LIT102 BLOG

 On the 25th of November, 2020. Our lecturer sent us two articles from Reading Rockets to read to better understand the advantages of combining both reading and writing and also understand how teach them together effectively. The articles outlined the effectiveness of using an integrated approach when teaching reading and writing, rather than teaching them separately. The integration helps improve students academic achievement, helping them to become proficient readers and writers.  Teachers should provide meaningful integrated activities that will help help improve students writing,reader skills and also their comprehension skills.  On the 26th of November, 2020. My group and I met as a group to discuss our digital story .

 In this session our class introduced to pen portrait, where you create a profile speaking briefly about your skills, competencies and attributes. It also gives you the opportunity to share a bit more personal information, like your number or even address. We were given to task create one of our own so we did, mine will be presented below.

On Wednesday 18th November we had an informative discussion on effective writing instruction. We began by researching effective writing instruction. After which my colleagues and Ms.Williams engaged in a discussion. So we know that effective writing involves students writing for authentic audiences and purposes and it also involves students in focussed and scaffolded writing experiences using principled approaches to the teaching of writing such as the teaching and learning cycle or the writing workshop. Hence, more effective writing instruction was highlighted in our discussion. We watch an interactive YouTube video on Pen Portrait, basically what is it all about and how to create one. Ms.Williams asked us to create one for ourselves as teachers of writing.  The photo below is my Pen Portrait.  On Thursday, 19th November, we went into our respective groups as we began the writing process to create a narrative piece. We began to discuss ideas as a group by selecting a topic, t...

 During this lesson, my classmates and I was introduced to Pen portrait by watching a video. The purpose of a pen portrait is to have an informal description of a person or group of people, this may include skills, competencies, and attributes. Here is my first try on a pen portrait about myself.                                                        Corrie Lawrence began her journey in teaching at the Nevis Academy Primary School and taught for six months at grade one. Ms Lawrence enjoyed working with children and decided to take it a step further by becoming enrolled at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College in the primary education program.     Ms Lawrence has gained writing skills,  experience, and became an effective communicator and listener. She is now able to get a message across in a clear and succi...

 Two videos was shown by the lecture in relation to the stages of writing and the incorporation of spelling in language. We learn the importance of spelling. Spelling is important and is a critical component to communication, spelling and reading skills are closely related and help develop overall literacy. I knew it was important for students to know how to spell, however, these video's shows how much it can help children during communication and how it make connections between words and their phonetic characteristics.  Knowing how to approach spelling, other than sending them home with a list of spelling words to memorise, I will now think of different activities than can be done that will be appropriate for the different stages and abilities in the classroom.  

On Wednesday, 18th November, 2020 the class began with a quick research on effective writing instruction. After, researching the information students were engaged in a meaningful discussion which highlighted the points that effective writing instruction: involves students writing for authentic audiences and purposes involves students in focussed and scaffolded writing experiences using principled approaches to the teaching of writing such as the teaching and learning cycle or the writing workshop develops a grammatical metalanguage through discussion of examples and patterns of language choices in texts through teaching practices such as modelling or deconstruction, guided practice or joint construction, and writing conferences encompasses a range of teaching practices such as modelled writing, shared writing, interactive writing and independent writing where varying levels of support can be provided at different points of need opens up ‘a repertoire of possibilities’ for students (Myh...

During this session, my classmates and I were introduced to pen portraits. The purpose of a pen portrait is to present a clear picture of the person it is about, such as their skills, competencies and attributes. The image below consists of a pen portrait about myself.

In this session we examined two videos which spoke to the stages of writing and the incorporation of spelling in the language. It was highlighted that spelling should not be taught as a single entity but apart of the body of the language body. This ensures that students are able to make connections with the spelling of words as they read them to foster better comprehending skills. As I examined the first video https://www.readingrockets.org/article/invented-spelling-and-spelling-development, this was my take on it.  After reading the article I am most intrigued by the stages of spelling development as I can see why some students may have been successful spellers while others struggle. Spelling is important as it is an integral part of development as it fosters students writing skills in compositions. However, it is treated as a separate entity thus, resulting in students inability to make connections between spelling and the other Language Arts. Incorporating such helps studen...

On this day we were given an article to read and from the reading, I learned: Spelling is important because children are able to understand and recognize words and identify letters and sounds of words. What can I take away from this article- children learn more than just memorizing words, they develop an understanding of English spelling. I can also take away the five stages of spelling development where children develop their spelling as they go; from them using symbols to understanding the basic rules of spelling. What the article suggests about teaching spelling- teachers shouldn't always look forward to the correctness of students writing, teachers should see this as a means of them developing their writing and become more ìndependent in their learning

 On Thursday, 12th November,  2020. I visited the Irish Town Primary school with three of my colleagues. Where I observed a grade two Language Art block lesson taught by Ms.Hazel. The lesson was very interesting and interactive. Hence, I observed all six of the Language Arts; visual representation, listening, viewing, reading, speaking, and writing. As well as the different components such as; independent reading and independent writing, and shared reading. The focus areas were Composition (Picture Discussion), Spelling, Phonics, and Oral Reading all being incorporated into one lesson.

