopting this mindset to alleviate the need for yet another standard to measure. Reading and writing abilities are undoubtedly the most important in an ELA classroom…aren’t they? I would argue that socializing, holding productive conversations, having civil disagreements, and listening purposefully are equally crucial. Now more than ever, students need direction in these areas. If we continue to brush it off as skills used daily and in every lesson, we are doing a disservice to future generations. This leads me to the “fishbowl discussion.” Like Irving's Old Scratch, it goes by many names. It is known as a Socratic Seminar, Inquiry-Based Teaching, or Debate. I prefer the term ‘Fishbowl’ for this student-led discussion, which fosters diverse perspectives and purposeful listening. Here is how my version of this activity goes:
Choose your text. You could use this method with any text you teach. I use it for my novels, specifically Frankenstein and The Great Gatsby.
Choose your questions. Anticipation guide questions work really well for this purpose. Use questions related to the main themes and/or ideas behind the text, but which also have personal and relevant connections to the students.
For example, a question for The Great Gatsby might be: Agree or Disagree, “The most important thing in life is to be an important person. Achieving greatness is even more important than enjoying life, having friends, or acting morally.”
There are usually at least ten questions, and I have the students answer these questions on a handout before fishbowl day. I have also put questions from the handout on a slideshow in a different order to make them think on their toes.
For fishbowl day, my desks are arranged in two circles: an outer and an inner circle. The number of students in each can vary.
During the discussion, students adhere to specific conversational rules. They earn points for doing “good” things during discussion and get points taken away for doing “bad” things. (I won’t lie- eventually, we ignore the points, and students know what to do and what not to do).
The Good: Contributes ideas to the discussion
Asks questions to get others talking
Refers to something another student said
Focuses on who is speaking without interrupting
The Bad: Distracts from discussion
Interrupts Others
Makes inappropriate comments for attention
During the discussion, students in the outer circle listen attentively and purposefully. They write things down they want to add to the discussion instead of cutting in and interrupting. After all students in the inner circle are done talking (one at a time), the outer circle may add points.
Midway through the discussion, students switch from the inner circle to the outer circle and continue the discussion.
From the overtly blunt to the silent, students tend to enjoy this activity. Each person speaks and is heard. Their ideas are not interrupted, disrespected, or ignored. Ideas are added, and the discussions are rich with personal experiences. Providing a safe environment for students to engage in discussion is essential. Developing better speaking and listening skills contributes to school, home, and workplace success. PLUS…they are discussing the thematic ideas behind the text they are about to read and loving it!
I used this discussion format on 3/6/24 during my CCP classes; we are reading a different novel in each of the four sections. It worked incredibly well. When conversation is sluggish and spotty, typically, this format empowered my students to speak at length on a single question... even better, everyone in the class participated eventually. A "generic" question that I found works well for any novel discussion in this format is: "Hypothetically, if we were to watch a movie after reading this book, which movie should we watch, and why?" This caused students to think deeply about theme and discuss movie adaptions in general. It also allowed students in the outer circle to look up films and everyone had to justify their nominations. Great discussion format! Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI am glad this worked for you, and I like the idea of having a generic question if needed. I also like to use this to prepare for a test with study guide questions for peer assistance.
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