TSHA 2025- Big Ideas Little Voices

What are the ages/grade levels of the children you work with?

• 0-3 years

• Preschool aged

• KG-5th grade

• 6th-12th grade

• Other/
  Combination of the above

What is a characteristic of Academic Talk?

• More context support

• More decontextualized language

• Less structured

• More informal

What are some practical examples of fostering academic talk in a natural and engaging way?

In collectivistic cultures, how are children expected to learn?

• Through verbal display

• By quiet observation

• By engaging in debates

• Through competitive activities

Why is academic talk crucial for effective participation in society?

How does academic talk differ from conversational talk in terms of generality of information?

• Focused on familiar people and daily life

• Uses general, vague relationships

• Less personally relevant, abstract concepts

• Informal, based on unjustified beliefs

What type of reasoning is associated with conversational talk?

• Logical, analytical reasoning

• Hierarchical, linear reasoning

• Informal, based on unjustified beliefs

• Inferential reasoning

What is a feature of conversational talk regarding the degree of precision of concepts?

• Uses more precise vocabulary

• Uses general, vague relationships

• Tier II and Tier III words

• Logical reasoning

Which type of talk is more likely to involve action-oriented language?

• Academic Talk

• Conversational Talk

• Formal Talk

• Analytical Talk

What is a characteristic of academic talk in terms of linguistic features?

• Short sentences

• Redundancy

• More lexical diversity

• Sparse information