Talking Sticks To Get Your Kids Talking!

 Laura Candler  graciously let me review one of her products. Since I was teaching kindergartners at the time, I chose this product. It was one she suggested and it really hit the nail on the head. In that class there were those kids who always volunteered (or shouted out of turn!) to answer a question. I needed to get to those kids who sat back and didn't have much to say, or who were just playing around. I wanted them to be more apart of the discussion. 

Click on the picture to find this in Laura's store.

Talking Sticks suggests giving every child 3 popsicle sticks
(you could use other kinds of sticks if that's better for you).

For our first time doing this I gave my kiddos 2 talking sticks.

I read the book called Thanksgiving at the Tappletons by Eileen Spinelli

Click the picture to buy it on Amazon. (The cover has been updated!)

     They were excited to hold the talking sticks!

I read the entire story to them. In this session I am using the Reading Response Questions For Kindergarten. ( She also has Book Discussion, Informational Text, and Literature prompts.)

 I read the discussion prompts that Laura's packet includes. 

They think and think about what they want to say. Then I call on someone to answer the question. I collect their stick when they give me their answer.  I also call on a few others, because there is usually more than one answer that will work. 

Then I continue with other discussion prompts. 

I call on those who still have both of their talking sticks. Sometimes you have to encourage them to think about an answer that would fit that prompt. 

(Wait time is good!)

There are several other prompts that you can use and some might fit your story better than others. 

Kindergartners can't sit for very long, so I decided that the next time I do it with Kinders, I will put their names on the two sticks. Then if we don't have time to get to everyone, I will collect the unused sticks and start with them for the next story.

I believe that if you try Laura Candler's Talking Sticks program you too will see that most of those reluctant speakers will find their voice to add to your discussions.

There are Talking Sticks for other grades too. 

Click the picture to go to the 5th Grade Talking Sticks. 

Click the picture to go to the 4th Grade Talking Sticks.

Click the picture to go to the 3rd Grade Talking Sticks.

Click the picture to go to the 2nd Grade Talking Sticks.

Click the picture to find the 1st Grade Talking Sticks

If you want to know more about what Laura Candler has to offer, you can read about her Place Value Activity in this post.