One important topic of our discussions was how to support or scaffold students as they participated in literary discussion. When teachers invite students into a discussion, orchestrate the turn taking, and help them connect their ideas to others, we are scaffolding ways to discuss. When we help them focus and shape their ideas, encourage them to make connections and offer ways to think about concerns, we are scaffolding ways to think. Principles of practice. Questions are treated as part of the literary experience.
Class meetings are a time to develop understandings.
Multiple perspectives are used to enrich interpretation. As we worked with students to apply what we were learning and thinking about in our weekly groups, the responsibilities and power structures changed. Building scaffolding into discussion required that we pay careful attention to what students were saying and doing during each discussion. Although before a class we would think about what students might need to share their interpretations, we couldn't plan exactly what scaffolding would be needed until we actually were involved in the discussion. Keeping brief notes on a seating chart helped me keep track of what the students were saying and helped identify what support was needed.