What happens when students compose discussion questions and take turns maintaining the momentum of a discussion? Deeper engagement, motivation, and collaboration.

Student-led discussions allow students to practice teamwork, critical thinking, clarifying ideas and communicating them to peers. They become active listeners, refine and improve their use of language, and develop higher order analysis, synthesis, and inference skills.

This On-Your-Feet Guide will help teachers:

· Create a structure for effective student-led conversations

· Focus on specific strategies that increase engagement and participation

· Generate essential questions that lead to deeper discussions

· Deliver prompts for keeping discussions moving forward

· Trouble-shoot and scaffold learners through specific conversational "tricky spots"

Use the On-Your-Feet Guides

- When you know the "what" but need help with the "how"

- As a quick reference to support a practice you learned in a PD workshop or book

- To learn how to implement foundational practices

- When you want to help your students learn a specific strategy, routine, or approach, but aren't sure how to do it yourself