Oral Comm. Post- Talking to Learn

In the classroom, oral communication seems to be the most favorite type of communication between the students; anybody who has sat in front of a class of thirty screaming kids during an indoor lunch period can attest to this. It is the first way that we learn to communicate our ideas and feelings clearly as young children and it is the easiest way, for most of us, to communicate to one another as adults. However, there seems to be more emphasis put on the strands of teaching reading and writing then there is on listening and oral communication. I find this a little strange as it can be argued that our reading and writing skills are based on, and go hand in hand with our ability to speak and listen. That is why this week we were responsible for exploring a resource that dealt with teaching effective oral communication in the classroom.

The resource that I chose to explore can be found on edugains.com at http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesLIT/AdolescentLiteracy/AL_Resources/TalkingtoLearnALERT_8X11.pdf and is titled, “Make room for talking to learn”. The article makes a great point that although there is almost always talking in the classroom, this talking is not always effective to learning. Talking in the classroom must be facilitated in a way that not only promotes learning and deep thinking, but most importantly, it must be accountable; what matters is what students are talking about and how they are talking. This article gives a numerous amount of useful tips for promoting and facilitating talking for learning in the class, including an anticipation guide that can be used to frame the conversation and encourage students to think deeply on a topic and take a stance. By using the prompts and tips in this article you can create a lesson plan for a discussion that hits on multiple expectations in the OLC Oral Communication strand; Students will:

1. Listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes;

2. Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes; 

3. Reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations. 

LESSON PLAN

I would start this lesson by picking a controversial topic that I know my class would be interested in. It is important to pick a topic that the students feel differently about so as to have supporters and people against the idea, this will ensure that both sides of the topic are covered and will ensure for a healthy conversational debate. The article gives a great example that I think is very relevant to student’s lives today. The topic they give is one that I would actually use because I think that it would create a good discussion in the class: “Do you think that handheld electronic devices improve our quality of life.” I would pose this question on the anticipation guide with questions such as “Some benefits of handheld electronic devices are”, “Some drawbacks of handheld electronic devices are”, “ Do you think handheld devices improve our quality of life? Explain your answer.” After giving the students some time to think about the questions and jot some thoughts down, I would open the floor to the conversation. I might start the conversation off by playing devils advocate and picking the side of the topic that I know most of the students would not pick. I would also include a question or two such as, “In 20 years how will we be using handheld devices? What are some positives and negative implications of this?” This type of question forces the kids to think deeply about the prompt and to form a stronger opinion. Hopefully these prompts and the anticipation guide would help to start a healthy debate in the classroom in which students can work on their listening and Oral communication skills.

SparkCBC. 2010. Microphone. [Online Image] http://bit.ly/1PNLZ2J

          I think that this activity would be best suited for grade sevens and eights as it requires some deep critical thinking as well as upper grade level listening and oral communication skills. In addition, the younger kids may not be able to defend their opinions as well and the conversation may loose its academic value and just become a screaming match. This can be a great lesson to encourage effective academic oral communication in the classroom and also hits on a number of expectations in the OLC Oral communication strand as stated above.

Writing Strand- Critical Reviews

The ability to write effectively is not only essential to learning and language, but it is also an essential life skill. Being able to convey your thoughts, ideas, and feelings in writing allow for another avenue of expression. Some, like myself, would say that writing allows for you to convey your thoughts in a more clear and expressive way than just communicating orally. Sometimes when we are speaking we say things we don’t mean and our thoughts get jumbled in our mind and what we say is not necessarily what we were thinking. Though people may forget what you have said, what you write lasts long after people have forgotten. This is the power of the written word.

This week we were responsible for writing a blog post based on the OLC strand on Writing. The resource that I had originally planned on writing about was a resource found at www.Writetolearn.net but Ruth pointed out to me that this resource was not only focused on the American Curriculum but that it was also a paid resource. So instead of this resource, one of my table partners from class pointed out a great resource to use that is provided by the New York Times. The article is titled, “Thinking Critically: Reading and Writing Culture Reviews,” and can be found here http://nyti.ms/1Wwa3ww. With the access to the Internet and different media forms students are constantly being exposed to different movies, music, TV shows and games. The exposure and the sheer amount of different options for shows, music, and artists is twofold what it was when I was child. We only had a handful of TV shows to watch on cable and people were forced to like them and talk about them.

