When I began this course, I didn't quite understand the concept of what "ELA" meant. Three months later, I now have a full-bodied idea of what English Language Arts is, it's importance and various ways it can be taught in the classroom. It's cross-curricular value in reading, writing and oracy is unmatched, I believe, by any other subject. One of the most important things I've learned within this course is that the Language Arts is essential to students' success.
My vision of the ELA classroom three months ago was one that was more general of the one in which I hold now. I knew that I wanted to keep my students interested, and that I wanted to integrate more "real life" examples from students' lives into the material that they were learning, but I didn't know how I wanted to do this. Basically, the difference between then and now is I had the message, I just needed a medium. I feel I have learned various techniques on how to deliver the material now.
For example, I now have ways that I can have the students represent their work and ideas. As they complete their assignments, I can have them create short picture slideshows or voicethreads to be presented in class and posted on the web. While they are thinking of ideas for a story, they can brainstorm visually using chart paper in "theme stations" as groups, or they can think of ideas for character development using the Garden Party idea and then using a writing prompt such as a fortune cookie to get them started.
Writing prompts such as the fortune cookie, and others that we brainstormed as a class are excellent ways to get the students off and running on any writing, not just stories. Reading a poem aloud and then asking the students to remember certain words with which they would use to write their own poems is a great prompt. If you have the students read their poem aloud when they are done, this can be seen as excellent practice for the students' oracy skills. The "Bare Bones" game is one that I can see working with my kids; having each student write a line, folding the paper up and passing it to the next student to write their own line and continue the story. The drama version of this writing game which Laura's group used during their lesson plan assignment is also an excellent way of getting students to write. Have a student come up and start the drama game by acting out a certain behaviour. Then have student after student come up and build on the story by picking up where the previous student left off and continuing it with their own motion. Daniel's group and their writing prompt of seeing what's inside the head of the character is another one that I will definitely be using in my classroom.
I envision my class using a lot of their oracy and group skills. I will have them do a lot of group work during brainstorming and even acting as a cross-curricular with ELA-Drama. All students will be expected to contribute ideas both orally and through written language as a class and during group work. I believe that when students are expected to speak to each other, this improves their oracy and social skills. Once in awhile I will have the students act out what they have written, as an example of alternative ways to express their ideas. This will also improve their oracy and help each student develop a deeper understanding of their work.
As for reading, I will have students read what interests them. The "Hunger Games", for example, or some other literary work that my kids will be interested in. I will try and avoid Shakespeare, however sometimes the IRPs and PLOs get in the way and it must be taught. I feel that even graphic novels would be acceptable, as they long as they are found as an appropriate resource within the PLOs. Even reading books like Robin Stevenson's series I would be very interested in trying out in my class. Anything that is fresh, appropriate and interesting to my students I will be trying to use in my classroom.
I can definitely see myself using Podcasts. Technology is becoming more and more prevalent in the classroom model and I think it would be unique and advantageous to integrate podcasts and voicethreads into the classroom. This would cause the students to become more engaged with their work because they are creating it on the computer, and they would be able to learn electronically from other students that have created voicethreads. Also, by posting their work online, this just gives students another forum to express their ideas and be proud of their work.
As for alternative assessment, I would have students read their work out loud or observe them as they acted out their stories or poems as a group. I would check for deeper understanding of the material or their oracy abilities.
I had the ideas before, now I have the methods to make it happen. I am a little bit more comfortable now with the idea of teaching ELA in the classroom, though I still have a long way to go. I'm excited to have gained knowledge of the various ways that the English language can be instructed, represented and assessed and look forward to putting these into action.
Monday 28 November 2011
Friday 11 November 2011
Writing and Representing in the Classroom
The English Language Arts classroom can be approached various ways. As a teacher, it's easy to introduce a topic, tell your students to write about it, and then have them hand their work in so you can "assess" it be marking it on a grade-point scale. This is not the way I envision effective Language Arts pedagogy. This is only one approach, among many others that I will introduce, that can be used to teach students about writing and representing. I believe teachers that will be the most effective are the ones who implement diverse ways of both teaching students language and having them represent what they've learned through creative and unique ways.
In the Grade 8 IRP, I found some specific PLOs that reflect exactly what I am talking about. First, I believe it's extremely important to teach students the importance of personal reflection through writing. Teaching a student how to "just write" anything that comes to mind, without thinking about grammar, societal or educational limits, can be very liberating. It helps the student make connections between life experiences, reflect on major issues and also establish personal beliefs. It gives a student their own "voice". They are not afraid of judgement because their writing will only be read by them, and no one else. In the classroom, to introduce this idea, I would have my students do a "free write" for 5 minutes. As assessment, I would ask my students if they felt comfortable representing their work through the sharing of their ideas, which would be presented visually on a communal poster. If they didn't, they would not be penalized. In the IRP, these PLOs fall under C1.
