Week One: (28th and 29th October) By Tazurie Blanchette Alexander

Classes during last week ( 28th and 29th October 2020) were very informative and I also became aware of the effective procedures I can use in my class to teach these two genres of writing. These classes were done in form of group presentations. My colleagues were given the task to research and do PowerPoint presentations on two genres of writing in which they had to present, Narrative writing and Expository writing. On Wednesday 28th October 2020, we viewed and listened to the Narrative writing presentation. From the presentation I got that Narrative writing is the most written and read genre of writing this is basically story writing. Highlighted in the presentation were the different elements of story writing, the presenters went on to explain each one of them; (characters- the people, animals, and beings in the story, setting- this is where the story takes place*location, time, time period, the mood and weather, the plot-is the sequence of events that occur in a story from beginning, middle, to end, the point of view- this is the viewpoint from which the story is told *first-person *third person, the theme- the underlying meaning or message of the story*betrayal*motherhood and *forgiveness.)

Additionally, Ms. Williams went into details about the development of the plot and we had an interactive discussion on the rising action which are the events leading up to the conflict, the climax this is the highest point of action where the reader is read more, and the falling action where the writer begins to solve the conflict or problem and the resolution is basically the end of the problem is solved. We went into discussing the different kinds of conflicts(conflicts between characters, conflicts within a character, the conflict between character and society, the conflict between a character and nature.)

The presenters went on to inform us about the instructional procedure that teaches can utilize. Teachers can begin the lesson with the introduction of the genre, in that the teacher builds on students' prior knowledge of the genre. Hence, the teacher then takes them further by teaching them the element of narrative writing, have students engage in guided practice activities through retelling stories and writing workshops, etc. In the writing workshops, teachers incorporate technology and have students do story mapping. They went on to say after completing the story mapping and composing narrative pieces teachers use rubrics to assess students. Students are also given a checklist to guide their writing progress and ensure they have met the required guidelines.

On Thursday's class, an Expository writing presentation was presented. Expository writing defines and explains the process. The presentation stated that expository writing is structured out as followed, introductory or lead paragraph invites the reader to explore the topic, thesis statement reveals the overall purpose of the writing, grabs the readers attention, the body consists of three or more points, descriptions, or examples and conclusion here you conclude you don't add anything new. Expository writing uses transition words such as then, in addition, in conclusion, however, after, later, last, finally, etc. Encourage students to use topic sentences, facts, and details. Apart from what was discussed during the presentation, I researched additional information on this genre of writing to better my understanding so I will be able to teach it effectively. Overall, last week's classes were very productive and I learned new information on both Narrative and Expository writing that I can utilize to be better at writing these genres.