Guided discourse in the classroom involves which practices?

• A. Teacher lectures with minimal student talk
• B. Teacher asks questions and provides feedback to guide discussion
• C. Students work in isolation on writing
• D. Teacher assigns independent reading with no discussion

Answer: (B)

Guided discourse is about actively guiding student thinking through discussion. In this approach the teacher uses purposeful, open-ended questions to prompt students to articulate their ideas, justify their thinking, and build on what others have said. The teacher also provides timely feedback to clarify misconceptions, model language and thinking strategies, and keep the conversation productive. This combination helps students develop oral language, deepen comprehension, and improve their ability to reason about texts together.

The other descriptions fall short because they emphasize things like passive listening to lectures, working alone on writing, or reading independently without discussion, which don’t foster the collaborative talk and scaffolded thinking that guided discourse aims to promote.