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We spend a lot of time as teachers coming up with��strategies to keep our pupils silently engaged with work. But the truth is��that sometimes there is nothing worse than a compliant, quiet class.��

A really good��way to assess pupils’ knowledge is for them to have a discussion about it��─ after all, it’s impossible to talk about what you do not know.����

Pushing your pupils to be more vocal not only assists them��in recalling information logically, but can also become a simple assessment��for��learning approach.

Here are five quick and easy strategies to encourage your shy class to find their voice:

1. Choose an open starter
   
   Start your lesson with a broad question on the theme of the lesson or a philosophical question that may relate to a text or topic you are studying. For example:��Are people��either good or bad? How does someone become evil? Has science gone too far?��
   
   A question like this should make your lesson feel instantly��accessible.��If you combine��this��with a tactic for calling on pupils at random,��such as drawing names out of a hat,��you should be able to get��conversation going from the beginning.
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2. Change the question
   
   If you want pupils to have a definite, asserted response, allow them the chance to say��“I think”��first.��Change your questions from starting with��“what is”��or��“what does”��to starting with “what could” or “what do you think”.��This indicates that rather than seeking a��“correct” answer, you are interested in pupils sharing their��ideas and opinions.
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3. Establish written dialogue
   
   Establish written dialogue with pupils so that they feel confident about asserting ideas. When a pupil is working silently, write a note in their book��to��compliment��an idea they have written. This will��encourage them to vocalise the��idea later. You could also try writing down��a��question.��After the pupil answers this question��on paper, you could open��it up to a class discussion ─ and the pupil should feel more able to contribute.
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4. Intentionally mislead them
   
   Tell the class��something totally wrong in the hopes that they will challenge you.��This works particularly well for a clever, quiet class who will not allow a mistake to slip by.��Read them a quote written by an “expert”��that could be wrong.��Show them a “good”��essay that isn’t very strong and let them vocalise their issues with it.��Encourage debate and argument.
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5. Force them to fight
   
   Give each��student��an opinion that��they must argue the case for,��scattering various opinions across the class.��Once each student has a position to argue,��you can step back��and let chaos ensue.

Sarah Donarski��is a teacher of English at Wellington College in Berkshire. She tweets from and blogs at .