HS ESL Discussion Rubric

Making thinking visible to ESL students will spur them on to success! ESL students can improve their discussion skills with guidance, practice and reflection. Ironically a metacognitive discussion about discussion skills can be linguistically complex for the target ESL students. A long list of "rules" can be also difficult to keep in mind while juggling so many bits of information, struggling to follow a discussion and groping for the words to communicate ideas. Images with emotional impact can serve as effective reminders about good discussion practices.

To create an effective presentation, one has to
1) seek a recovery program for illegal users of copyrighted images;
2) overcome the temptation to include lengthy text - either oral or written - which detracts from the visual;
3) get rid of unwanted baggage keeping only the most valuable pearls;
4) delude oneself into feeling enough confidence to persist in figuring out how to use a new tech tool;
5) beg or borrow a microphone from a trustworthy neighbor;
6) resist any temptation to bolt after the 10th retake by duck taping oneself to the chair;
7) reserve judgment until after the presentation premier in the classroom;
8) despite a short fuse, revise based on reflection and feedback;and
9) abandon all restraint to celebrate when the presentation really works!