Oral Communication

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog for the last stand of Literacy – Oral Communication. This post will highlight the importance of developing oral skills and active listening skills, and how these valuable skills help to promote critical thinking and acitive citizenship in our students.

The Importance of Active Listening 

Oral communication in the Ontario Curriculum covers a broad array of skills that students must develop in order to be considered a strong oral communicator. A grade 8 overall expectation for Oral Communication is to be able to “use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes” (138). However, to be a strong oral communicator does just mean to be able to speak clearly and confidently – communicating must also consider the importance of active listening. Students must also be able to “listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes” (138). Thus, it is imperative that students develop active listening skills, which in turn will help them to develop and refine strategies helping them to see various viewpoints, perspectives and opinions of others during a conversation.

When researching active listening, a point that I came across that is important to consider is the following quote from Mind Tools:

“Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. Understanding your own personal style of communicating will go a long way toward helping you to create good and lasting impressions with others.” 

https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm

Developing self-awareness comes with age, but it is never too early to expose students to activities, lessons and experiences that force them to become self aware. If students are self aware during conversations, the listening that is happening is so much more valuable. If you want some tips on how to implement active listening strategies in the classroom, check out this article by Forbes, that highlights the many ways to become an active listener.

How To Implement Active Listening:

• Face the speaker and maintain eye contact
• Be attentive (pay attention and be present)
• Keep an open mind
• Visualize what the speaker is saying 
• Don't interrupt
• Ask questions when the speaker has paused 
• Nod and ask questions for clarification 
• Feel what the speaker is saying
• Give feedback when they pause/are finished 
• Pay attention to non-verbal cues

Importance of Active Listening 

Discussing with students the importance of active listening both inside and outside of the classroom will benefit their development as learners, but also help to build better and stronger relationships in the real world. Once they are able to become active listeners, they are able to start forming opinions about the conversations that are being had within society. If they are truly hearing and listening, they are more educated in the ways in which they formulate their own perspectives. Acknowledging and understanding opposing viewpoints and perspectives through listening is an imperative skill to develop – once students are able to do this instinctively, they are able to participate in the greater social conversations that are happening all around them. 

Looping back to my discussion on media literacy – active listening also helps students to 

be active and alert citizens – through active listening, students are able to critique the biases, prejudices, inequities, and social justice issues from a new lens – a lens that is not naïve and accepting, but one that is educated from various perspectives. 

For those of you who haven’t seen this TedTalk, it is a very moving discussion on the dangers of a single story, through a single lens. Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells about the tragedies of her culture and how they have been forgotten by recent generations of westerners. If we, as educators, are not teaching students to be active listeners, then we are allowing them to take part in the single story phenomenon that exists in today's society. . 

We need to challenge the single story; the only way to do this is through active listening. 

Thanks for reading, and I hope this post informed you on the importance of active listening in our own lives, as well as our students.


Cheers,

Madeleine 







References:


Schilling, Dianne (2012). 10 steps to effective listening. Forbes. Retrieved from  https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2012/11/09/10-steps-to-effective-listening/#a248b6838918

Active listening: hear what people are really saying (n.d). Mind Tools. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm

Ministry of Ontario (2006). The Ontario curriculum grades 1-8 Language (Revised). Toronto, Canada: Queen's Printer. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf


Images/Videos:

Listen Linda gifs. Retrieved from https://tenor.com/search/listen-linda-gifs

5 ways to engage active listening. Elevate Point. Retrieved from https://www.elevatepoint.com/perspectives/infographic/5-ways-engage-active-listening/

TedTalk (2009). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en#t-114432

The Writing on the Wall

 Hello all and welcome back to my blog!

In this post I will be discussing a little bit about the writing strand, some activities to try with students and strategies to consider when creating lessons for students. As well, I have posted some great apps to improve the foundations of student writing that you can start using in the classroom right away.

