Talk About Thinking
Rethinking our Discourse with Children

by Ellin Keene Deputy Director, Cornerstone

In the 2004 Cornerstone regional meetings (By the time of this article, the Southern Regional will be a happy memory), many of the discussions will focus on the interactions of children with each other and their teachers and the degree to which the most precise and powerful oral language can be used. We'll discuss ways to raise expectations for children in their spoken interactions and ways we can revise our talk with them to demonstrate the best possible models. Lu Lewis will share developmental milestones for young children and will foster discussion of what can be done when they have not been reached.

This focus for regional meeting discussions was identified when several Literacy Fellows and Liaisons observed children in Cornerstone schools using very basic forms of oral interaction with peers and teachers. Kelly Hunter went to work identifying some important research that we all read. We concluded the need to engage in a "full-court press" in raising the bar for children and their discourse. We read that oral language is the precursor to success in reading and writing and grew more concerned when we noticed how little attention is given to oral language development in state and district curriculum and standards documents. We had to admit that even in the Cornerstone Literacy Framework we've primarily discussed the Reading and Writing components with Cornerstone faculties.

It left us wondering where we might begin to address this issue so critical to children's literacy learning. I developed, with input from the Literacy Fellows, an observation guide that coaches, teachers and principals can use to gauge the "current state" of oral language interaction in their classrooms. It is being distributed at the Regional Meetings and participants will have an opportunity to field test it in classrooms we visit in Greenwood and Bridgeport. The observation guide was based on a set of guiding principles for best practice in oral language development (listed below). If we, in our every day interactions with children, were to adopt these principles and weave them throughout our Crafting sessions, Invitational Groups, conferences and Reflecting Sessions, I believe children – all children – would find the support they need to create and sustain a very high level of thinking about text, the topics about which they write and the concepts they learn throughout each day. These guidelines are not yet another set of curricula to add to your already frantic days. Rather, they are a set of ways to think about how we talk to children, particularly when we are encouraging them to probe ideas more deeply in their reading and writing.

• speak in the quietest tone appropriate for the situation;
• vary the pacing of talk depending on the situation;
• use silence frequently giving children an opportunity to think about concepts during instruction;
• provide much longer periods of time for much closer scrutiny and discussion of fewer ideas;
• speak with civility and respect, making clear the distinction between settings in which informal language is appropriate and the need for more formal academic language in serious learning situations;
• create a culture of rigor by focusing on each child's comments for a longer period of time, continually expecting more, pressing the child to probe his/her ideas further and encouraging children to explore their ideas during instruction as well as during independent reading and writing time – err toward spending more time encouraging each child to think more deeply rather than moving on to other children immediately;
• create a culture of trust and intimacy by accepting early attempts at thinking deeply, expanding what children are saying into more fully developed sentences without changing the central ideas they are trying to communicate;
• value repeated readings of sections of text, amplifying through discussion one's understanding with each reading, work to understand the author's techniques and the subtle ideas nestled below the surface of the text;
• model what it means to consider the perspectives of others and revise our knowledge and beliefs because of those perspectives;
• show children through demonstration what it means to engage in sprited and informed argument about ideas from text; demonstrate engaged and lively discourse with other adults and children about ideas, showing passion and clarity about ideas;
• model ways in which learners restate what they understand during discussions, giving them a chance to further reflect on what they have said and to probe ideas further;
• describe ways in which learning is a struggle for them, sharing insights from the point of view of a more experienced reader and writer.

Let's take a journey into a Cornerstone classroom in which the Talk About Thinking principles are part of the daily fabric of verbal interaction. The teacher, Clara (name changed to protect the innocent!) is reading The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles and has been working with her second grade students as they learn the comprehension strategy asking questions. The classroom is absolutely still. Clara has waited several minutes for the children to settle and turn their eyes toward her. She resisted the temptation to begin while children were still squirming into their places. She smiles and waits; the children know that anyone who breaks the spell of silence will look up to a smile from Clara and silence. They know, because they've repeated this ritual many times, she will not continually remind them to prepare for the lesson. She will wait and smile – at worst, she will cast a worried, not angry, worried glance at a disruptive child and inquire, "Are you alright? You know how I worry when readers don't have still minds and calm hearts. I worry that something may be terribly wrong." The time it takes to settle grows steadily shorter in the first few weeks of school until the process is firmly established as a classroom habit.

