Discussion Leaders Instructions:

On the day your group is to lead discussion about an assigned reading, each student in the group should make sure that the group covers all the ground listed below.  You may cover more than one item at a time, and these things don’t necessarily have to be done in order.  As a group, you will lead discussion on the material for approximately 40 minutes of the class. Each member of the group must lead part of the discussion. Each group member is required to turn in a typed letter to me describing how the group worked together, paying close attention to what each group member contributed to the development of the presentation.  These letters will not be shared with the class.

1.                  Make sure you know the passage well enough to be able to summarize it or any part of it.  Ask if anyone has questions about it or had trouble understanding any part of it.  Select concepts from the passage that may be difficult to understand and define these concepts/words to the class.

2.                  Point to the thesis statement if there is one (show us the paragraph/sentence itself).  If it is not written out, explain what you see the main point of the passage to be.

3.                  Get the class writing for a minute—ask us to answer a question about the reading.  The point is to get people’s minds back on the reading so that we’re ready to talk about it.

4.                  At some point, you need to bring up five questions or comments that help to spark discussion.  Don’t ask yes or no questions, such as, “do you agree with Lakoff and Johnson?”  Ask us why we agree or disagree, what examples we can bring in from our own life to prove or disprove the claim of the writer(s).

5.                  Be able to point to specific passages as you ask questions and/or make comments that get us talking.

6.                  Make sure you link the reading back to the major unit we’re covering at the time (Education, Nature, etc.)

Please be creative; employ skits or visual or auditory aids in presenting the reading.  Would a debate be helpful?  You may use a power point presentation, but the power point should not be the entire presentation.  Go beyond the power point; engage the class directly.