{"id":3451,"date":"2015-04-10T09:58:18","date_gmt":"2015-04-10T06:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.classtools.net\/blog\/?p=3031"},"modified":"2015-02-14T21:54:29","modified_gmt":"2015-02-14T18:54:29","slug":"silent-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/cause\/silent-discussion\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent Discussion"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a great way of getting students to conduct some close reading of detailed\u00a0sources.\u00a0The lesson is framed around a key question for investigation (which could be about causes, consequences, significance…), and then carefully selected sources are placed at different points around the room. Students move between the sources in pairs, in silence, annotating and asking questions as they go. The findings are then drawn together at the end.<\/p>\n

Stage 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prior to the lesson, the\u00a0teacher will print off these sources and place them on different tables.<\/p>\n

The class will be divided into pairs, and each pair will be directed to a different table with a different source.<\/p>\n

2 minutes: Each pair of students\u00a0reads their\u00a0source in silence.<\/p>\n

3 minutes: Still in silence, students annotate their sources by underlining key words \/ phrases and either (a) Making their\u00a0observations, or (b) Asking questions, in the margin. Each\u00a0partner can answer these questions if they wish. During this time, the teacher will move between the groups silently adding extra questions \/ observations.<\/p>\n

Stage 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

All pairs will now be moved around the class to look at a different source. Repeat Stage 1 for as long as time allows.<\/p>\n

At the end of the process the\u00a0teacher will\u00a0lead a discussion about what has been\u00a0learned.<\/p>\n

The completed sheets should be put on display where they can be compared.<\/p>\n

Students should consolidate by answering the key question for discussion.<\/p>\n

Download Sample Exercise<\/strong>: “Silent Discussion: What sort of a man was Napoleon?<\/a>” (via www.activehistory.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a great way of getting students to conduct some close reading of detailed\u00a0sources.\u00a0The lesson is framed around a key question for investigation (which could be about causes, consequences, significance…), and then carefully selected sources are placed at different points around the room. Students move between the sources in pairs, in silence, annotating and… <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":3032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[190,192,195,198,199,200,203,206,211],"tags":[250,330],"class_list":["post-3451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cause","category-consequence","category-downloads","category-individuals","category-interpretations","category-knowledge","category-reading","category-significance","category-understanding","tag-discussion","tag-silent"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2959,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/key-stage\/year-9-history\/primary-sources-about-churchill-silent-discussion\/","url_meta":{"origin":3451,"position":0},"title":"Primary sources about Churchill – Silent Discussion","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"February 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Primary sources about Churchill - Silent Discussion Prior to the lesson, your teacher will print off sets of sources and place them on different tables. The class will be divided into pairs, and each pair will be directed to a different table with a different set of sources. \"Read the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1900-2000 (GCSE History)"","block_context":{"text":"1900-2000 (GCSE History)","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/historical-periods\/20th-century\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Winston Churchill","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Winston-Churchill-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4674,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/key-stage\/year-9-history\/primary-sources-about-churchill-worksheet\/","url_meta":{"origin":3451,"position":1},"title":"Primary sources about Churchill – worksheet","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"May 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Primary sources about Churchill - Silent Discussion Prior to the lesson, your teacher will print off sets of sources and place them on different tables. The class will be divided into pairs, and each pair will be directed to a different table with a different set of sources. \"Read the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1900-2000 (GCSE History)"","block_context":{"text":"1900-2000 (GCSE History)","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/historical-periods\/20th-century\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2998,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/key-stage\/ib-history\/silent-discussion-impressions-of-napoleon\/","url_meta":{"origin":3451,"position":2},"title":"Silent Discussion, Impressions of Napoleon","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"April 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Silent Discussion: Impressions of Napoleon In this activity students conduct a 'Silent Discussion' about Napoleon (instructions included) based around 12 primary sources. In this way they start to form impressions about whether Napoleon was a revolutionary or a reactionary. Part of the new IB Study Unit on \"The French Revolution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1750-1900 (Year 9 History)"","block_context":{"text":"1750-1900 (Year 9 History)","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/historical-periods\/industrial-revolution\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"silent_discussion","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/silent_discussion-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":124,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/key-stage\/year-8-history\/drakes-circumnavigation-google-earth-flyover\/","url_meta":{"origin":3451,"position":3},"title":"Drake’s Circumnavigation: Google Earth Flyover","author":"Russel Tarr","date":"June 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I have just put the finishing touches to a Google Earth Flyover of Sir Francis Drake's Circumnavigation of the Globe. The activity comes complete with 6 worksheets which you can pick and choose from to use with your classes: 1. Structured Questions about Drake's Circumnavigation Students answer a series of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1450-1750 (Year 8 History)"","block_context":{"text":"1450-1750 (Year 8 History)","link":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/category\/historical-periods\/early-modern\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3452,"url":"https:\/\/www.activehistory.co.uk\/updates\/cause\/living-graph-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3451,"position":4},"title":"Living Graph","author":"russeltarr","date":"April 15, 2015","format":"gallery","excerpt":"A \"Living Graph\" encourages students not only to select the most important events within a topic, but also to rate them (over time) against criteria such as success and failure, strength and weakness, significance and insignificance. 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