Clara has chosen The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles. In The Story of Ruby Bridges, Coles retells for children the painfully true story of young Ruby Bridges who was one of the first African American children to attend a white school in New Orleans in the 1960's. The story reveals Ruby's extraordinary strength as she crosses lines of protesters and attends class – alone – each day for months. Clara plans to read the book aloud in a Crafting Session, pausing to pose questions she considers important to understanding the story as a whole. Prior to the lesson, she has reread the book, considering places where she may pause to think aloud, but she knows that it is difficult to predict exactly when a question will pop into her mind.

She plans to think aloud four or five times, limiting her students' contributions to the discussion. Clara realizes that, if she wants the highest level of thinking possible from these children, she should model for several days at the beginning of the strategy study, fighting her natural inclination to invite the children's responses early in the process. Her experience has taught her that if she is able to pose very sophisticated, probing questions during several lessons across the first two to three days, the children, when invited to join the think aloud process, will make contributions that mirror her higher level insights. Let's join the lesson, already in progress! I 'll add some commentary in italics throughout the lesson.

Clara: There are books that change the way we think and believe forever.

She pauses here for a long moment. How important it is to use silence to punctuate our lessons. The silence gives kids a chance to think about the complexity of the concept Clara is trying to communicate.

There are books that change our opinions and make us want to do something to make the world better. The Story of Ruby Bridges is one of those books for me. You have to decide which books, for you, make you think so deeply, you can't get them out of your mind. You are lucky because you get to begin thinking about books that make you want to make the world a better place.

Several hands shoot up at this point and it is clear these children believe they have already discovered books that make them feel this way. Wisely, Clara declines to call on the children, making this suggestion instead.

Clara: I see that some of the readers already have books in mind that are so memorable and powerful. Grace, will you please meet with Erica, Jamika and Raymond immediately following this lesson and I will help you begin a class chart we can all use to record and recommend those books.

They agree and the hands go down, but Raymond can't resist asking "When will that be?" Clara returns to the lesson.

Clara (slowing her speech and lowering her voice): Today I will show you what happens in a reader's mind when they ask questions to help themselves understand more deeply. If a book is going to change the way we think and believe forever, we have to understand it deeply. Readers understand better when they ask questions while they read. If a book is going to change the way we think and believe forever (Clara pauses again), we have to understand it deeply. (another longer pause)

Readers understand better when they ask questions while they read. Readers understand better when they ask questions while they read.

Clara's decision to pause, slow her speech and repeat the intention of the lesson was very important. She realizes that she is asking 7 & 8 year old children to be simultaneously aware of their own questions and the plot of the story. This is a complex and challenging charge for them and while she has no question that they will rise to the challenge, she realizes that to teach a lesson of this gravity in the same way she teaches every other lesson is folly.

Clara: I want to read a book you haven't heard yet and I will stop regularly to think aloud about how my questions, the questions my mind creates while I read, help me understand this book more deeply. When you see how well I understand this book, I think you'll see why it is a book that changed the way I think and believe. One of the children spontaneously finishes her sentence by saying "forever!". Everyone laughs and Clara says, Yes, James, forever.

Clara begins to read Ruby Bridges and pauses on the 4th page. Let's see, Ruby was 4 when they moved, they makes me wonder, how does moving when you're that age change you? Would you be changed? Would you remember moving and how you felt at that age?

Predictably, five or six hands fly into the air and the words being whispered through pursed lips reveal that indeed you do remember what that's like and there are several children ready to tell us all about it! Instead of calling on the children and losing the urgency and focus of the lesson, Clara reminds them: Remember what I told you about letting questions linger? I know that if I can refrain from answering them, the questions will linger in my mind and lead me deeper into the story.