Nowadays students have thousands of channels with access to thousands of movies and shows. Conversations about why you should watch a show are becoming more and more frequent and this resource from the Times tackles this phenomenon with a resource focused on students writing reviews. The article is a great resource and gives advice on how to structure a lesson plan around thinking critically about something and writing a review. They also provide a great handout with some great critical questions that you can provide students to assist them in writing a successful critical review. The lesson would be best suited for either grade seven or eight, and in grade eight it hits on three of the four overall expectations for the Writing strand in the OLC.

            By the end of grade 8 students will:

1. generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;
2. draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;
3. use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively  (OLC, pg 144, http://bit.ly/1Lep545 )

LESSON PLAN

            To start this lesson I would begin with a question to the class about what some of their favorite artists and TV shows and Movies are. After hearing some of their answers I would then ask them why they think that these artists or shows/movies are good. I would then ask the class if anyone disagrees, and to tell me why they do not like the artist or show/movie. Following a prompt on the resource I would then ask the class if they think that everyone is suited to be a critic. I would then tell them that it is important that everyone is a critic because it is our popular opinion that helps to shape the world around us. This would be the Segway from the minds on into the main action part of the lesson. The first part of the lesson will include the students picking a review to critically assess, whether it is in print or online. Once the students locate a review to assess they will fill out the Reading Reviews With a Critical Eye worksheet to evaluate the review. After the students have completed this worksheet the class will come together and discuss what they have learned about reviews and the process involved in and the style they are written in. Then as a homework assignment you can tell the students to go home and pick something to review, whether it is a TV show, a movie, a music album etc. It is their chance to be the reviewer now. Using what they have learned from critically assessing the review with the worksheet the students will write their own review.

         

Reading Reviews with a Critical Eye Worksheet, 2015. [online pdf]. http://nyti.ms/1ksRtns

         As a follow up assignment, the next day you can have everyone in the class critically assess one other students review using the same handout. This lesson could be a great chance for kids to express some of their personality by writing about one of their favorite shows etc., as well as giving students in your class a chance to get to know each other a little better. This is also a great lesson plan to teach the kids how to write a critical review as well as how to critically read one. As stated earlier it hit on 3 of the 4 overall expectations in the OLC as well as a number of specific expectations such as “1.1 identify the topic, purpose, and audience for more complex writing forms & 1.3 gather information to support ideas for writing, using a variety of strategies and a wide range of print and electronic sources.” (OLC, pg 144, http://bit.ly/1Lep545 )

Reading Post- Assessing Critical Reading Skills

       The ability to be an effective reader may possibly be the most important and useful skill that we obtain through school. We are almost constantly required to read, whether it is street signs, ingredients on foods, instructions, articles or leisurely reading. However, being an effective reader is more than just being able to recognize words. A key part of being an effective reader is the ability to interpret what the meaning of the text is, inferring a deeper meaning in the text. This is the area in which most students seem to struggle the most. It is not that the children are not able to read, but rather, some students are not able to critically assess and construct and communicate meaning from the reading. Similarly, as a young student I was a fluent reader but being able to locate the deeper meaning within the text was sometimes a daunting task. This is the same issue that many students face today. 

This week we were responsible for picking a resource regarding either a specific issue concerning reading, or a reading activity that you can have your class participate in. I chose to describe an activity that can be used to assess reading. The article that I chose to write my blog post about is an activity on reading that can be found on www.edugains.ca. The article is from the Literacy Gains publication for fall 2012 and I have included the URL here (http://bit.ly/1M6Runt). The article is titled, “How to Help Students Who Struggle with Reading.” In the article there is a teacher, Ms. Waters, that realizes that some of her grade 9 Applied students are struggling with constructing deeper meaning within their readings. The article then provides a chart that can be used to assess student’s reading and an explanation on how to carry out this assessment. This chart is a great resource and can be used as a full and engaging lesson on critical reading in the classroom. It is important that students are able to ‘construct and communicate meaning’, (Ontario Language Curr. Or OLC, http://bit.ly/1Lep545, pg. 11) and this chart encourages this ability. The need to critically understand messages in print is paramount, as students need to be able to critically understand the world around them and form educated opinions. This lesson plan can be used at any grade level, however I feel as though it would be best for grades 5 and up, as critical reading begins to become more important as the students approach secondary school.

