Mrs. Clark (3rd) and Mrs. Fauteux (6th) are taking a class together called Educate for Success. Offered by QRSD, this course challenges teachers to identify an area of their practice in which they want to hone their skills. The goal is that they will, in turn, become models for other teachers in the district in this area.

Mrs. Fauteux and Mrs. Clark are working on the concept of ‘accountable talk,’ a skill developed in Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop. By teaching ‘accountable talk’ children learn how to develop conversation skills to facilitate their work with their Reading and Writing partners. They learn phrases like “I noticed in your writing…”, “Your writing made me wonder…”, “What made you think that?”, “I understand what you are saying and I disagree because…”, and “Can you give me an example from the text?”

The list goes on and on but the important thing is that we are teaching the art of respectful conversation while developing children’s meta-cognitive skills. Click here to see some examples of anchor charts created by teachers that illustrate “accountable talk” starters for children.