Tips for Topic Maintenance

How Kids Can Stay On Topic

 Use comments and non-verbal gestures to show you are listening.

Tell students that comments and non-verbal gestures, such as nodding your head, agreeing with comments, and making eye contact, can help keep a conversation going. Let students know that these behaviors are all ways to show that you are listening and following the topic of conversation. Have students practice these non-verbal skills while role-playing, then see what other comments and non-verbal gestures they can come up with to help move conversations along.

Add information about the topic to the conversation.

Remind students that conversations require both speaking and listening. Discuss the importance of sharing what you know about a topic during a conversation, but also talk about the importance of listening to others’ comments and ideas. Be sure to tell students that what they have to say and contribute is important… we all have something to share!

Let everyone have a chance to talk.Make sure students understand that a conversation is meant to allow everyone to have a chance to give information, ask questions, or comment about the current topic. To help with this, students can practice the self-talk statement, “I will not dominate the topic and will let everyone have the opportunity to talk about it.”

Wait to talk about unrelated topics.

Instruct students in the difference between comments that are on topic and those that are off-topic. Remind them about the importance of turn-taking in conversation, and that they need to wait until everyone is finished talking before introducing a new topic.

Practice identifying others’ off-topic remarks.  

Help students identify off-topic remarks by focusing on listening to others’ comments. Provide them with opportunities to focus on conversations they are not part of, and then provide feedback for what remarks were on topic during the conversation and which ones were not. Role-playing or watching videos are great ways to do this.