Differentiated Instruction

Any good educator understands the importance of differentiated instruction – not one student learns in the exact same ways as another; thus, teachers need to ensure the ways they deliver lessons and assess students accommodate to these needs. In the writing strand, differentiated instruction ensures educators are offering the most accommodating strategies in order to receive the highest level of learning and comprehension from students. There are many apps that exist that can help students who struggle with writing – whether that be grammar, organizing chaotic ideas, editing and creating new ideas. One of the overall writing expectations for grade 8 students is to be able to “draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience” (pg. 144). The apps suggested below offer various strategies to help students achieve this expectation. 

•  Popplet – A great resource that acts as an online graphic organizer to help organize students’ thoughts, ideas and potential action plan. This is a very beneficial tool for students who need extra prompts that visually help them organize their ideas and thoughts, giving them structure to begin their writing piece. Chick here to check this app out!

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• Writing Challenge – This is a great way to generate ideas from students who struggle to start writing or think creatively. This app offers various writing prompts that spark inspiration for storytelling and narratives. This engages students and helps spark creativity in new, fun and interesting ways. Click here to check out this awesome app!
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• Practice English Grammar – This is a great app that focusses on all areas of grammar – there are video tutorials, practice exercises and many engaging grammar games. It includes a diagnostic test for students to gauge an understanding of what their strengths and weaknesses are. Kayla Matthews claims that this app will help students to “become a better communicator with instant feedback on your progress” (Matthews, 2015). Click here if you want to download this app!

In my 7/8 placement, my AT always allows the use of technology when addressing most writing activities. While it is imperative that students learn how to write and perfect this skill, technology is slowly becoming more universal in Western areas. Thus, she allows her students who struggle with writing to use the class Chrome books when submitting an assignment that most students would hand write. For these 2 modified students, writing slows their thinking process down and is challenging; thus, she allows them to type out their thoughts instead of getting overwhelmed trying to both think and write.

The Creativity of Writing 

            Hearing students’ creativity shine through their writing is one of my favourite parts of literacy – especially at the intermediate age, where the ideas and emotions behind students’ writing is often very powerful and meaningful. While learning how to write expository pieces and essays are essential, I find there lies great value in creative writing, free-write, poetry and story-telling. These aspects of writing should not be overlooked, as they allow students to express emotion, thoughts, opinions and creativity. As educators, these forms of writing assessments act as a great way to get to know our students on a personal level, and discover value in their ways of thinking. 

A valuable resource that offers many creative writing prompts is from the “National Writing Project.” Check out this site if you want to look at 30 ideas for teaching writing that various teachers have thought of as successful in their practice. I really like the first prompt – “Use the shared events of students’ lives to inspire writing” because great writing is more purposeful if the students have a connection to it, as well, it helps to foster meaningful relationships between classmates and teacher. As well, I would use “Ease into writing workshops by presenting yourself as a model” because students are more willing to open up and share their work if you allow students to first critique you. As well, being transparent with students helps to build meaningful relationships with them, as they can see your flaws and imperfections. 

As stated in the Ontario Language Curriculum, there are so many forms of writing students in grade 8 should become confident in:

• "write complex texts of a variety of lengths using a wide range of forms"

• "establish a distinctive voice in their writing appropriate to the subject and audience"

• "regularly use vivid and/or figurative language and innovative expressions in their writing"

These specific expectations can all be addressed using any of the given writing prompts suggested by the National Writing Project! Students can have a different task each day, new prompts and new strategies to showcase their best writing!

Be sure to check these apps and sites out as they are great resources for improving student writing. Thanks for reading everyone, that's all for today!

Cheers,

Madeleine  

References:

National Writing Project (2018). 30 ideas for teaching writing. Retrieved from https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/922

Matthews, Kayla (2014). 7 apps to help anyone improve their grammar. Retrieved from https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-apps-help-anyone-improve-english-grammar/ 

Ministry of Ontario (2006). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language (Revised).Toronto, Ontario: Queen’s Printer. 

