English with Mrs. Lamp

Ever since I started teaching in 2011, my favorite activities have always been various kinds of group discussions. Creating a space for engaging, fun, and thought-provoking classroom discussions is one of the most important things I do for my students each year, and it’s something they bring up again and again in course evals, thank you letters, and farewell chats. They love the discussions in my class, and I love being able to facilitate them!

Over the years, I’ve found that the fishbowl method stands out as one of my favorite strategies. It is fun, engaging, and encourages more participation from more students than most other classroom activities. Not only that, but I can see my students developing critical thinking skills in real time and in an authentic way.

In this post, I’ll share why fishbowl discussions are so effective and how my tailored approach to them can help you make the most of this powerful teaching tool.

Get My Method Here!

What is a Fishbowl Discussion?

A fishbowl discussion is a structured conversation format where a small group of students (the “fish”) sit in an inner circle (they’re “in the fishbowl”) to discuss a topic, while the rest of the class observes from an outer circle (looking in on the “fish in the fishbowl”). This setup allows for focused, in-depth dialogue among students; more room to speak and be heard for more quiet students; and opportunities for active listening and reflection (for both the “fish” and the observers).

Benefits of Fishbowl Discussions:

1. Promote active participation: By rotating students through the inner circle, everyone gets a chance to contribute directly to the conversation. (You can even encourage every student to speak by offering participation points, making a rule that everyone must contribute at least once, or having the students practice encouraging others in the circle to share their ideas too.)
2. Enhances listening skills: Students in the outer circle must pay close attention to the discussion, preparing them to contribute when it’s their turn (either inside the “fishbowl” or when it’s time to comment on how the “fishbowl” group did). Not only that, but the kids inside the circle must listen well to their peers in order to build upon their ideas, move the conversation along, or offer a question or challenge to what has been shared!
3. Develops critical thinking: Participants within the fishbowl practice articulating their thoughts clearly, responding to others’ ideas, and building upon (or challenging) existing arguments. At the same time, the “observers” must not only think critically about what is being said to determine what they find useful and what they may disagree with, but also in order to evaluate the overall performance of the “fishbowl” group (in terms of conducting a positive and useful dialogue).
4. Encourages respectful disagreement: Students practice expressing differing viewpoints in a constructive manner. (They are often hesitant to do this at first, and it may take 2-3 separate trials of this discussion technique in your class before they feel comfortable using the discussion stems and prompts that have to do with disagreeing. However, they quickly come to see how useful disagreement can be in helping one another truly flesh out ideas and narrow down on what’s true!)
5. Builds confidence: The structured format helps hesitant students feel more comfortable sharing their ideas. I have personally watched some of my most reluctant and shy students come out of their shell (slowly, but still!) due to this discussion activity alone! They get so excited about what is being discussed that they WANT to share their ideas–so much so that they start sharing out without even thinking about it! As they watch their peers going back and forth on a certain idea or interpretation, they can’t help but get caught up in the fun and excitement, and before they know it, they’re playing a main role in their “fishbowl” group! Or they are waiting excitedly to raise their hand and share an idea they have about what the “fishbowl” said while they were observing!
6. Facilitates peer learning: Students learn from each other’s perspectives and insights. This is a big one: in fact, my students frequently thank me for letting THEM talk and share their ideas instead of always just talking at them. They say they learned so much from class discussion with their peers, and they are super thankful that I made it a main pilar of my class (both 11th-grade English and AP Literature)!
7. Improves classroom management: The clear structure helps maintain focus and reduces off-topic chatter–especially true if you use the structured worksheet I developed to keep those “outside the fishbowl” engaged and active despite being unable to share out until the end of the “fishbowl” group’s time.

Making Fishbowl Discussions Even Better: My Approach

To maximize the effectiveness of fishbowl discussions, I’ve developed some specific strategies and materials for my students:

1. Flexible grouping: I recommend dividing students into groups of 3-4, either by numbering off or allowing them to choose. This size ensures everyone gets ample speaking time.
2. Timed rotations: Calculate discussion time based on your class length and number of groups. For example, with a 45-minute class and six groups, I would allow each group 5 minutes in the fishbowl. (Obviously, you have to account for some time to allow the “observers” to share out & for kids to move in & out of the inner circle.)
3. Debrief sessions: Use 2-3 minutes between rotations for the outer circle to comment on what went well and add their thoughts. This keeps everyone engaged and prevents frustration from those waiting to participate. When I was in high school, we didn’t have this, and it made me so frustrated! I even cried one time because everyone in the circle was calling Bartleby (from “Bartleby the Scrivener”) lazy, and I wanted to speak up for him, but the “rules” said I wasn’t allowed!
4. Structured prompts: Provide discussion questions divided among the groups to kickstart conversations. Alternatively, invite students to share their own thoughts, questions, or epiphanies about the reading. When I was in high school, the “fishbowl” was mostly free-wheeling, but as a teacher, I find it helps A LOT to give the kids a few possible discussion questions to help them get started if they are shy or unsure what to bring up. Alternatively, give them 5 minutes at the start of class to write down a thought, question, & an epiphany about the text they’re discussing, and let them bring that paper into the inner circle with them to help them think of things to talk about!
5. Student-led discussions: Have students call on each other within the fishbowl, fostering a sense of ownership and peer-to-peer interaction. When my students are “inside” the fishbowl, I have someone volunteer to start. Then it is his or her job to call on the next speaker, and so on. This helps me “jump in” far less, and it ensures that the discussions stay much more student-focused and student-led. I only pipe up if it seems absolutely necessary. Otherwise, I jot down ideas to share (often new ways of seeing something or Socratic questions) and wait until the end of class to bring them up with everyone.
6. Discussion stems: I make sure to offer a list of sentence starters to help students express opinions, agree, disagree, and ask for clarification respectfully. This scaffolds the development of academic discourse skills. I could’ve used something like this back when I was a student. Now, as a teacher, I find that it helps reluctant/self-conscious students feel more confident about participating!
7. Gamification: Encourage the use of diverse discussion stems by having students check them off, with small rewards for the group that uses the most.
8. Active listening worksheet: I provide a structured notetaking sheet for students in the outer circle to record their thoughts, questions, and observations. This keeps them engaged and prepared to contribute once the inner circle’s time is up.
9. Peer feedback: After each rotation, invite the outer circle to share positive feedback and additional points. For mature groups, you can also solicit constructive criticism to improve future discussions. At first, it is hard to get students to be specific about their evaluation of the “fishbowl” team’s discussion, but keep at it. Students will grow more and more comfortable sharing their opinions on what’s going well (or not well) the more often they experience the activity together as a class.

Why Teachers and Students Love Fishbowl Discussions:

Teachers appreciate fishbowl discussions because they…

• Provide a clear structure for managing whole-class discussions
• Allow for easy assessment of speaking and listening skills
• Encourage equal participation from all students
• Promote higher-order thinking and textual analysis

Students enjoy fishbowl discussions because they…

• Offer a change of pace from traditional classroom formats
• Allow them to hear diverse perspectives from their peers
• Provide a fun and comfortable space to practice academic discourse
• Give them agency in directing the conversation

Fishbowl done right helps teachers facilitate engaging, student-centered discussions that develop critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills. You’ll make learning more interactive and enjoyable and prepare your students for the kind of thoughtful dialogue they’ll encounter in higher education and beyond!

If you’ve never tried fishbowl or you’ve only done it the old way, give my method a try and watch as your students dive deep into more fun, empowering, and meaningful conversations!

• Want to read about more classroom discussion activities?
• Want to read more about creating a discussion-driven classroom?