Town Hall Circle

Town Hall Circle

Town Hall Circle In this activity, adapted from Facing History and Ourselves, students will participate in a structured discussion. The purpose of the town hall circle is to provide a space for students to share different perspectives. The activity can work with any...
Town Hall Circle

Save the Last Word

Save the Last Word In this activity, adapted from Short, Harste, & Burke’s Creating Classrooms for Authors and Inquirers (1996), students will read a text and select five statements that they think are important to discuss. On index cards, the students will write...
Town Hall Circle

Say Something

Say Something Students construct meaning from text with a partner during the Say Something activity, which is adapted from Beers’s When Kids Can’t Read (2003). Each student takes a turn to respond to an idea or line from the text by practicing a specific learning...
Town Hall Circle

I Wonder Poem

I Wonder Poem This activity encourages students to develop their curiosity about a topic by asking authentic questions in the form of a poem. Using the poem “I Wonder” by Jeannie Kirby as a model, students express their own questions through the structure of a poem....
Town Hall Circle

Word Scramble Prediction

Word Scramble Prediction In this activity, adapted from Gallagher’s Deeper Reading (2004), the teacher provides students with a list of intriguing words from a text they will read. The students then read the words and write a prediction based on those words. The...