Last week, I pulled out the tried and true Sage and Scribe.  It’s an oldie but a goodie.

It’s an interaction technique where partners work together to complete a task.  In my case last week – an Everyday Math journal page.  In each partnership, one student was the sage (speaker) and one student was the scribe (writer).  Then, using their best Ms. Straus impersonations, the sage taught the scribe how to do a question while the scribe wrote down the steps and answer.

Now, I know what you’re thinking…the sage will just tell the scribe what to write, the scribe will copy it down without thinking, and the partners will quickly move onto their favorite part of Justin Bieber Never Say Never.  Perhaps.  But this potential (and excruciatingly painful for adults) pothole is quickly averted by discussing what kind of academic language I should hear as I walk around.  Prior to moving into their partnerships around the room, students brainstorm (and I record on the board for them to refer to throughout the activity) what sentences they could say while ‘teaching.’  Last week students came up with, for example:

• First, you…
• I think next that you should…
• That’s a great way to…
• and of course, vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary

And…it’s always nice when students pipe up with, “And we should be using our Talking Protocols.”  We talk about why I’m having students teach rather than ‘just work together’ and the importance of being able to explain a concept rather than just do it.  Students understand the importance of teaching and actively take on the role of teacher…but really, who wouldn’t?

Have you tried this technique before?  How did it go?

Related posts:

1. And…yes, you CAN talk…