Students Take the Lead: A Glimpse at Grand Conversations in a 2nd-Grade Classroom

Abstract

Children bring their own background knowledge and experiences to their engagement with a story, yet teachers often fail to tap into their deeper understandings. This article shares the authors' experiences in introducing “grand conversations” to a group of 2nd-grade students and shows how one can facilitate authentic, student-led literary discussions to uncover deeper meaning. Interactive strategies during literary reading can help engage students as they discuss the theme's relevance to their own lives. Findings from the study indicate how such conversations can help learners make deep connections among story, their personal lives, and the outside world. This can be an important strategy in building children's identities as they try to interact with and understand themselves in respect to the world around them.