The Importance of Response-Centered Talk

Hey Group 4! :)

The article by McGee on response-centered talk was interesting for me to read and think critically about. In her article, McGee stresses the importance of "talk" in literacy. Talk is something that tends to be over-looked when it comes to literacy because it is not necessarily one of the first aspects of literacy that comes to mind when you think of literacy in general. In fact, talk is one of the most important aspects of literacy that we should all use within our classrooms. Talk is important to gage our students' prior information about what they will begin to read. It is important for answering questions and gaining comprehension as the literary work is being read and after it is finished.

Talk can also be used to gain knowledge of our students' personal interpretations of the texts, and connections that they might make between the text and their own lives. It is a good idea to use response-centered talk with the students in the classroom. Using response-centered talk captures and keeps the student's attention more than traditional literacy talk because it gives the students an opportunity to focus on aspects of the literature that are interesting to them. Response-centered talk is student focused and the role of the teacher is that of a guide. A teacher can learn a lot about his or her students by listening.