LANGUAGE
In the video Reuther teacher, Erika Lusky,
uses the language of thinking with her students. 
Teacher Reflection: Use of Language
The Language of the Classroom: 6 Components by Ron Ritchhart
6 Components of Language Summary by Troy School District
Discourse
math_discourse.pdf
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leveled_math_questions.pdf
File Size: 35 kb
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leveled_reading_questions.pdf
File Size: 88 kb
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Question Starters
accountable_talk_sentence_starters.docx
File Size: 13 kb
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The Language

  1. I make a conscious effort to use the language of thinking in my teaching discussing with students the sort of thinking moves required by verbs such as elaborate, evaluate, justify, contrast, explain etc.
  2. I seldom use generic praise comments (good job, brilliant, well done) and instead give specific, targeted, action-oriented feedback that focuses on guiding future efforts and actions. 
  3. I use "conditional" phrases such as could be, might be, one possibility is, some people think or usually it id that way but not always. 
  4. I try to notice and name the thinking occurring in my classroom. For example, "Sean is supporting his ideas with evidence here, or Same is evaluating effectiveness of that strategy right now, or Iris has presented an interesting analogy today. 
  5. I use inclusive, community-building language by talking about what we are learning or our questions.
from Ron Ritchhart's The Development of a Culture of Thinking in My Classroom: Self-Assessment

Language of thinking that provides students with the vocabulary for describing and reflecting on thinking