Fostering Better Discussions

My biggest teacher ick is a bad class discussion. Here's how I take myself out of the center.

Teacher-centered discussions are, in a word, terrible. I don't want to bark questions at the class, and my students don't want to answer my questions anyway. How do we take ourselves out of the center of those types of discussions? Make the kids ask the questions. 

Okay. Duh. But how?

Here's a solution: Have students write questions before we have a planned discussion. As my students read, I have them write 10 level 2 or 3 questions. Then, in our class discussion, they are responsible for asking two of those questions, or questions they come up with on the fly (they just write it down after they ask!) I also have students think about how they  would answer their own questions, too. 

Students are SO much more confident when they have a solid plan. They pre-write questions and have some ideas already. This