Group Discussion Questions And Answers

[Boyan Atanaschev]

Yearsof trial and error with small group discussions finally led me to this breakthrough strategy. In fact, it was because of one class in particular, who had difficulty staying focused when they worked in small groups without an adult nearby to guide them, that especially needed a new structured activity to help them have anything beyond superficial small talk.

In the past, I had structured class discussions with strategies like literature circles, where each student is assigned a role with a specific job to do like Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Symbol Sleuth, and so on. But I had found that these actually constricted students, limiting them to shallow, perfunctory conversation. The roles acted like flotation devices, keeping students at the surface with no chance of diving deeper.

Start by providing students with the following five talking points, or create similar ones of your own. (Note that in later Real Talk discussions, students will create their own talking points. In the practice, you will provide them.):

Instruct students to discuss those talking points by sharing their opinions and backing them up with not only reasoning (why they believe this), but also examples to clarify and strengthen their reasoning.

It can be incredibly helpful to provide talk stems (like the ones below) and advise that students use them to keep the discussions flowing. You can also review and encourage active listening skills, such as making eye contact and asking clarifying questions.

The magic of this Real Talk Discussion Activity is that each student is contributing a variety of talking points to the discussion. Gone are the roles of Discussion Director and Literary Luminary, where students contribute their single areas of information and can then tune out for the rest of the discussion. Each person is expected, and honestly, usually wants to listen and contribute their thinking throughout the conversation.

In addition to filling out this rubric as you observe class discussions, you can also collect the talking points that students wrote. This can give you a lot of insight into their understanding of the text prior to the discussion. Finally, consider having students write a reflection afterward, in which they discuss their favorite talking point, rate their discussion, talk about their contribution to the discussion, and so on.

A whole-class discussion following the group discussions is also a great way to gauge how the talks went. One of my favorite activities is to have each group choose the talking point that they spent the most time discussing. Then we use each of those talking points in a fascinating class talk.

I did this exact real talk strategy with my students who are in 7th grade and involved in book clubs. Each group spoke together without my help for nearly 45 minutes; their insights on the novel were varied, interesting and fun. Thanks, Jen, and Jessica Cannata!

I really like this concept because it can be very hard to get students to engage with thoughtful responses, especially if it is too structured. Giving students back some free reign when it comes to discussions can help make the flow much better and I think this concept could be very useful.

The version that you see in the article is geared towards narrative texts, so if you want a copy for informational texts, we recommend revising or adapting this one for your purposes. You could keep the main categories such as Questions, Vocabulary, and Connections while simply adjusting the language here and there. The Style category could be changed to Structure, and the Quotes section could prompt students to share key ideas instead of dialogue. Hope this helps!

I use something similar to this discussion technique with my 2nd and 3rd graders. I teach for an online school so it is vital that my students have the skills to engage in intellectual and constructive discussions. The technique I have used before is called Talk Moves. I liked your idea of adding Talking Points and posting these for students to reference. I think this step would advance and deepen discussions even further. Thank you for inspiring me to revamp my current discussion strategy!

The President. You know, I think I'm supposed to make remarks first. I was just feeling so comfortable, I sat down. [Laughter] Let me go to the podium first. All right, all right, I'm going to go to the podium. [Laughter]

I just feel so comfortable, with friends here, that I was just getting kind of relaxed. [Laughter] But I'm going to start off by making some remarks. Everybody, please have a seat. It is wonderful to be with all of you.

I want to thank Jude and the whole panel here of outstanding young people who are going to participate in this panel. I want to thank our outstanding Interior Secretary, Sally Jewell. I want to thank the Members of Congress who are here who are supporting the outstanding work that not just the Department of Interior is doing, but we're trying to get every agency to really focus on strengthening the nation-to-nation relationship that we have with the tribes. So thank you, Members of Congress.

When I ran for office, I pledged to build a true nation-to-nation relationship with all of you. And back then, I was just a young adopted son of the Crow Nation. [Laughter] Didn't have any gray hair. [Laughter] Now I am President Barack Black Eagle. [Laughter] And what started out as a campaign promise has now become a tradition. So welcome to the seventh White House Tribal Nations Conference.