Images:

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/03/09/pd-lead-better-student-writing/

http://www.thebitsofbrit.com/tag/popplet/

https://www.figur8.net/2016/05/27/writing-resources-to-encourage-the-reluctant-writer/

https://www.axact.com/business-units/creative-writing/

Read All About It!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my literacy blog! 

Today I am going to discuss some things that fall into the reading strand of literacy. I will be discussing reading assessments, graphic novels as a valuable form of literature and the importance of self-guided questions as a vital reading strategy for students to comprehend various forms of literature. 

Reading Assessments

As an educator, the role of reading assessments are obviously very crucial in the ways we go about monitoring the progress of our students; while not everyone agrees with how they are approached, they do offer an unbiased form of understanding each student's base level and therefore, improvement.

In class we were given the opportunity to  learn and practice a reading assessment – this hands on experience was beneficial, especially because we were assessing two very different readers who were both at the intermediate grade level. Prior to this, I had been briefly introduced to reading assessments in my placement because my associate teacher allowed me to observe her as she assessed some students. This can be a difficult task for the teacher as trying to assess each student, as well as ensuring the rest of the class is staying on task, are happening simultaneously. Assessing two students was a very eye opening activity –  I was so intently marking and listening to the reader, that when the time came to ask comprehension questions about the passage I had no idea what the passage was even about myself. Thus, it is important that the teacher familiarizes him/herself with the passages and questions before asking the students, so they can be fairly assessed.

Reading assessment of a student

I've posted a photo of my first reading assessment –  it was difficult to follow along with the reader and check each individual word off, so I need to find a strategy that works better, ensuring I am closely keeping up with each word that the student reads. Learning how to score the reader was also very helpful – through this, I was able to understand what the student's level of reading was at, what areas they excel in, as well as other areas that could be improved over the course of the school year. With this information, I will be able to adapt my teaching methods in order to individualize lessons.  

Additionally, I had the opportunity to sit in and watch a resource teacher assess a couple students in my placement. Niagara District School Board uses Benchmark Assessment System (BAS); she familiarized myself with how it works, how you know the students' starting level, and how you go about a student assessment from start to finish. For more information on this assessment system, check out the following link. Through this I was able to read some of the passages used and compare level A books with level Z to help familiarize myself with BAS. 

These were some sites I found really useful when looking for a basic understanding of what assessment is, what it looks like and how we as educators should conduct it:

Early Reading Assessment 
Reading Assessment Techniques 
Tips For Streamlining Your Informal Reading Assessments 

Graphic Novels in the Classroom

There are many benefits to using graphic novels within the classroom; I don't think they should be seen as a "lesser" form of literature. Not all students enjoy, or have equal abilities when it comes to reading; however, graphic novels are a great way to visually engage students when reading, teach them about inferencing, understanding plot lines and enhance reading comprehension (Miller, 2012). 

The Ontario Curriculum states that an overall expectation for grade 8 students should include being able to "read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literacy, graphic (emphasis added) and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning" (142). Thus, graphic novels clearly hold value within the education system, and should be used in order to engage all types of learners.

For students who have difficulty staying focused and reading for long periods of time, graphic novels help to keep them engaged and gain self-fulfillment; this is because they are able to finish a book in a much shorter period of time. I come from an art background, so I also really appreciate the combination of visual arts within literacy education – it reminds students of the importance and endless possibilities art has inside and outside of the classroom. For lower level readers, graphic novels may be a great way to enhance confidence when it comes to reading and reading comprehension; this ultimately will help their self-efficacy and self-confidence in these areas, and will hopefully push them to continue to read and find a sense of confidence as they grow as readers.


