Reading Discussion Groups

Fourth graders are reading Little House on the Prairie this term. As they read they are looking for farm words. Also, the students have been grouped into discussion teams. Each member of the team has a job to help them contribute to the discussion of the readings.

Jobs include: The Discussion Director, who prepares three good questions about the readings. This person also acts as leader of the group. Then there is the Word Wizard, who finds three good vocabulary words, defines them and illustrates them to help group members have a greater understanding. The third job is Passage Picker. This person finds a good descriptive section in the readings to share with the group. Lastly, is the Character Sketcher. This member uses a graphic organizer model to share their thoughts about a character in the readings.

Each week, students try out a new role in the discussion groups. A great many thought-provoking discussions are the result!