Conversing to Fortify Literacy, Language, and Learning

This article begins by outlining the importance of teaching students how toconverse about academic topics. It then describes three conditions needed for effective development of conversation skills across disciplines: valuing talk, focusing less on short answers and more on whole ideas, and focusing less on “talking to” and more on “talking with.” Excerpts of student conversations and descriptions of teaching activities give readers a taste of the what and how of this vital and challenging work.