Another benefit of ELA is its obvious cross-curricular advantage in other subjects. Being able to read and write about material in other subjects is a must if the student is to become successful. The second thing that I believe must be included in the ELA classroom is the ability to think critically. In the PLOs, it is included that students must explore and respond to ideas through information writing. I would teach my students to read an article or story that covers a controversial topic, such as obesity, bullying or racism. Then I would have them write (represent) what their reaction is to the article, and what their thoughts are regarding the bigger issue addressed. However, I would also have them consider the source of the article. I would ask them whether they felt the article was biased or was influenced by other factors outside of the article itself. I would have them get into small groups of 4 and reflect on their thoughts on the article. As part of the representation side of the PLO, I would stage a debate. Each side of the class would be given a pro and anti side of the issue. For example, if the article was about obesity, one side would be for having healthier lunch options, and the other side would be against. This is an example of the students representing what they have learned through oracy, as well as showing critical thinking. This would reflect the PLOs, representing an example of being able to analyze, explain and persuade. As assessment, I would observe the students' responses during the debate. In the IRP, these PLOs fall under C2.
In my last example of a PLO that I believe is essential in ELA above all others, is the idea of imaginative and creative writing. Personally, I benefitted greatly from taking literary and creative writing courses in both high school and university. I truly feel that every student's educational and personal growth is enlightened by living in a reality that is not. Writing stories, poems, prose, or anything else that helps encourage the creative process is invaluable because it helps the student explore what he/she can do without limits. The PLOs identify that through imaginative writing students develop ideas and emotions indirectly by creating characters, settings, plots and anything else they can add to the story that will blur the line between what is real and what is fantasy. By doing this, students not only are able to experiment with different literary forms but can also make connections between their fictional characters and real life. The more my students write, the better they will get at the creative process. By writing imaginatively, they are also are given the chance to entertain the reader and themselves, and I think this helps to engage them considerably more in the material. Because it is their story, and they are now immersed in it, the students are much more likely to feel a personal connection to their work. An example that we used in our class works very well for this. During Robin Stevenson's guest appearance, we used brainstorming as a class to create characters and plot for the story. I would do the exact same thing with my class. I would have them brainstom characters, setting, plot, conflict, rising action, falling action, conclusion and other ideas they had that would make the story more interesting. Then I would give each student an hour to write their own story. As assessment, I would have students volunteer to read one or two of their stories to the classroom. I would have them do what we do in our class: each student reads a part of the selected story. As a representation other than classroom oral reading, I would have the students act out the story, with each student being given a part in the drama structure. This would take place in the following class. As assessment, I would observe the students as they read the story out loud as a class, and as they acted out the story in the drama structure. In the IRP, these PLOS fall under C3.
The reading that we have covered in class that most interested me in regards to writing and representing was "Structure and Freedom: Achieving a Balanced Writing Curriculum" by Mara Casey and Stephen I. Hemenway. The reason it drew my attention was because it was a case study that actively and critically looked at the results of the ELA educational system first-hand. I am not surprised at the results, however. As mentioned before, I believe effective teachers are the ones who find new methods for students to write and represent what they have learned. Page wanted a way to learn the basic material in the PLOs but by doing so through an unstructured process. She wanted an analytical writing program but one that gave her creative freedom. My response to this would be for Page to learn the basic writing formats through a variety of lessons that might include progressive teaching methods such as personal reflection or group reflection, where students would talk about their writing and help each other with ideas. Page could also start an online blog, helping her practice her writing. I would assess Page's work by reading her blog and presenting her with feedback. She could also benefit from one of our own class' examples, where we wrote one line of a story, folded it and passed it to the next student for them to add to the story. All of these ideas make writing and representing fun, while still sticking to the PLOs.
Ideas in class that we have done that reflect excellent examples of writing and representing that I will definitely be using in my classroom are reading out loud as a class, reading a poem and then writing our own using only words we can remember from the previous poem, the 'Bare Bones' story game, brainstorming with Robin Stevenson, the "Jigsaw" group discussion and reflection and finally the article group discussion, reflection and representation using chart paper.
Writing and representing are two topics that are essential to a student's personal and academic success. By encouraging my students to reflect and share through the English language, I will be helping them to prepare for their own journey through life.
