Despite teachers' best intentions, traditional whole-class discussions sometimes end up sounding like the monotonous drone of Charlie Brown's teacher. But with careful planning, teachers can structure discussions that encourage meaningful student interaction and collaborative thinking, write Laura Billings and Terry Roberts of the…

As educators, the authors know the importance of teaching reading and writing, but they often overlook speaking and listening skills. They believe that if they have class discussions on a regular basis, students are "naturally" learning to speak and to listen. However, that is not the case. On the contrary, speaking and listening skills are ones…

Recognizing the profound relationship between thinking and language, the authors have developed the traditional Paideia seminar into a literacy cycle of instruction that involves students in reading, speaking, listening, writing, and thinking. As staff members of the National Paideia Center, they have observed that learning to think requires…