Teaching the 5 Habits of Highly

Effective Discussants within Lit Circles

By: Stacy Ishigaki, Freshman ELA, Eastside College Prep, 2007)

The “Five Habits”

  1. Listen actively and make eye contact.
  2. Make connections.
  3. Invite others into the conversation.
  4. Share the air space.
  5. Appreciate others’ ideas.

LESSON PLANS

(adaptable, abridged version)

Day 1

Objectives / Students will:
review class norms for discussions.
learn about five habits of effective discussants and discuss making eye contact to show active listening.
participate in a fishbowl-style lit circle to practice using norms.
observe another lit circle to identify and evaluate peers’ use of norms.
provide verbal feedback about peers’ use of norms.
lead a discussion about the text or participate in a student-led discussion about the text.
BEFORE class… / Intro to norms for lit circles!
  • Put lit circle role sheets in folders
  • Write on board 3 ways to participate in discussions and five habits of highly effective discussants and rules of common courtesy

25 mins / Intro to norms for lit circles!
  • On board: three ways to participate in discussions (1-Ask a question. 2-Encourage a peer to share. 3-Share your own opinion/idea….from whole class discussions) and rules of common courtesy (be polite and respectful; let others speak; participate equally)
  • Distribute packet: Five Habits of Highly Effective Discussants
  • Read front page:
  • Listen actively and make eye contact.
  • Make connections.
  • Invite others into the conversation.
  • Share the air space.
  • Appreciate others’ ideas.
  • We will focus on a different habit for each lit circle! By the fifth one, you will be expected to practice all five habits.
  • Today: Listen Actively and Make Eye Contact!
  • You are awesome listeners! You show that you’re interested, listen to me and your peers speak.
  • How do you show that you’re listening? (EYE CONTACT!) Have you ever tried telling someone something, but they won’t look you in the eye? How does that feel? On the other hand, have you ever had someone stare at you while you were talking? How does that feel?
  • Part of listening actively is the eye contact you make with the speaker. Today, you will practice making eye contact with at least one person in your group: your peer evaluator. So when you get into your groups, make sure you figure out who your peer evaluator is! When you speak or listen, make a comfortable amount of eye contact with your peers.

10 mins / CBC lit circle demonstration for the class
  • Distribute observation directions as lit circle sets up in front of room
  • Discussion director: begin by setting the tone! Welcome group, set the agenda. Have each person share briefly? Give preview of discussion questions?
  • Begin discussion
  • I will call a timeout five minutes into it: check in with the class for observations (this is something that will continue throughout lit circles)
  • Continue discussion…for a few more minutes.

Day 2

BEFORE class… / Intro to norms for lit circles!
  • Put lit circle role sheets in folders
  • On board: three ways to participate in discussions (1-Ask a question. 2-Encourage a peer to share. 3-Share your own opinion/idea….from whole class discussions) and rules of common courtesy (be polite and respectful; let others speak; participate equally)
  • Five Habits of Highly Effective Discussants
  • Listen actively and make eye contact.
  • Make connections.
  • Invite others into the conversation.
  • Share the air space.
  • Appreciate others’ ideas.

3 mins / discussion directors meet with me
10 mins / Today’s Habit: Making Connections
  • To text
  • Between roles
  • To own lives
  • To other media like this movie
  • During today’s timeouts, I’m going to ask one lit circle to share how they use this strategy to make connections to the text, make connections between each other’s roles, make connections to other media like the movie, make connections to own lives and experiences
  • Going to read peers’ feedback—important to learn how to accept feedback for “areas to improve”—don’t get defensive, but consider what your peer has to say—maybe they really did perceive you in that way!

25 mins / Literature circle #2 [write on board: Elaborate, Reference, Passage]
  • Folders: read peers’ feedback—KEEP IN FOLDER.
  • Discussion director: remind group to focus on making connections
  • Call a timeout seven minutes in…
  • Summarizer: brief presentation
  • When was a time you made a connection between the text and the video? Our community? What part of the clip did you use?
  • When was a time you referenced the text? Why did you do it?
  • Was there a connection you could make to history or outside knowledge? (Investigator)
  • What made you build off of, or elaborate upon, what somebody else said? Why did you do that in that moment?

Day 3

BEFORE class… /
  • Put lit circle role sheets in folders
  • On board: three ways to participate in discussions (1-Ask a question. 2-Encourage a peer to share. 3-Share your own opinion/idea) and rules of common courtesy (be polite and respectful; let others speak; participate equally)
  • Five Habits of Highly Effective Discussants
  • Listen actively and make eye contact.
  • Make connections.
  • Today’s habit: Invite others into the conversation.
  • Share the air space.
  • Appreciate others’ ideas.