I read "A Very Babymouse Christmas" by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm which was an awesome read in a short period of time. Babymouse is witty, sarcastic and funny, so the writing style kept me engaged. The images are captivating and clearly explain whatever was not stated in words; this allows for opportunity to critically analyze various text structures. There are many graphic novels out there that simplify other topics that may usually be considered too difficult or demanding for a student in grade 8 to read and comprehend. This form of literature works in a universal way because while it applies and intrigues lower level readers, it is also just as fulfilling and educational for higher readers. I would highly suggest having various graphic novel forms in the classroom as well as giving students the option for graphic novels to be used in literary conversations, assignments and literacy projects.

The Importance of Self-Guided Questions 

The article Text Structure Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension highlights the importance of teaching students how to properly read and comprehend difficult texts, such as expository writing. It suggests 5 text structures that students must first become comfortable with before attempting to read and comprehend an expository piece – these text structures include: 

• Simple description
• Compare and contrast
• Sequence
• Cause and effect
• Problem and solution (Text structure strategies).

A strategy that really grabbed my attention was teaching students to be active readers and ask self-guided questions throughout their reading to help make sense of the process. These questions should "help students focus on the structure‐related elements of the text" (Text structure strategies) and can therefore help simplify and summarize a text as it is being read. This should be taught in classrooms because it helps students become more confident and independent not only with expository writing texts, but a variety of other forms as well. If students can actively prompt themselves to ask questions while they read, they will improve comprehension skills. Personally, I don't remember much emphasis being placed on this area of learning – had this been the focus, I would have found understanding difficult texts much easier to comprehend. 

As stated in the Ontario Curriculum, by the end of grade 8, students have the overall expectation to be able to "reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during and after reading" (142). Students must be taught to become self aware; taking initiative to ask these guided questions as they read is a vital strategy that will improve reading comprehension. This is something I really want to focus on in my classroom, ensuring that each student is able to understand how to ask these questions as well as how the questions will help them understand what they are reading.




Thanks for reading everyone! Next post I'll be talking about writing, so come back and check it out in the following week.

Cheers,

Madeleine 

References:

Roehling, Julia V., Hebert Michael, Nelson, J Ron, Bohanty, Janet J. (2017). Text structure strategies for improving expository reading comprehension. Retrieved from https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/trtr.1590

Ontario Ministry of Education (2006). The Ontario Curriculum grades 1-8 language (Revised). Toronto: Queen’s Printer.

Miller, Andrew (2012). Using graphic novels and comics in the classroom. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/graphic-novels-comics-andrew-miller

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/genia-connell/17-18/Tips-for-Streamlining-our-Informal-Reading-Assessments/

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/early-reading-assessment-guiding-tool-instruction

https://www.sedl.org/reading/framework/assessment.html

Images:

Hollowell, Karen. (2018). What do teachers do with students' DIBELS reading assessment results? Retrieved from https://education.seattlepi.com/teachers-students-dibels-reading-assessment-results-2932.html

Campbell, Madeleine. (2018). Reading Assessment. 

Hamid, Amel. (2017). Teaching graphic novels using the four resources model. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/amalh_2/status/842859541817692160

Holmes, Jennifer and Holmes, Matthew. (2011). A very Babymouse Christmas. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10397159-a-very-babymouse-christmas

Harris, S. (2015). Comprehension cartoon 2 of 19. Retrieved from https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/c/comprehension.asp

Let's Talk About Media

What is Media Literacy Anyways?

We've all heard about media literacy in today's tech based society, but just to recap, media literacy focuses on teaching youth to be critically engaged consumers of media – including elements like being able to recognize the purpose, the creator, the intentions, the validity of the source and information, voices that may have been omitted and the commercial, political and social implications of the given media. As media is used so often in today’s day and age, it is important we teach students the importance of thinking critically about the content they are streaming, listening to, watching, texting, browsing etc. As most of us are spending upwards of 7 hours with some form of media, it is imperative that we develop skills that allow us to think deeper, question claims and understand the multiple perspectives that construct various media. 

What is Digital Literacy?

