Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.

These are basic communication skills, but they don't always come naturally. Encourage students to ask questions through modeling and explicitly teaching this behavior. Help them stay on topic through gentle guidance, and make sure that they see connections between what they have to say and what others have previously said.

Don't forget to link their comments and thoughts back to the texts you're reading, or the videos you're watching together.