The On-Your-Feet Guide to Student-Led Discussions: Strategies to Make Student Talk Collaborative and Productive

All On-Your-Feet Guide orders receive FREE SHIPPING! Use code SHIPOYFG at check out.

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 this on-your-feet guide to coach your students toward meaningful discussions that enhance literacy learning and increase engagement.


On-Your-Feet Guides (OYFGs) provide you with the ultimate cheat sheet to implement effective change in your classroom while in the moment of teaching. Designed for accessibility, and providing step-by-step guidance, the OYFGs are written by experts who take research-based practices and make them doable for the busy teacher. Each On-Your-Feet Guide is laminated, 8.5x11 tri-fold (6 pages), and 3-hole punched. 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