My practicum class loved to participate so I tried to start engaging dialogues that enabled all students to take part and learn as well as build off of their peers’ ideas. I knew that if I asked a question and only a handful of students raised their hands that it was a sign for myself that I needed to reword the question. Before they began any of the writing activities we would always brainstorm on the SMARTboard together to give students a chance to share and develop their opinions as well as give those who cannot think of many ideas some inspiration. I tried to have the students begin by either talking to their peer sitting beside them or by standing up and getting into groups. Having the students first discuss ideas and connections in small groups gave them a chance to speak in a low-stakes environment as well as give those students who were unsure of the assignment to get some ideas and have something to contribute to the larger group. Furthermore, getting the students talking gave them a head-start on the activity so that when they sat down to begin writing they already had a clear picture of what they wanted to write about, as well as gave the students a sense of pride when the idea they mentioned in front of the entire group were written on the board. Sometimes, I would create a sample of a writing activity that incorporated ideas from various students to model language and sentence structure. I would leave either this example or the brainstorm on the SMARTboard while they were working so they could refer back to it for further ideas or for spelling. I found that giving students multiple opportunities in the day to communicate with their peers allowed them to remain engaged in the activity and ensured they did not grow restless after sitting on the carpet for too long, created a sense of classroom community as students were encouraged to participate in discussion with different groups, and also gave students a sense of confidence and a safe place to share their ideas before bring them up in front of the whole class.