Formative Assessment:
It is crucial to get a sense of what students are discussing in small groups. Listening to these discussions can help you facilitate the whole class discussion that follows.

Owning science reading and talking
Smaller pair discussions are another opportunity for students to utilize the science reading and talking stems, working towards independence and ownership of a wide range of reading and reasoning practices. Identifying the ways students are talking with one another is one more way to formatively assess and make changes both in-the-moment as well as during planning.