Build on what they said
Draft wording, until a teacher has checked it.
1 of 4
One voice fills the time
Put three learners round a table and one often does all the talking. The others agree, or switch off. Group talk needs a few simple moves everyone knows.
For example"Yeah, whatever you think."
Pick an activity. Each takes two or three minutes.
Agree the rules, teach two moves, then two more, and feed in facts to keep the talk going.
Why this works in your room
When everyone knows the moves, everyone gets a way in.
For your learners: The starters give every learner words to join in with, including those new to English or new to the group.
For you: You can hear the thinking, and step back while they do it.
Agree three talk rules
With the group, on the wall
One voice at a time. Build on what was said. Everyone speaks before anyone speaks twice.
Start with Add and Ask
Two first
"I agree, and..." "What do you mean by...?"
Then Challenge and Sum up
When Add and Ask come easily
"I see it differently, because..." "So far we've said..."
Feed in facts
One at a time
Each new fact gives the group a reason to think again.
Listen, don't lead
Step back and note the moves you hear
Tick each move as you hear it. Tick again in three weeks to see what's changed.
Listen for: and, because, so far.
Support or stretch
Make it easier, or go up a
Hard to start? Give each learner one move card.
Ready for more? The group agrees one plan and defends it to another group.
Elsewhere in Bradford ThreadWorks
Prompts to paste into Copilot
Two prompts to paste into Copilot. They are our own wording, not Big 4 training. Change what is in brackets, and leave out learners' names.
Facts to feed in
I teach [subject] to [level] learners at a further education college. Write a short case for group discussion on [topic]: a starting situation, then three facts to feed in one at a time. Each fact should change what the group decides. Keep each fact under 20 words.
Talk moves for my subject
Give me one sentence starter for each of four talk moves (Add, Ask, Challenge, Sum up) that [level] [subject] learners could use when discussing [topic]. Under 10 words each, and use a key word from the topic in each.
Ground rules for talk build reasoning
Primary pupils taught to agree ground rules for group talk used far more reasoning words like "because", and did better on a reasoning test on their own.
Mercer, Wegerif and Dawes (1999), British Educational Research Journal 25(1), 95 to 111 (opens in a new tab)Structured talk, taught on purpose
Talk tactics with sentence starters are taught explicitly and used across lessons. Fed-in facts add new information in stages, so each round of talk goes a layer deeper.
Tom Sherrington, Discover Oracy (teacherhead, 2026) (opens in a new tab)Everyone talking helps belonging
When everyone talks about the content in small groups, relationships and belonging improve, and there is less disruption.
Speltincx and others (2025), Gelijke kansen in de klas, summarised by Tom Sherrington (teacherhead, 2026) (opens in a new tab)Taking turns can be taught
Simple routines like A and B partners and talk tactics help learners take turns and build on each other's answers.
Tom Sherrington, Towards powerful oracy for all (Substack, 2026) (opens in a new tab)How sure is this?
Fairly sure. The ground rules study was with primary pupils, and its group results were mixed, though individual reasoning improved. The belonging points come from a Dutch book we know through a summary. Talk moves are widely used in schools, but there is little research in FE.
No source claimed