Oracy and Writing in the Classroom

When I first started the education program at UVic I thought English Language Arts was primarily about reading and writing. I am now aware that listening, speaking, viewing representing, reading, and writing are all key parts of language arts education in elementary schools.

Value of Integration (IRP)

• When students are taught language arts in an integrated fashion they learn to use strands interdependently to create meaning.
• When they are given lots of opportunities to participate in all the strands and reflect on them they become more confident communicators.
• Example: talk may lead to writing, and viewing may lead to reading. (irp)

ORACY

During this course my awareness of the importance of speaking in the classroom was heightened. Oral language development is the key to successful literacy learning and is important for the successful achievement of academic and social competence. (IRP) What I didn’t realize before this course was that speaking skills are something that should be taught. As a result when I think about my future classroom I picture activities in the classroom that teach students how to listen effectively, think and respond.

Things I learnt that teachers can do to help develop students oral language skills (IRP):

-       Build a personal relationship with students.

-       Create a safe climate (respectful listening)

-       Frequent opportunities to engage in speaking and listening

-       Challenge students through questioning

-       Support students and encourage questioning

-       Allow time for student to think (IRP)

*Clear desks, clear line of sight, short instructions, age appropriate vocabulary.

Strategies I have learnt for teaching oral language

-       Garden Party Strategy: Tell students to turn to the person beside them and share an idea/story/explanation and listen to the other person’s idea/story or explanation. After have students present their partners idea/story/explanation to the group.

-       Tea Party Strategy:  Make cards for students, with students, or by students. Have students’ practice reading and discussing in small groups.

-       Literacy Centres: Set up different literacy stations that give students opportunities to practice talking. Example: “show and tell station”, “sculpt and share”, and “read and share”. Allow for freedom and structure to co-exist. 

-       Tea for Two: One on one chat time with students during the first part of recess. Helps teacher develop a relationship with individual students outside of work focused setting. 

-       Podcasts- Have students record an idea or a story and post it online. They could also listen to a podcast and discuss it.

-       Coral talking or singing: Examples- Goldilocks rap and “Hello, Bonjour,”

WRITING

Although I was already aware that writing played a large role in English Language Art this course helped me understand what the teacher’s role is and some strategies he or she can use to help students learn through the act of writing.

• Teacher role: model writing, help establish criteria, give feedback during process, celebrate successes and help students set goals
• Writing Process- prewriting, (generating ideas), drafting, revising, editing, presenting and publishing (share)

Strategies

-       Shared Writing: Give each student a piece of paper folded into 4 parts. Have each student write an opening sentence with 2 characters doing something somewhere on the top section. Next have students fold the top part so no one can see it and pass it to another student. Then tell students to write a sentence starting “She Said”. Repeat the process with “He said” and “in the end”.

-       Think Books and Journals:  Casual books that allow for exploration of writing free form restrictions. Don’t only have to be a record of what you do outside of school. Consider- “math think books” or having children write in their journals after a school concert- what did they think about the experience? (text)

-       Writers Workshop: Children work with one another and their teachers to compose, draft, revise, edit and publish a piece of writing. Emphasize the process! (text_

-       Writing conference: Where a writer reads a piece of his or her writing while the teacher or peer listens and provides comments and questions. As a team the participants work towards coming up with suggestions to make the writing better.

-       Writers Notebook: Notebooks where students can jot down ideas for writing. For example a teacher could encourage students to include “writing territories”, personal memories) or give students time to brainstorm Tantalizing Titles, and crazy character names.

 

Writing and Representing: A Recipe for Enjoyment

In conversations about school one often hears children and even adults say, “I really don’t like art” or “I hate reading”. When I was a student I dreaded math as I found most lessons boring and often difficult. It is for this reason I started hating math and continue to avoid it as an adult. As a result, I feel the most important thing to teach students about any subject, including writing and representing, is how to enjoy it. If students enjoy writing and representing they will want to write, improve their skills, and maybe continue writing after they finish school. There are a number of things I believe a teacher can do to help students enjoy writing and representing.

One of the first things I think a teacher can do to help students be excited about writing is to expose them to different types. When I was in elementary school I loved reading fictional novels and looked forward to thinking up interesting characters and writing stories. Even though I enjoyed expressive writing, I disliked scientific writing. Although I am sure there are many students like me, I imagine there are others who prefer to participate in expository writing projects such as research papers. I feel that different types of learners are drawn to different types of writing and that it is therefore good to include lessons that focus on various types of writing. For the same reason, I feel it is important to teach students different methods of representing from colourful expressive paintings to precise scientific drawings. Furthermore, the Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLO’s) in the English Language Arts Integrated Resource Package (IRP) specify that as teachers we need to teach students different types of writing and representing. For example grade threes are expected to create personal, imaginative, and informative writing (IRP, 58). In addition to teaching students different writing and representing styles a teacher can introduce different approaches. For example, some writers like Robin Stevenson enjoy coming up with their stories as they write. However, some writers or artists prefer to plan out their work before they begin. For this reason teachers should let students try several approaches so that one leaner is not forced to always write or create in the same way.

Another thing I believe is important to teach students about writing and representing is that it is a process and as a result making mistakes and revising is key. Often children don’t want to write because they are scared that their writing will be wrong and that they will get a bad mark. To help children overcome this fear, I believe that one should teach students that their “first blurt” is never very good and is more about finding good ideas. If a teacher can teach students that the process of writing and representing is about making mistakes and fixing them instead of coming up with a masterpice right off the bat, I feel students won’t be afraid to start writing. This is an important key to enjoying writing and representing for if one is afraid of the process one won’t want to do it. The IRP’s also stress revising. For example C5 and C6 in the grade three PLO’s state that editing and revising is one of the key strategies that students need to learn to improve their work (IRP, 64).

I feel that another way to help students enjoy writing and representing is to give them opportunities to create freely without assessment. For example, a teacher can have students make and keep writers’ notebooks, where they jot down ideas as they come to them or when they are given a designated slot of time. During these times teachers can encourage students to write down cool character names, tantalizing titles, crazy cliffhangers or “writing territories”, which are memorable experiences from the past. These notebooks are useful when students don’t know what to write as they can go there for ideas. In addition to allowing students to write freely strategies such as these also help students generate ideas for writing, so that when an assignment is given they already have somewhere to start from.

Lastly, I think it is important to help students feel good about their work by boosting their confidence. If students feel that they are good at something they are more likely to enjoy it. Sharon Creech’s novel Love that Dog provides an excellent example of the difference constant encouragement can make on a student’s willingness to share and take pride in his or her own work. At the beginning Jack doesn’t believe he can write poetry as on September 21 he writes, “I tried, can’t do it, brain’s empty” (Love that Dog, 2). However, Miss Stretchberry continues to encourage Jack to write poetry and put it on display. Although he refuses to put his name on his writing at first by May 17 he says, “Okay, I guess I’ll put my name on it” (Love that Dog, 74). This novel shows how a teacher’s persistent encouragement and praise of a student’s work can make a student believe he or she is firstly able to write and secondly good at it. Furthermore, by the end of this novel Jack is not only willing to share his work but is more enthusiastic about poetry in general. He expresses a strong admiration for Mr. Water Dean Myers’ poetry by inviting him to come and talk to the class. Although I strongly believe that the strategies I have mentioned previously will help students enjoy writing and representing, I also recognize that each student is an individual and that as a teacher I will need to be open to finding all sorts of ways to help students enjoy the different strands of English Language Arts.