Purpose

Talk facilitates learning. Interaction with others is essential to deep understanding. Teachers who include purposeful talk into daily lessons provide students with the critical opportunity to clarify, refine, and apply their thinking.

The E.L. Achieve Discussion Cards are designed to support English learners in gaining proficiency in the language of academic classroom conversations.  They evolved from cards designed by middle school teachers at the Urban Promise Academy in Oakland, California, who found the use of discussion cards contributed to effective small group dialogues by providing explicit language support for immediate use.

As students learn to use the frames and stems on the cards, their confidence increases, and they become more engaged members of the classroom community.

Materials

• Agree/Disagree (green)
• Build on an Idea (purple)
• Share Your Thinking (gold)
• Ask a Question  (blue)
• Cite Evidence (red)

On the other side of the card are sentence frames and starters organized

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at three levels of sophistication indicated by a circle, triangle, or star:

Simple – May be appropriate for English learners at the

Early Intermediate or Intermediate proficiency levels

Sufficient – Appropriate for Intermediate through

Advanced proficiency levels

Sophisticated – Additional variations to extend language use

at higher levels of proficiency