What is ground rules for talk?

Ask learners to discuss what makes a good group discussion Generate a shared set of ground rules for talk as a class Display the rules prominently and refer to them before every discussion activity Review and refine the rules regularly based on how discussions are going

Ground Rules for Talk | Rainbow Curriculum

How it works

Ground rules for talk are the foundation for every other discussion-based thinking tool. Small group discussions are at the heart of developing thinking and assessment for learning, but they tend to be far more successful when learners have helped generate the rules themselves.

Ask learners: "What makes a group discussion work well?" and "What makes one go badly?" From their responses, build a shared set of rules. Common ground rules include: everyone gets a turn to speak, listen to the whole idea before responding, disagree with the idea not the person, give reasons for your opinions, and bring quieter members into the conversation.

The crucial word is "generated." If the teacher simply imposes rules, learners see them as external constraints. When learners create the rules themselves, they take ownership and are far more likely to follow them. This is based on the work of Neil Mercer on "exploratory talk."

Display the rules prominently. Before any group discussion activity, refer to them briefly: "Remember our ground rules for talk." After the activity, spend two minutes reflecting on how well the group followed the rules. This ongoing cycle of reminder and reflection gradually transforms the quality of classroom talk.

Classroom example

A Year 3 class in a Monmouthshire primary school creates their ground rules at the start of the year. They agree on five rules, illustrated with drawings: "Take turns", "Look at the person talking", "Say why you think that", "It's OK to change your mind", and "Ask someone quiet what they think." These are displayed on a large poster. Before every thinking tools activity, the teacher points to the poster. By half term, the quality of group discussion has visibly improved, with learners self-correcting when they interrupt each other.

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Curriculum for Wales connection

Ground rules for talk support the "Plan" strand by establishing the conditions for productive thinking. They develop cross-curricular literacy through oracy and support the Four Purposes, particularly developing "ethical, informed citizens" who can participate in reasoned dialogue.

Rainbow Curriculum's Thinking Tools lens helps you ensure that ground rules for talk are established and reinforced across your curriculum, not just in one teacher's classroom.

Tips

Let learners generate the rules, not the teacher. Ownership matters.
Keep the list short. Five to seven rules are enough. More than that and none of them stick.
A common pitfall: creating the rules in September and never referring to them again. Rules need regular reinforcement.
Review the rules each term and let learners update them based on experience.
Use them across the school for consistency. When learners hear the same expectations in every lesson, talk improves faster.

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