Building students' historical talk

How do we get our students to talk more in lessons? No, not like that! How have history teachers engaged with the issue of students’ historical – and general – oracy? Talking about history is not the same skill as writing about it. It is more immediate, and more easily assessed in the instant it occurs. It must also, though, be reflective. You might use living essays to tease out shape and structure without the need to spend time writing. You might use debates – but are they trying to win, or trying to do good history? As with any objective, it helps to have plenty of different ways to help students to improve the way they talk about the past.