Yes, she used the word refrain with second graders because it was so clearly defined in the sentence and because she is always cognizant of opportunities to use sophisticated vocabulary, knowing they will follow suit. The hands go down.

Clara resumes. How would that change you? I mean she was 4. I want to put myself in her heart. I want to use my questions to understand Ruby. I'm going to keep that question in my mind for a while and think about it. I want to know how moving at that age would affect a young child.

Clara continues to read aloud and pauses several pages later to think aloud. Wait, another question just came into my mind. Do you want to know what it is? It popped into my mind right here where it says that Ruby was going to school and the police didn't help. Why didn't they help her? I can't understand why the police wouldn't have helped this little girl who was just doing what the judge told her to do and going to school. Why wouldn't the police help her?

Clara doesn't stop at to think aloud at any predetermined places in the text. Rather, she concentrates on monitoring her own thinking, waiting for questions, while she reads and when a question comes to her, she carefully considers it before thinking aloud for the children. Clara wants to ensure that the question is sufficiently probing or profound and that it relates to the larger themes and issues in the story, even if those themes have not been revealed at the time she stops to think aloud. The questions Clara poses are genuine and not easily answerable.

Clara continues to read aloud and pauses again on the next page. I just keep having the same question, but because I didn't try to answer and let it linger, my question changed a little bit. Now I'm wondering, did the people who were yelling influence the police and keep them from helping Ruby get through the crowds of protesters and into the school? Clara pauses for a long moment and then, clearly thinking of another question in the pause says, If the police didn't help her – what was in their hearts and minds that would keep them from not upholding the law?

Clara is demonstrating what proficient readers often do without thinking about it. They may read pages with few or no questions and then a flurry of questions come to their minds in a short space of time. Clara may want to return, in another lesson, to speculating with her students why questions come in bunches.

At this moment, Chandra raises her hand and can't resist saying aloud, "I have a question, too!" Showing great restraint, Clara smiles and says Chandra, I'm so delighted that your mind is starting to fill with questions because that's the way you're really going to be able to understand this book, but I want you to let your question linger for awhile. To Chandra's disappointed look, Clara responds to the whole class, I know how much you want to share at the beginning of a comprehension strategy study, but I have a responsibility to be the best teacher I can and if I stopped thinking aloud now and let everyone share their questions, I wouldn't be teaching as well as I know how. Here Clara whispers, But you know what? I really do want to know what your questions are and tomorrow when we read this same book, it will be time for some readers to begin to think aloud.

For now I'm going to continue reading. Let's see what happens to Ruby. Clara reads on, pausing again to think aloud. What might those people standing outside Ruby's school be yelling? I am so curious why the author didn't tell us what they were saying to Ruby. Why would Robert Coles have chosen not to tell us what they were yelling? It's an interesting decision he made. . . and, oh! Once I had that question, it made me think of another. What might the federal police and Ruby be thinking? I can't imagine what a first grader would be thinking when she had guards with guns protecting her. Whew, what is on her mind? Every day she dealt with this.

Clara has purposely inserted a different kind of question into her think aloud – a question that relates to the decisions the author made. She may wish to return to questions of what a writer includes and excludes when she is connecting this questioning lesson to the children's writing. Clara continues reading and then pauses to think aloud.

Clara: I'm thinking of Ruby as an adult, now and I'm wondering, how does this kind of experience change the person (Ruby) as an adult? I wonder if being the first black child in an all white school has a lasting impact on her. I wonder if she lives her life differently as an adult because of these events.

Clara is clearly not bothering with superficial or literal questions. She projects the children, in these questions, forward 20 or 30 years, causing them to imagine what the adult Ruby Bridges. She knows, of course, that Ms. Bridges has written her own book, Ruby Bridges: My Own Story and will bring it to the children for a read aloud later. Clara finishes the reading with the author's note, briefly describing Ruby as an adult and promises the children that there will be a time very soon when they will re-read The Story of Ruby Bridges and that they will be able to pose their own questions about her story.