Now, traditionally, what we've done is, I've come out and I've given a big speech. And I was telling Jude and others, I just get tired of hearing myself talk; I'm just talking all the time. So instead of a long speech, I thought I'd have a conversation with young people from Indian Country. And I just want to start off with a couple of brief thoughts.

I've often acknowledged the painful history, the broken promises that are part of our past. And I've said that while we couldn't change the past, working together, nation to nation, we could build a better future. I believe this not only because America has a moral obligation to do right by the tribes and treaty obligations, but because the success of our tribal communities is tied up with the success of America as a whole. And over the past 7 years, with tribal leaders and Federal officials working together, we've made a lot of progress.

Together, we've strengthened your sovereignty. We've expanded opportunity. We've delivered justice. But I think we all understand we've still got more work to do. We need to do more to safeguard tribal consultation rights across the Federal Government. We can continue to help to consolidate and restore tribal homelands. We need to create more opportunities for tribal communities. And that's why the budget I sent to Congress this year would have increased our investments in Indian Country by $1.5 billion. And we need Congress to show that same support for Indian Country. And one of the reasons I'm so invested in your success is because I've gotten to know so many of you and we've become friends and I've visited more Indian Country than any sitting President. Last year, Michelle and I visited Standing Rock Sioux Nation. Then, we invited many of their young people to the White House.

This year, I met with young people in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. In Alaska, I met with Native communities and witnessed how climate change threatens their livelihoods as we speak, and I reiterated my commitment to working with tribal nations to protect your national resources and honor your heritage, as we did with Denali. So moving forward, we'll also review tribal proposals to permanently protect sacred lands for future generations.

What struck me on each of these trips is, when we talk about the future of Indian Country, we're really talking about the future of young people. I don't need to tell you the enormous challenges that they face. Native children are far more likely to grow up in poverty, suffer from significant health problems, face obstacles in educational opportunity. A lot of the young people I've met have gone through more than anybody should have to go through in an entire lifetime at a very early age. Losing family members to violence or suicide or addiction and struggling with the kind of poverty that is unacceptable in the richest nation on Earth.

In these circumstances, sometimes, it's hard to dream your way to a better life. And these challenges didn't just happen randomly to Indian Country. They were the result, the accumulation of systematic discrimination. But for all our young people have endured, the young people that I've met have also given me incredible hope. I see so much promise in them, so much determination.

In the words of Native American writer Janet Campbell Hale: "Courage has been bred into you. It is in your blood." Courage is in your blood. And you're not alone. I want our young people to know that we believe in you. That's why we started something called Generation Indigenous, which focuses on cultivating the potential of our Native youth. And at least 20 tribal nations have already become "My Brother's Keeper" communities to give more young people a shot at success.

Even as we prepare out tribal youth to succeed in the 21st century, we also have to preserve and protect Native culture and heritage. As I've said before, if you start losing your language and your culture, your sense of connection to your ancestors and touchstones that date back generations, you can start feeling adrift. And if you're living in a society that devalues your culture or perpetuates stereotypes, you may be devaluing yourself.

And so with that, I'm going to sit back down, and let's start a conversation. Okay. All right. Ms. Schimmel. Good afternoon, and welcome to the final session of the 2015 Tribal Nations Conference. Before we get started, I would like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Jude Schimmel. I'm 21 years old, and I'm a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Growing up, I had no idea that I would be in the position the position I am today, but through hard work and the help of my family, I was able to receive a scholarship to the University of Louisville, where I played 4 years of college basketball and earned my bachelor's degree in sociology. And I'm also a Nike N7 ambassador and an author. But most importantly, over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to travel and speak to over 60 different Native American communities within the United States to simply inspire young Natives to go out and follow their dreams and do what they love. I truly believe that if we continue to work together that we can get to the point where we preserve our culture and our tradition and also allow and create the opportunities that young Native Americans deserve. Lastly, I would just like to express how honored and how blessed I am to be in front of all of you today and on stage with all these special people.

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