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Teaching Strategies

How Classroom Conversations Engage, Enrich, and Empower Students

4 years ago

Teaching Strategies

Translating Student Voice into Student Action: How to Foster Civics in Your Classroom with the Students Taking Action Together Strategies

3 years ago


In this Webinar

Student-led conversations are a powerful tool for instruction and assessment in an elementary classroom. Join experienced elementary school classroom teacher Jennifer Orr as she shares strategies you can use immediately to start your students talking in ways that will deepen their learning, challenge them, and increase their ownership as learners. 

About the presenter

Jennifer Orr is an elementary school teacher in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. She has taught for more than two decades in almost every elementary grade at schools serving highly diverse populations. She has experience with students who are learning English; in special education and advanced academic programs; and from military families.

Throughout her career, she achieved and renewed National Board Certification; wrote articles about technology in education, literacy, math, questioning, and more; and presented at state and national conferences on the same topics. Orr is a member of ASCD’s Emerging Leader class of 2013. In 2012, she won the Kay L. Bitter Award from ISTE.

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Topics covered

Student Engagement
Teaching Strategies

Demystifying Discussion: How to Teach and Assess Academic Conversation Skills, K–5

How do you take the passion and chatter that K–5 students bring to the classroom and turn it into conversation skills that make them better learners? Academic conversation can help hone speaking and listening, critical thinking, and social-emotional skills, as well as deepen content knowledge. But despite its effectiveness, this kind of purposeful, student-led discussion is rarely taught or used at the elementary level. The mystery for teachers is how to support students at various stages of development and build an environment of trust that lets them cultivate these skills.

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ISTE+ASCD author Mike Anderson. White male with short grey hair and is wearing a blue plaid dress shirt with a multi colored tie against a dark green background.
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Join us for one of our upcoming live events to continue learning while having the opportunity to connect with educators from around the world!