Teacher Commentary
We like to take the partner-share time as an opportunity to listen in on student conversations and to give a few students, who may not have participated yet, a heads up that they will be called on. I might say, “That’s a question I’ve heard from other students as well. Can I call on you to share that one?” or “You seem to have a different idea than your partner. May I have you share your thought and then she can add her own?” When we’re able to do this pre-selecting first, we start off the whole class sharing by saying, “I’ve heard a lot of your thinking. We’re going to start by hearing from ___ and ___, and then I’ll take hands.” This gives another reminder to these students, sets the tone that their contribution is important, and lets the rest of the class know when their turn is coming.

We have also found that by taking the extra 3-5 minutes this strategy requires, we get more participation when we come back together for the whole class share. If you call on a student who didn’t know what to write, they can always share what their partner shared. This validates what their partner said and keeps an “I-don’t-know” student included in the conversation.