1 mins / Next habit: Invite others into the conversation
  • Inviting words: “_____, we haven’t heard from you in a while. What do you think?” “_____, do you agree?”
  • Types of questions: introduce, bring deeper, follow-up (draw flow chart)
  • Body language: positioning of chairs, posture, etc.
  • Demo!!! 1st period = Frank, Manny, Akilah, Josh; 3rd period = Noe, Porshay, Veronica, Vashon

35 mins / Literature circles!!!
  • Leave enough time for students to evaluate their peers!!!

Day 4

BEFORE class… /
  • Write on board: three ways to participate in discussions (1-Ask a question. 2-Encourage a peer to share. 3-Share your own opinion/idea) and rules of common courtesy (be polite and respectful; let others speak; participate equally) + Five Habits of Highly Effective Discussants
  • Listen actively and make eye contact.
  • Make connections.
  • Invite others into the conversation.
  • Today’s habit: Share the air space.
  • Appreciate others’ ideas

5 mins / Habit #4: Share the air space
  • What does that mean?
  • Link to participate equally
  • Prep students for roles; rest of the class: back of quickwrite = what not to do!

35 mins / Literature circles!!!
  • Leave enough time for students to evaluate their peers!!!

Day 5

BEFORE class… /
  • Write on board: three ways to participate in discussions (1-Ask a question. 2-Encourage a peer to share. 3-Share your own opinion/idea) and rules of common courtesy (be polite and respectful; let others speak; participate equally) + Five Habits of Highly Effective Discussants
  • Listen actively and make eye contact.
  • Make connections.
  • Invite others into the conversation.
  • Share the air space.
  • Appreciate others’ ideas

5 mins / Introduce fifth habit: Appreciate others’ ideas.
  • (Don’t fight!)
  • Respond to comments/make connections (don’t just nod or say “I agree”)
  • Think about idea and “sit with it.”
  • …will call a timeout and have your group reflect on ways to appreciate others’ ideas!
Distribute final reflection handout!!!
50 mins / FINAL literature circle!!!

In the space below, write suggestions for yourself so that you remember to practice this habit in your literature circle! You should incorporate feedback that you receive from your peer evaluator. Think of this as your “to do list” in terms of your habits as a discussant.

  1. Listen actively and make eye contact.

  1. Make connections so the discussion flows smoothly.

  1. Invite others into the conversation.

  1. Share the air space.

  1. Appreciate others’ ideas.

Observation Directions for Fishbowl Strengths of the discussion director: Areas for improvement for the discussion director: Strengths of the literary luminator: Areas for improvement for the literary luminator: Strengths of the investigator: Areas for improvement for the investigator: Strengths of the illustrator: Areas for improvement for the illustrator: Strengths of the summarizer: Areas for improvement for the summarizer: Strengths of the character cartographer: Areas for improvement for the character cartographer:

“Ask a question” norm. What does this sound like? (Write down what the person says.) “Ask a question” norm. What does this look like? (Describe the body language of the person doing this.) “Encourage a peer to share” norm. What does this sound like? (Write down what the person says.) “Encourage a peer to share” norm. What does this look like? (Describe the body language of the person doing this.) “Share your own idea/opinion” norm. What does this sound like? (Write down what the person says.) “Share your own idea/opinion” norm. What does this look like? (Describe the body language of the person doing this.)

Name: ______Date: ______

My Growth as a Discussant:

A Reflection on Norms and Habits

  1. My strengths as a discussant: List the norms and habits that you are particularly strong at. Choose one habit to explain in detail, giving at least two pieces of evidence as to how you have demonstrated that you are strong with that norm/habit.
  1. Ways in which I can improve as a discussant: List the norms and habits that you are particularly not strong at. Choose one habit to explain in detail, giving at least two reasons why you think you have not demonstrated that you are strong with this norm or habit.
  1. My plan for improvement: What habit would you personally like to work on? Describe two strategies that you will use to specifically work on this habit.
  1. Our strengths and areas to improve upon as a group: List the norms and habits that you think that your group demonstrates strongly, and those that you think your group does not demonstrate well. (You will share this with your group members!)

You’re Invited…
How do your classmates invite others into the conversation?
Discussion Director: ______
  • ______
______
  • ______
______
  • ______
______/ You’re Invited…
How do your classmates invite others into the conversation?
Literary Luminary: ______
  • ______
______
  • ______
______
  • ______
______
You’re Invited…
How do your classmates invite others into the conversation?
Investigator: ______
  • ______
______
  • ______
______
  • ______
______/ You’re Invited…
How do your classmates invite others into the conversation?
Summarizer/Illustrator: ______
  • ______
______
  • ______
______
  • ______
______

Stacy Ishigaki“Five Habits of HighlyEffective Discussants”

May 2007Page 1