Wait Time: Give the Pause a Thinking Job
Give the pause a thinking job: identify a clue, sketch a relationship or prepare a reason before discussion.
Worked model: Wait Time: Give the Pause a Thinking Job
View the illustrated activity card
- 1Give the pause a thinking job
- 2Ask each partner to rehearse an explanation
- 3The listener requests one missing reason or unclear detail
- 4The speaker improves the response before sharing independently
Ask for a private sketch or keyword before the explanation of a force diagram. The pause has a job: identify the larger force and prepare a reason for the resultant direction.
Teach the move
Prepare · 3 minutes
Prepare one focused prompt and define what a useful explanation includes.
- 1
Give the pause a thinking job: identify a clue, sketch a relationship or prepare a reason before discussion.
- 2
Ask each partner to rehearse an explanation.
- 3
The listener requests one missing reason or unclear detail.
- 4
The speaker improves the response before sharing independently.
EAL upgrade
Remove the sentence opening while keeping thinking and rehearsal time.
Keep the subject challenge. Offer one model, visual or language prompt where needed, then check a fresh independent response.
Try it tomorrow
Prepare one focused prompt and define what a useful explanation includes.
Give the pause a thinking job: identify a clue, sketch a relationship or prepare a reason before discussion. Ask each partner to rehearse an explanation.
Use a new object or motion state and check whether the learner explains without the partner.
Remove the sentence opening while keeping thinking and rehearsal time.
What to look for
Use a new object or motion state and check whether the learner explains without the partner.
Teacher language
Adapt these prompts to the task and your learners.
Our purpose is: Give the pause a thinking job: identify a clue, sketch a relationship or prepare a reason before discussion.
Show the relationship and explain the choice you made.
Try the new case on your own. Show the detail or reasoning that supports your answer.
Which support do you still need, and which part can you now do independently?
Across subjects
Maths: rehearse a method justification. Humanities: rehearse a source-based interpretation.
Adjust language support
Use a small word bank, visuals and partner rehearsal when needed. Extend with precise explanations and qualifications. Judge the support from the response to this task.