Want to give your ELLs some wonderful speaking practice?
Try QSSSA!
It’s your new secret weapon for ESL speaking practice.
OK. It’s a weird looking acronym but it’s worth understanding.
This simple trick gets kids chatting in small groups while building their academic language skills. No fancy prep. No expensive materials. Just a better back-pocket strategy for ESL conversation practice.
Let’s jump in and see how the QSSSA strategy can help you continue to build a language rich environment that speeds up language development.
Duration: 5-10 minutes
Type: Partners
What you will need for QSSSA
- Question(s)
- Sentence Stem(s)
- (Optional) Note Taking Paper for Yourself
Overview of QSSSA
Note: This is a Carol Salva, Valentina Gonzalez, and Katie Toppel favorite.
The QSSSA stands for:
- Q: Question – Give students a question to discuss. (Extra points for questions that students find particularly interesting.)
- S: Stem – Provide them with sentence stems to answer the question using academic language
- S: Signal – Students think of an answer individually and signal when they are ready (i.e. thumbs up)
- S: Share – Students get with partners or small groups to share answers.
- A: Assess – You walk around and listen in to their conversations. You can also randomly call on a few students to share their answers.
How to organize QSSSA
Question:
This activity works with any topic. You just need a topic-related, open-ended question for students to discuss.
Examples:
- What are two things you learned from the passage?
- What did you do last weekend?
- What do you not understand about earth’s layers?
- What surprised you in the story?
- Which planet would you visit and why?
- Do you agree with what the character did? Why or why not?
Stem:
After giving students the question(s) you want them to discuss. You then provide them with a sentence stem(s) to answer the question. –
- In the passage, I learned that…
- Last weekend, I…
- I don’t understand…
- ________ surprised me because…
- I would visit ________ because…
These stems help students to use more academic vocabulary. They also remove the “blank page” syndrome that causes many students to go silent.
Signal:
Give them time to think.
Real thinking time. Not just a second or two.
If some kids finish fast, have them practice writing their answer in the air or on scrap paper. Keeps everyone busy.
When students are ready, they signal to the teacher with some sort of hand gesture or pose:
- thumbs up
- muscle flex
- peace sign
- light bulb “I have an idea” pose with one finger in the air and happy expression
Pick something fun.
If some students are ready quickly while others are still thinking, you can have those waiting students write their answer with their finger in the air. You could also have them write it down on a scrap piece of paper.
Share:
Now the real speaking practice begins.
Students get into small groups or find partners and share their answers.
This is where the magic can happen.
Since…
…students have had some time to think about what they want to say with the the sentence stem you gave them, they are far more likely to have something to say.
Also, since they are with a partner or in a small group, they are far less nervous than they would be if they were speaking for the whole class.
Kids practice without pressure. They listen to each other. They learn new ways to say things. They get in some academic vocabulary. They achieve a better understanding of the text or the topic of the class.
Your language rich classroom comes alive.
Assess:
This part is easy and crucial.
Walk around while your small groups are chatting.
Listen for academic language use. Take notes on any areas where you feel they could use further language development.
Take note of things students are struggling to say or words that you’d like to hear more of that you are not hearing.
After talking…
...you can also have them write their responses. Now that they’ve practiced their responses in speaking, it’s much easier for them to write good content.
More Examples of QSSSA
Main Characters in a Story
Who are the main characters in the story? Why are they important? | The main characters in the story are… They are important because… | Raise your hand when you can finish the sentence.
Earthquakes
Why do earthquakes happen? | Earthquakes happen because… | Stand up when you can finish the sentence.
Tops and Bottoms Story
Do you think the rabbit in Tops in Bottoms was right to do what he did to the bear? | I think the rabbit was… He should have… He shouldn’t have… | Do five jumping jacks when you can finish the sentence.
More Examples of Sentence Stems with Academic Language
What are two things you learned from the passage?
Basic stems:
- “According to the passage, I learned that…”
- “The text states that…”
- “One significant detail I discovered was…”
Advanced stems:
- “The passage demonstrates that…”
- “Based on the evidence presented, I learned…”
- “The author illustrates that…”
What did you do last weekend?
Basic stems:
- “During the weekend, I participated in…”
- “My weekend activities included…”
- “I spent time…”
Advanced stems:
- “Over the course of the weekend, I engaged in…”
- “My weekend consisted of various activities such as…”
- “I dedicated time to…”
What do you not understand about earth’s layers?
Basic stems:
- “I need clarification about…”
- “The concept that confuses me is…”
- “I require additional information regarding…”
Advanced stems:
- “I would benefit from further explanation of…”
- “The aspect that remains unclear to me is…”
- “I need to better comprehend…”
What surprised you in the story?
Basic stems:
- “The unexpected element was…”
- “What astonished me was…”
- “I was surprised to discover that…”
Advanced stems:
- “The most remarkable aspect was…”
- “What caught my attention was…”
- “The surprising revelation was…”
Which planet would you visit and why?
Basic stems:
- “I would choose to explore… because…”
- “My destination would be… due to…”
- “I would select… for the following reasons…”
Advanced stems:
- “I would opt to visit… based on…”
- “My preference would be… considering…”
- “I would prioritize visiting… because of its…”
Do you agree with what the character did? Why or why not?
Basic stems:
- “I support the character’s decision because…”
- “I disagree with the character’s actions since…”
- “The character’s choice was justified because…”
Advanced stems:
- “I concur with the character’s decision due to…”
- “I oppose the character’s actions based on…”
- “The character’s behavior was appropriate considering…”
Quick tip: Start with basic stems, then level up to advanced ones as students get comfortable.
Benefits of QSSSA
- This activity requires very little prep time.
- Students get an opportunity to verbalize what they are learning which helps solidify target vocabulary and sentence structures.
- Everyone student is participating and few students are waiting around.
- A safe practice space means more students feel comfortable to contribute.
- You will often get real conversations. It’s not just drill and kill. (I’m a fan of drilling…to a point.)
- Builds confidence.
- Check out this article by Valentina Gonzalez on how to organize this activity. You can also read this article by Katie Toppel on Culturally Responsive Communication where she recommends this activity in the context of being culturally sensitive when setting up speaking activities.