In fact, Clara does return to the book two days later, having done a similar think aloud in another book on the intervening day. For this lesson, Clara begins:

Do you remember a couple of days ago when we read Robert Coles' extraordinary book, The Story of Ruby Bridges? Do you remember how I told you it was one of those books that changed the way I think and believe forever? I want you all to notice the chart hanging behind me that Grace and her group began. They titled it Books that Changed our Lives and they made two columns on the chart – one for the titles of the books that had such an impact on them and the other they used to describe how the book changed their thinking and their beliefs. I wanted to point out that four other kids have added to this list, so we're starting a list of books that are very rare and unusual for us – they have such an impact that we remember them for a long time and we lead our lives differently somehow for having read those books.

Today I want to re-read The Story of Ruby Bridges and I'll begin by thinking aloud again. Perhaps I'll have different questions than I had two days ago. I want to see if any of you have questions. I'll watch to see if I notice any questions flashing behind your eyes.

Clara's approach is remarkably effective. She creates a sense of tension and suspense leading up to children "getting" to ask their first questions. She makes it clear that questions about superficial aspects of the text are not what she hopes to hear, but she will work with children who share those types of questions. She has circled back to the notion of understanding a book so deeply that you are susceptible to its deepest influences.

Clara: You know when I read this part (pointing at the text)? I just was wondering why the judge sent only Ruby to this school, while he sent the other black girls to another school together?

Clara gives her silent signal – a gentle lowering of a raised hand – indicating that the children whose hands are raised should lower them. Some of the children gathered before her are about ready to jump out of their skin! Several pages later, Clara pauses and catches Jasmine's eye. Jasmine looks as though she has absolutely no intention of raising her hand to ask a question.

Clara: Jasmine, I just noticed something about you when I glanced up. I'm amazed. Even though you were sitting quietly listening to the book, I saw something unmistakable flash behind your eyes. Jasmine looks up as if to say, "You did?" I saw a question, Jasmine, right here when I was reading this part, I saw a question flash behind your eyes. Do you remember what it was? Jasmine shakes her head, astonished and indicates that she doesn't remember it. Oh, that's too bad, but it's not gone forever, do you want to see if, together, we can find it again?

Clara has delivered several clear messages by calling on Jasmine. First, she says without being explicit, that the first hands up and waving in front of her face will not be the first to be called upon. Secondly, she is underscoring the importance of paying attention to your own thinking as well as the story. Finally, she is injecting a bit of the magic of human thought into the equation. By indicating that she could "see" a question in Jasmine's eyes, she is expressing her belief in Jasmine to generate thoughtful questions.

Clara: Jasmine, let me re-read the page I just read. It's this one about Ruby and her teacher Mrs. Henry being all alone in her classroom. It was right here on this page that I looked up and saw the question flash behind your eyes. So, I'll read it again and you see if you can remember the question that you had before. Okay? Jasmine shakes her head, but looks skeptical.

Clara re-reads the page and Jasmine shakes her head again, sadly. She indicates that she doesn't know and waits for Clara to turn to another child or continue the lesson. No such luck for Jasmine! Clara knows that to turn away from this child now is to deliver a subtle message that Jasmine isn't going to be the kid who comes up with the great question. She'll probably turn to Kevin or Grace or one of the other kids who can be counted upon to always have the right answer.

Clara: You know, Jasmine, I really respect what you're doing right now. You're taking your time to think about the book, remember what your question was or think of a new one. She turns to the rest of the class. I love a kid like Jasmine who takes her time to think. She's the kind of kid who knows that the best questions take the longest time. She's going to take her time to think and not just say something quickly. Yep, I really appreciate that kind of thinker. She'll let us know if she needs me to read the page again.

Silence follows and it is a long silence, indeed. Jasmine continues to look at the book. The class squirms. Clara smiles and waits. And waits. And is rewarded.

Jasmine: I wonder how Mrs. Henry gets into the school.

Clara: You wonder how Mrs. Henry gets into the school.

Resisting the urge to sing the Halleluiah chorus, Clara merely restates what Jasmine has said and waits. Moments later, Jasmine has more to say.

Jasmine: Yeah, like does she have to go into the school in front of all those people? . .

Clara: Does she have to enter the building through the crowd of protesters?

