ELA Discourse Cards
ELA Discourse Cards
Talk
Questions and response prompts
to encourage meaningful discussions Knowledge
and deep comprehension of texts Building
Word
Learning
Understanding
Informational
Understanding Texts
Literature
• S elect relevant cards and share these with students before reading to introduce key
academic vocabulary and set a purpose for reading.
• Focus on one or two questions a week to introduce the kinds of questions skilled readers ask as
they engage with a text. Give students multiple exposures to the same question across multiple
texts so the questions become ingrained.
• Share several cards with the class and allow students to choose which ones they want to discuss.
• P
rovide a structure to small group conversation by giving each small group a card to discuss.
Ask the group to summarize their discussion with the whole class to allow all students to learn
from the discussions from each small group.
• Distribute blank cards to each group, and ask each group to create a question. Pass out the
student-created card to a new small group for discussion.
• Pose a question from one of the cards to the whole class, and brainstorm possible responses to
the question together. Then, ask students to select one of the responses and form a small
group with others who agree with them. Prompt students to justify their thinking to others
in that group.
• To establish conversational skills among students, use cards that have a question and response
prompt so each has support to begin their discussion of a text.
• Give each pair a card to guide their discussion about a text. After a few minutes, have the person
who asked the question on the card find a new partner for discussion. Repeat as time allows.
Having students practice asking the same question with multiple partners will increase students’
levels of comfort with the academic vocabulary.
• Facilitate a culminating discussion to incorporate multiple texts that have a shared theme or topic.
• Have students create their own cards as they become more skilled at engaging in text-based
discussions.
• Use the cards as writing prompts or to facilitate discussion that prepares students for an extended
writing opportunity.
• Create a discussion station as a rotational center activity. Provide a short text, and have students
read and discuss the text with one another.
How do the
character’s actions
help you understand
what kind of person
he or she is?
When the character
does/says ,
it shows me that
.
What happens in
this story is similar
to because
.
How is the
problem solved?
How does a
character change
in the story?
First, the
character .
Then, the
character .
What happens at
the beginning,
middle, and end
of the story?
In the beginning, .
In the middle, .
At the end, .
Which details
are important to
understanding this
part of the story?
Why?
The most important
details are
because .
What do you
think is the most
important event
in the story?
Why?
I think the most
important event
is
because .
What information
in the beginning of
the story helps you
understand the rest
of the story?
In the beginning
of the story,
I learned .
Who is telling
the story?
How do you know?
The story is told
from the point of
view of .
I know this
because .
What lesson
does the main
character learn?
learns that
. I know this
because .
wanted
. But .
So, .
Then, .
Which details
help you picture
what the author is
describing?
What is being
compared in the
text? How are
they alike
or different? and
are alike because
. They
are different
because .
How do the
pictures, charts, or
diagrams help
you understand
the text?
I understand
better
because .
The words
show me that the
author feels .
Based on the
subheadings, what do
you think you’ll learn
about from this text?
Now I know .
Now I wonder .
Which parts of
the text were difficult
to understand?
What information
do you think the
author left out?
Which parts of
the word
do you know?
What do you think
the word means?
I know the word
part(s) , so
I think the word
means .
How is the
word like a
word you know in
another language?
I don’t know
the words
or .
The author
describes
by saying .
My partner
thinks
because .
I’m confused.
Could you say it
another way?
According to
the author, .
I can prove
because .
I have a question
about .
My new thinking is
.
I still think
,
but now I wonder
.
I noticed a
connection between
the ideas
and .