2. Why comment?
• Validate the opinions of others
• Share your reactions, thoughts, and
questions
• Help our classroom to become more
united
• Learn from others—two heads are better
than one
3. What’s meaningful to you?
• If you are sharing your own personal
thoughts with others, it’s nice to receive
positive feedback in return.
• A “Good job!” isn’t very meaningful.
Instead, it would be much better to hear
something like “Wow, I had no idea you
were interested in art. Those drawings are
incredible!”
4. Making meaningful comments
• Ask yourself these questions:
– What specifically stands out to me about this
person’s response?
– How do I feel about that response?
– What do I have that I can share that relates
to this?
5. Disagreeing appropriately
• Our classroom is made up of unique
individuals, which means there’s no way we
could possibly always agree.
• Disagreeing appropriately can be difficult
when you feel passionately about something.
• Instead of saying “That sucks” or “How could
you possibly think that?” try “It’s interesting
that you look at it that way, I’ve always felt
more that ________.”
6. Types of comments
• Complimentary: “This is so awesome. I love
the way you incorporated your family!”
• Personal Reaction: “Seeing you include a
guitar on your cover made me remember how
important guitar is to me—it’s the one thing
that helps me relax.”
• Question: “I noticed that you put a picture of
Justin Bieber on the cover, but you didn’t
explain why. How is he important to you?”
7. Ultimate goal
• To gain insight from others in our classroom,
thereby sharing, learning, and growing closer
together.