            Digital literacy on the other hand, recognizes the interconnectedness that the digital world offers us; teaching students digital literacy is teaching them to understand the actions they make online are permanent, and can be viewed by anyone. As well, they must understand the instantaneous response that exists because of our digital world. Digital literacy looks at the ethical standards we must assume, as well as the authenticity of the digital world. For example, I posted this photo on Facebook years ago when I thought I was cool – guess what? It's still available to the public to this day.

(Brock University, Media Info Literacy Models)

Watch what you post kids, it could come back for revenge

Why are We Teaching Students This?

The Ontario Curriculum’s media literacy strand focuses on four key principles in which students will be expected to understand: how to “demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts,” identify various media forms and “explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning,” create a “variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences” and “reflect and identify areas for improvement” when understanding media texts (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006). As media is such a key component in our daily lives, it really is vital that we are teaching our students to think critically when it comes to what they see on the news, hear on YouTube, read on SnapChat, or scroll across on Facebook or Twitter. By being active and alert, students are able to critique the biases, prejudices, inequities, and social justice issues from a new lens – a lens that is not naïve and accepting, but one that is educated from various perspectives. Literacy isn’t just about being able read and analyze a narrative or poem anymore – educators have to consider the literacy that exists within the scope of media. How can we teach a student to think critically about a short story that is placed in front of them, but not about the latest YouTube challenge or fad they want to participate in?  

Gardner, Laura. (2016). Teaching information literacy now. Retrieved from https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=teaching-media-literacy-now

TedTalk: Creating Critical Thinkers Through Media Literacy 

This presentation essentially discusses what has previously been mentioned in my blog post – we must urge and teach young students to be active in their understanding of media. As we are all consumers of media, it is essential that we are not passively accepting whatever is fed to us; instead, we must learn to dissect media, deciphering fact from opinion, real from fake, biased from unbiased, and be “attuned to discriminatory portrayals of individuals and groups” (Ontario Ministry of Education). This is a Ted Talk presented by Andrea Quijada, an executive director of Media Literacy Project, who explains the importance of teaching students to become familiar and confident at examining media through a critical lens. In a society where most individuals spend upwards of “7.5 hours of our day interacting with media,” (TED, 2013) it is imperative that we use these hours in ways that connect and enhance our daily lives. 

After having a collaborative discussion about what my students think media and digital literacy is, and how they use it in their lives, I would show this short video to my class for them to gather a better idea of its significance. This presentation is better suited for intermediate students in my opinion, but is a discussion that needs to occur with all ages of students.

Let’s Play A Game 

A fun class game to introduce digital media, and how we as consumers are easily swayed by the biases in the media would be a class version of the game "Snake Oil". While this would be a drama based activity, it works as a good discussion starter about media literacy, consumerism, and multiple perspectives and biases that we must be aware of.

Rules of the Game:

·     Have students fill out 10 cards with a noun on each card

o  Go over perameters and expectations of what they know is acceptable and unacceptable

·     Next, have students fill out 5 cards, each with professions

o  These do not have to be ‘typical’ professions like teacher, lawyer or police officer

o  They can be humorous and creative – snake charmer, babysitter, dogwalker

·     Mix up noun cards and give students 10 new cards each

·     Have students divide into groups (5-6 people) and divide out profession cards evenly between groups

·     Have 1 student in each group be the consumer

·     Have the other students in the group be the salesperson (or, the media in our case – Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, CBC, Instagram etc.)

·     Have the consumer pick up a profession card and show the circle of students

o  Let’s say the student picks up 'Food critic' 

·     The other students flip over their noun cards (don't show them!) and pick 2 cards to create the product that they are trying to sell to the consumer

o  Let’s say one student choses 'Exercise' and 'Robot', their product is called an Exercise Robot

·     The students then have 1 minute to brainstorm a sales pitch that makes a made up item into an item that the specific consumer (in our example, 'Food Critic') would want to buy

·     Go around the circle and have students give their 1 minute sales pitch to the consumer

·     After, the consumer picks which pitch they like best and they give their profession card to the winner

·     The goal is to collect as many profession cards as you can at the end of the game

·     Rotate consumers, pick new cards and play again!

