The Skillful Teacher

Hatful of Quotes
The Hatful of Quotes exercise aims to make the mandated act of
contributing to discussion as stress free as possible. Prior to the dis-
cussion of a text, the leader types onto separate slips of paper mul-
tiple copies of five or six different sentences or passages from the
text to be discussed. In class she puts these into a hat, and asks stu-
dents to draw one of these slips out of a hat. Students are given a
few minutes to think about the quote they have picked and then
asked to read it out loud and make some comment on it. The order
of contribution is up to the students. Those who feel more fearful
about speaking usually go last and take more time to think about
what they want to say. Because the same five or six quotes are used,
students who go later will have heard their quote read and com-
mented on by those who spoke earlier. So even if they have little
to say about their own interpretation of the quote, they can affirm,
build on, or contradict a comment a peer has already made on that
quote. This exercise is a good way to create a safe opportunity for
everyone to speak. Those who are diffident get to say something,
thus building confidence for subsequent contributions.