In the Grade 8 IRP, I found some specific PLOs that reflect exactly what I am talking about. First, I believe it's extremely important to teach students the importance of personal reflection through writing. Teaching a student how to "just write" anything that comes to mind, without thinking about grammar, societal or educational limits, can be very liberating. It helps the student make connections between life experiences, reflect on major issues and also establish personal beliefs. It gives a student their own "voice". They are not afraid of judgement because their writing will only be read by them, and no one else. In the classroom, to introduce this idea, I would have my students do a "free write" for 5 minutes. As assessment, I would ask my students if they felt comfortable representing their work through the sharing of their ideas, which would be presented visually on a communal poster. If they didn't, they would not be penalized. In the IRP, these PLOs fall under C1.
Another benefit of ELA is its obvious cross-curricular advantage in other subjects. Being able to read and write about material in other subjects is a must if the student is to become successful. The second thing that I believe must be included in the ELA classroom is the ability to think critically. In the PLOs, it is included that students must explore and respond to ideas through information writing. I would teach my students to read an article or story that covers a controversial topic, such as obesity, bullying or racism. Then I would have them write (represent) what their reaction is to the article, and what their thoughts are regarding the bigger issue addressed. However, I would also have them consider the source of the article. I would ask them whether they felt the article was biased or was influenced by other factors outside of the article itself. I would have them get into small groups of 4 and reflect on their thoughts on the article. As part of the representation side of the PLO, I would stage a debate. Each side of the class would be given a pro and anti side of the issue. For example, if the article was about obesity, one side would be for having healthier lunch options, and the other side would be against. This is an example of the students representing what they have learned through oracy, as well as showing critical thinking. This would reflect the PLOs, representing an example of being able to analyze, explain and persuade. As assessment, I would observe the students' responses during the debate. In the IRP, these PLOs fall under C2.
In my last example of a PLO that I believe is essential in ELA above all others, is the idea of imaginative and creative writing. Personally, I benefitted greatly from taking literary and creative writing courses in both high school and university. I truly feel that every student's educational and personal growth is enlightened by living in a reality that is not. Writing stories, poems, prose, or anything else that helps encourage the creative process is invaluable because it helps the student explore what he/she can do without limits. The PLOs identify that through imaginative writing students develop ideas and emotions indirectly by creating characters, settings, plots and anything else they can add to the story that will blur the line between what is real and what is fantasy. By doing this, students not only are able to experiment with different literary forms but can also make connections between their fictional characters and real life. The more my students write, the better they will get at the creative process. By writing imaginatively, they are also are given the chance to entertain the reader and themselves, and I think this helps to engage them considerably more in the material. Because it is their story, and they are now immersed in it, the students are much more likely to feel a personal connection to their work. An example that we used in our class works very well for this. During Robin Stevenson's guest appearance, we used brainstorming as a class to create characters and plot for the story. I would do the exact same thing with my class. I would have them brainstom characters, setting, plot, conflict, rising action, falling action, conclusion and other ideas they had that would make the story more interesting. Then I would give each student an hour to write their own story. As assessment, I would have students volunteer to read one or two of their stories to the classroom. I would have them do what we do in our class: each student reads a part of the selected story. As a representation other than classroom oral reading, I would have the students act out the story, with each student being given a part in the drama structure. This would take place in the following class. As assessment, I would observe the students as they read the story out loud as a class, and as they acted out the story in the drama structure. In the IRP, these PLOS fall under C3.
The reading that we have covered in class that most interested me in regards to writing and representing was "Structure and Freedom: Achieving a Balanced Writing Curriculum" by Mara Casey and Stephen I. Hemenway. The reason it drew my attention was because it was a case study that actively and critically looked at the results of the ELA educational system first-hand. I am not surprised at the results, however. As mentioned before, I believe effective teachers are the ones who find new methods for students to write and represent what they have learned. Page wanted a way to learn the basic material in the PLOs but by doing so through an unstructured process. She wanted an analytical writing program but one that gave her creative freedom. My response to this would be for Page to learn the basic writing formats through a variety of lessons that might include progressive teaching methods such as personal reflection or group reflection, where students would talk about their writing and help each other with ideas. Page could also start an online blog, helping her practice her writing. I would assess Page's work by reading her blog and presenting her with feedback. She could also benefit from one of our own class' examples, where we wrote one line of a story, folded it and passed it to the next student for them to add to the story. All of these ideas make writing and representing fun, while still sticking to the PLOs.
Ideas in class that we have done that reflect excellent examples of writing and representing that I will definitely be using in my classroom are reading out loud as a class, reading a poem and then writing our own using only words we can remember from the previous poem, the 'Bare Bones' story game, brainstorming with Robin Stevenson, the "Jigsaw" group discussion and reflection and finally the article group discussion, reflection and representation using chart paper.
Writing and representing are two topics that are essential to a student's personal and academic success. By encouraging my students to reflect and share through the English language, I will be helping them to prepare for their own journey through life.
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