Although this is a fun game, it acts as a way to introduce students to media and how it is filtered based on consumer. Have a discussion with the students after and have them relate the game to what they see and hear every day in the media. 

Questions to Ask Students After the Game

How did you choose a product?

How did the profession of the consumer alter your pitch?

How would you have changed your pitch if you had a 'Cowboy' as a consumer?

Give a real-world example in the media of when something like this has happened?

Wheaton, Will. (2015). The elements of a worthwhile boardgame expansion. Retrieved from https://unapologeticnerd.com/category/board-games/

Fake News Bellringer Game

            I also found an interesting lesson plan posted on Cool Cat Teacher blog. This game is designed for students to think critically about news to research if it is credible or not. Working in teams, students are challenged to research and deconstruct a news story to see if it is real or fake. The teacher should set up multiple stations with current real and fake news stories that the students must work through. Set a time limit per station, and vary the forms of news stories using articles, news reports, videos, interviews, tweets, Facebook posts and Snapchat stories. At the end of the game, you should open up for a larger based discussion about difficulties, biases found and experiences they had when critically examining each story. Vicki Davis uses the image posted below as an example of a ‘fake news’ story that the students must deconstruct and figure out if it is real/fake and why. 

Davis, Vicki. (2016). 3 fast, free lesson plans to fight fake news. Retrieved from http://www.coolcatteacher.com/3-fast-free-lesson-plans-fight-fake-news/

 Media Literacy in My Classroom 

In my first day of practicum, my teacher associate implemented an opportunity for my 7/8 class to discuss Rowan’s Law, as it was a day to spread awareness about concussions and concussion safety. Instead of brushing past why the students were wearing purple, she took the time to pull up news articles, interviews and videos about Rowan’s Law. After she took the students through various media relating to Rowan, as well as current concussion stories in the news, she opened up for class discussion. She asked them leading questions, pushing the children to think critically about the news they were viewing and about the multiple perspectives they were coming from. One child asked, “Why do you think Rowan’s friends never told anyone that she might have had a concussion? I think they were trying to be a good friend by keeping her secret, but in the end they weren't good friends.” I was thouroughly impressed with the student’s ability to distance himself from the news, look at the issue from Rowan’s friend’s perspective, and think critically about it.

Clark, Donald. (2015).10 reasons why hands up kills learning. Retrieved from http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2015/03/why-hands-up-teaching-kills-learning.html

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I hope this helped to highlight the importance of teaching students media literacy competency, as well as give you some fun game and lesson ideas to include in the classroom. Check back in for more updates about literacy later in the month!

Madeleine 

References: 

Clark, David. (2015). 10 reasons why hands up kills learning. Retrieved from http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2015/03/why-hands-up-teaching-kills-learning.html

Davis, Vicki. (2016). 3 fast, free lesson plans to fight fake news. Cool Cat Teacher. Retrieved from http://www.coolcatteacher.com/3-fast-free-lesson-plans-fight-fake-news/

Gardner, Laura. (2016). Teaching information literacy now. Retrieved from https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=teaching-media-literacy-now

Module 1: What is digital and media literacy? Retrieved from https://lms.brocku.ca/portal/site/Media_Info_Literacy_Modules/tool/04ab90c7-565c-441f-8c8e-05444930f31?null

Ontario Ministry of Education (2006). The Ontario Curriculum grades 1-8 language (Revised). Toronto: Queen’s Printer.

TED (2013, February). Andrea Quijada: Creating critical thinkers through media literacy. Retriened from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHAApvHZ6XE

Wheaton, Will. (2015). The elements of a worthwhile boardgame expansion. Retrieved from https://unapologeticnerd.com/category/board-games/

 https://lms.brocku.ca/portal/site/Media_Info_Literacy_Modules