Clara uses a subtle, but highly effective strategy here. She repeats what Jasmine has said, but injects slightly more sophisticated vocabulary – the crowd of protesters. She hasn't changed the substance of Jasmine's comment, but she has enhanced the vocabulary. Perhaps next time, Jasmine will use the words crowd or protesters.

Jasmine: Yeah, does she have to go in when they're all yelling? And , do they yell at her and are they mad at her for teaching Ruby and does she have a guard with a gun, too, and is she scared?

Clara (her voice, loud, filled with excitement and pride and a bit of relief!): Whoa, Jasmine, I thought you didn't have any more questions!! Yikes, I think that was four new questions. That was amazing. Look what happened when Jasmine took her time to think of questions. Each one of those questions can really help us understand this book better.

Hands are up all over the room. Some children want to answer Jasmine's questions, others want to pose their own. The energy is high and getting higher. Children look at Jasmine with a fresh perspective. Maybe Jasmine IS the kind of kid that can ask a lot of questions and get everyone thinking.

Clara (her voice very low, almost a whisper and speaking very slowly): Okay, Jasmine. I want to stop and really think about your questions. Your questions really made me think about Mrs. Henry for the first time. I realize I've been thinking so much about how Ruby felt and what she was thinking that I had totally forgotten about Mrs. Henry. Sometimes when a reader like you, Jasmine, asks a question about a character other than the main character, it makes you understand the book in a whole new way.

Now, just a second, Jasmine, I want to think about your questions again. Did Mrs. Henry have to enter the school through the crowd of protesters? Are they mad and yelling at Mrs. Henry too? How do they feel about Mrs. Henry when she is teaching Ruby? Does she have a guard?

Clara lets silence sink in around the children.

Jasmine: I asked all that? I know the answers!

Clara is beaming with pride, but resists the temptation to praise Jasmine in general terms and let her spill out the "answers" to all her questions.

Clara: Jasmine, you taught all of us something so important here today. I think every reader in the room can remember what you taught us and use it in their reading. I'm going to say and write on this chart, what you taught us about using questions to understand more deeply. Okay? And, if I get something wrong, I want you to tell me right away.

Jasmine (with great gravity): I'll make sure.

Clara paused to write, not Jasmine's questions, but the following on a blank piece of chart paper hanging on a nearby easel.

Some questions take a lot of thinking before you can share them.

When one person asks a question, it helps everyone to think about the text in a new way.

Sometimes it's better not to try to answer the question right away – let it float in your mind for awhile.

The "float in your mind for awhile" was offered by Mikhail, one of the students, when Clara paused and talked about how she was searching for just the right words to capture what Jasmine taught the class.

Clara: I'm going to close the book right here and we'll return to finish our rereading at another time. (She pauses for a long moment and nearly whispers) I'm going to give the class a wonderful gift. I'm going to let you read while Jasmine's lessons are fresh in your mind. That way, you will be able to see what questions pop into your mind while you're reading and you'll be able to write them down on a sticky note so that when I come around to confer, you and I will be able to discuss them.

Clara uses a gesture that begins with each hand resting on the opposite shoulder and sweeps outward – a silent signal that the time for independent reading has begun.

When I consider these interactions with respect to the Talk about Thinking principles, it is clear that Clara seamlessly wove many of the ideas into her lessons on questioning, never losing sight of the fact that the goal is gaining a deeper understanding of the text. I was delighted to hear that, at least for Mikhail, the care Clara took in choosing words was reflected in his contribution to the chart, "you have to let a question float around in your mind for awhile." Mikhail seems to know that it's not only okay to experiment with words in this classroom; it's what everyone, including the teacher, is trying to do. Clara also used silence and varied her pacing, created a culture of rigor, restated what Jasmine said enabling her to probe the subtleties of the meaning more deeply.

What the children learned in these lessons can inform them, not just in their immediate reading tasks, but when they read independently from now on. These were not simple, one day, teach-it-and-move-on kinds of lessons. They were meant, and I believe will, to have staying power. They were meant to matter to children over the long haul.