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What is it?

Students illustrate something they like to do (or other prompt) on an index card or piece of paper. Then the student displays their drawing in front of them. The teacher starts by picking a card and shows it to the class, makes a statement, asks questions, compares cards, and so forth all to facilitate the conversation while building on things that matter to students.

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Why & How?

Originally developed by Ben Slavic and called “Circling with Balls”, this activity works wonderfully to develop a sense of community in your classroom, establishes crucial norms, all while staying in your target language. Skills used in this strategy are Circling, Personalized Questions & Answers, going slow, Pointing and Pausing, and more.

Card Talk in action

Featured video: Watch as Ngan Ta demonstrates Card Talk in Vietnamese to a group of teachers at the HALT Summer Summit.

Card Talk - Building Classroom Community and Learning About Your Students

By Ben Fisher

Card Talk - How Do I Love Thee?
by AnneMarie Chase

How to Card Talk
by Martina Bex

More
Ideas & REsourCes

Starting Card Talk
by Tina Hargaden

Card Talk Document
by Cameron Taylor,
Card Talk Discussion

Let's Commit to providing CI from Day One

Cécile Lainé gives a great description of Card Talk as part of her routine at the start of the school year.

Ben Slavic talking about "Circling with Balls"

More Thoughts and in-depth Discussion

What do You talk about during card Talk?

Card talk is all about relating to your students, showing interest in who they are, what they like, what they do, what their lives are like. Go slow, sticking to fewer details/less language at first to build confidence in comprehension and responses. Provide choices rather than open-ended questions to scaffold unknown structures/vocab. "Do you play guitar in a band or by yourself?"

What are the logistics?

It's worth it to explore the links to resources above, as each teacher has spent the time to give great details into their logistics. Simply, you can use any sheet of paper or card of any size for students to write their name and draw. Give them between 3-4 minutes to think and create. This can also be a digital activity!

How long do you spend on the cards?

If you are building this into your daily routine, you can easily spend 10-15 minutes talking about 2 or 3 cards. Once you've discussed a card, learned some interesting supporting details, and feel the energy start to wane, move on! Pick up another card. Write details on the board that were discovered for each card to aid the follow-up write & discuss.

Seems Simple. How do i keep this interesting?

Hold onto the cards & come back to them a month or two later and revisit them as a "fond memories" exercise. Bonus - works as a review and refresh of language and knowledge! Weave details from the cards into stories you co-create with the class. Compare and contrast students' interests. Provide choices rather than open-ended questions to scaffold unknown structures/vocab.

WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER CARD TALK?

WRITE AND DISCUSS

After providing lots and lots of input through card talk, co-create a text that is both compelling (your student's interests ARE the content that was discussed so they are invested in it) and a comprehensible reading passage that you can use later to do more input-based activities. As you write, ask clarifying, yes/no, either/or questions as a way to check for comprehension and engage them in the writing process. Compare and contrast, write what is and what isn't . Shelter vocabulary, not grammar!

USE MOVEMENT!

Check for comprehension (aka formative assessment!) by getting your students moving. Ask yes/no or true/false questions based on the information discussed. If the answer is yes, students move (stand up, move to a new location, etc.) Ask a question with multiple options. Students move to a corner of the room that aligns with their chosen option. Play "Find someone who..." using info from what was discussed during Card Talk.

OTHER WAYS TO ASSESS...

Using the write-up from write & discuss, do a quick quiz or written assessment. Students take out a piece of paper and answer true / false questions, either/or questions, or open-ended questions about the card talk discussion. This falls under the "interpretive" category - students are receiving input and making sense of it, then demonstrating that comprehension.

Can-Do statements - have students self-reflect using Can-Do statements to see how they feel about their own capabilities. Free-writes - Give students 5 minutes to write down anything they can, bullet format or full sentences, drawing pictures or illustrations, to demonstrate their comprehension.

There are so many ideas for assessment! For a better, more comprehensive deep dive into assessments for standards-based and proficiency-oriented language teaching, read Martina Bex's article on assessments for language classes and standards-based grading. Also Scott Benedict's articles on assessments and standards-based grading.

Card Talk

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