LESSON PLAN

For this lesson I would start by picking a piece of literature for the class to critically read. You could execute this lesson activity in one class based off of a small article or excerpt, or it can be done after the class has read a whole novel. The main component of this lesson is the “I Read, I think, Therefore” chart. If there is a cover or picture on the front of the book or article I would start the lesson by asking the class to interpret the cover art and ask them to tell me what they think the reading will be about. This relates to two expectations from the Reading Curriculum, [1. read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning. 2. recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning.] (OLC, pg. 11) After a quick discussion on the cover art I would have the class complete the reading and then complete the “I Read, I think, Therefore” chart. 

How to Help Students who Struggle with reading,  2012, Chart. [online image] http://bit.ly/1M6Runt

The ‘I Read’ portion should contain the key information from the text. ‘I Think’ should demonstrate connections between what students already know and the text. Lastly, ‘Therefore’ should contain inferences or conclusions based on what the students have read. After the students have completed the charts you could lead a discussion based on the chart. You could ask the students what they have in each section of the chart and create a class chart with all of the ideas on the board. Through this discussion you will be able to tell which of the students is able to construct and communicate meaning from the reading, and therefore will be able to instruct the students on where they need to improve. In addition, you could also collect the students charts and look them over. After looking them over you will further be able to identify which students are struggling with critical reading. You could then sit down with these students and discuss strategies that they can use to help them improve their critical assessment abilities. [Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading, OLC, pg. 11] This can be an effective lesson to help teach and improve on student’s critical reading skills and also successfully covers all four of the strand expectations in the OLC.

 

Yoanna Jezequel, 2012, Reading, [Online Image]. http://bit.ly/1M8P8Lc

Media Strand

In today’s society Media is literally everywhere, from the television, to bus stop ads, radio commercials, the Internet, music, and even in our pockets. We live in a digital age, and with this ever-changing landscape we need to develop a strong and unbiased opinion of the media in impressionable children. This is why a whole strand in the Ontario Language Curriculum is based on being Media Literate, which is giving kids the tools necessary to critically interpret, create and understand Media in all forms. For this Language Arts blog post we are supposed to write about either an issue regarding Media Literacy, or an activity you can lead that class in to teach them about Media Literacy. This post will be based on a lesson idea that I found on www.edutopia.org, written by Michael Hernandez, called Empowering Students Through Multimedia Storytelling. If you would like to read about his lesson idea I have provided a link (http://bit.ly/1Yd0zo4) or you can find an in-depth summary of the lesson in my Week 3 Exploring Resources post. The lesson is basically having the children pick an issue and creating a Multimedia New Broadcast, which they will film and present to the class.

However, in the article Hernandez talks about how Media outlets usually do not fairly represent the community or issue that they are reporting on, which creates an unfair opinion in the minds of the public. This could also be called new age propaganda. This is why I think it is important to teach children about propaganda at a younger age in this digital society. They need to be able to understand when an opinion is being subtly imprinted in their mind and must be able to think critically about how and why the media is doing this. This is one of the expectations of the Media Literacy strand in the Ontario Curriculum: identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning (Ont. Language Curriculum, or OLC, http://bit.ly/1Lep545, p. 14) I think it would appropriate to teach a lesson on propaganda at the grade 6-8 level, and maybe even do a little project over a week or two if possible. This is what I had in mind.

You could begin the lesson by asking the class what they think propaganda is and what it is used for. After leading a discussion with the class you can then show them pictures of classic historical propaganda from the World Wars.

Bullfighter11. 2010. WW2. [online image] http://bit.ly/1FO7ApJ

This ties in perfectly to the strand expectation listed above. After talking with the class about what they think the War propaganda is trying to accomplish, you can then move onto more modern propaganda, maybe starting from the 80s or 90s, discussing them, and working your way up to any interesting pieces of propaganda that the students see today, whether it be in a magazine, a commercial, a news broadcast etc. [demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts] (OLC, p. 14) For example you could play an attack ad from one of the political campaigns, much like the conservative ad that we watched in class and discuss the hidden message they are trying to convey with the class. As a homework assignment, have the students locate and decipher a piece of propaganda on their own and bring it in to discuss with the class, this can be any piece of propaganda regarding any issue or topic, anything to foster an engaging and thoughtful conversation. As a closing project on propaganda, you can then have the students create their own piece of propaganda, trying to shape an opinion about any topic that they please. [Create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques. & Reflect on and identify their strengths, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.] (OLC, p. 14) This can be a fun and informative lesson/project on propaganda and fostering media literacy in your students. It also hits all 4 expectations of the Media Literacy Strand In the OLC.