Managing the conversations in all of your groups can be challenging! Here’s a simple strategy that can be employed to help keep the “Chatty Cathy” from doing all of the talking; it’s called Talking Chips:
How to implement:
1. Ask a question to elicit discussion.
2. Distribute the same number of talking chips to each member of the group.
3. Each time a member contributes to the discussion, s/he places a chip in the center of the table.
4. Once individuals are out of chips, they can no longer speak.
5. Continue the discussion until all chips are exhausted.
Why use Talking Chips:
1. The chips provide structure to small group discussions.
2. The chips ensure all students get an opportunity to contribute.
Talking chips can be any type of manipulative- teddy bears, math counting chips, even poker chips!
Thanks for your well-organized forum, Dr. Mooney! What a valuable resource for teachers of English Learners!