 During this week the topics spelling development and the stages of writing. We learned that spelling is important to writing because it helps students to correctly assemble their words based on their phonetic characteristics which is an essential part of successful writing. Spelling ties in with writing skills, too, and it also serves to effectively convey ideas. This lesson helped to enhance my knowledge of spelling development. I learned that spelling is critical to writing because it helps students to communicate effectively and make connections between words and their phonetic characteristics. As a teacher, I will try my best to integrate spelling into other lessons and content areas. I will also try to incorporate spelling in various lessons and try to make sure that I do not simply resort to sending children home with a 'spelling list'. I will try to plan my lessons and activities in a way that helps students to apply their spelling skills and help them to improve as ind...

This week presentation was based on poetry- the genres of writing. Poetry was defined as a form of literature conveying thought, emotions, or description of a scene or thing to portray a story in a concise lyrical manner. The presenters looked at different poetic forms such as  colour poems  proposition poems wish poems acrostic poems bilingual poems concrete poems  haikus and chinquapins poems syllables and word count poems  free verse poems and list poems Poetry can be integrated into other subjects so that students realise that poetry can be about anything. The following day, the lecturer spoke about the writing process. The writing process is a way of looking at what writers think and do as they write. the stages include:  Prewriting  Drafting  Revising  Editing and Publishing The lecturer then went on to explain the 12 key strategies that writers can use in their writing pieces. These are:  elaborating evaluating  Formatting  G...

 During this week session in lit102, the class was assigned into groups, each group was given a topic that have to be presented as a powerpoint presentation on the five different genres of writing. The genres were narrative writing, persuasive writing, descriptive writing, expository writing and poetry writing. The first presentation was done on Narrative writing. I learned that narrative writing can be non-fiction and imaginary. They explained the different elements of story writing which include the plot, setting, the theme, the point of view and the character. The presenters also outlined that Narrative writing is a way of presenting connected events in order to tell a good story. common types of narrative normally contain a beginning, middle and end. They spoke about the different conflicts that can be found in narrative pieces such as conflict between a character and nature, conflict within a character, conflict between a character and society, conflict between characters and ...

 On Wednesday 4th November, 2020 the class took the form of yet another PowerPoint presentation on the genre of writing...poetry. One the presenters began by saying poetry is one of the least taught genres of writing but, one of the most funniest and creative genre. It was highlighted that the presenter love this genre and incorporated much it in instruction whether as an introduction to a lesson or a composition minilesson on poetry. As the presenter continued it was encouraged that teachers line the forms and types of poems to get students interested in this very under utilized genre. Some of poetic devices mentioned were: 1. Alliteration- the repetition of an initial consonant sound in consecutive words or nearby words. E.g. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. 2. Repetition- the repeating of a word or phrase which adds both structure and enjoyment. For example, the refrain in the gingerbread boy...you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread boy.  3. Rhyme- the use of r...

  This week’s class November 4th and 5th During this week we learned about different poems and the writing process. November 4th A presentation was done by my colleagues, and this presentation spoke on poems. Poems are writing pieces that are structured to take the nature of both speech and song that is nearly always rhythmical and usually metaphorical. Some examples of poems given are Free verse- does not rhyme consistently I am poems- poems, where I am, is used most in the poem. Ode- poems that are usually praising something Colour poems- is about a single color by using analogies, similes, or list nouns about that color. Haiku poems- Japanese poem consisting of three short lines that do not rhyme These poems are new to my knowledge, except for Free verse, I am aware of this poem and have done some examples of this in secondary school. I appreciate the knowledge of these different poems because they will be beneficial to me in the future. November 5th We learned about the stages ...

During this week we learned about poems and more on the writing process. Each of these topics were in the form of PowerPoint presentations. 4th November Poems are writing pieces that are structured to take the nature of both speech and song that is nearly always rhythmical and usually metaphorical. This presentation led to the discussion of various types of poems such as wish poems, formula poems, free verse poems, acrostic poems, ode poems and haikus. I am familiar with free verse poems which I came across in high school. Free verse poems are simply poems that have no regular rhythm and do not follow a set of rules. Haiku poems were new to me and really intrigued me. These type of poems seem to have originated in Japan and they consist of three short lines that do not rhyme. 5th November In today's class, the lecturer presented on the stages of the Writing Process which includes: 1. Prewriting- choose a topic, gather and organize ideas, consider the potential audience, identify th...

On Wednesday 4th October, my group and I did a presentation on p oetry a genre of writing.While presenting Shanice highlighted that teachers should be creative and enthusiastic when teaching Poetry in and outside the classroom, no matter the subject a peom can be included into the lesson. Teachers should familiarize themself with the types of poetry, the poetic devices, and the ways of teaching the genre, as this can bring fun and excitement to teaching poetry.It is crucial that teachers teach poetry in an exciting way so that students appreciate the genre. I feel as though teachers should teach poetry with just as much passion as they teach narrative writing and even descriptive writing.  Additionally, Ms.Williams emphasized that at the primary level students should beware of similes, metaphors, onomatapeia and personification. When student come across  those figurative languages in texts they should know them.  Similes are comparisons made between two things using the w...