Week Two: (4th and 5th November) by Tazurie Blanchette Alexander

On Wednesday 4th October, my group and I did a presentation on poetry 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 words 'like' or 'as'. Example; Your explanation is as clear as mud. Metaphors are comparisons of two things without the use of the words 'like' or 'as'. Example;He is a shinning star. Onomatopeia are words that when are said the sound is heard. Examples; boom, bang, buzzzz. Personification is giving human attributes to in animate objects, plants, and animals. Example; the wind howled in the night. 

On the 5th of November, our lecturer briefly discussed the writing process and highlighted the steps of the writing process and what exactly student are suppose to do in each stage. This information was well explained and very informative for myself as teacher in training, I got a better understanding of what is expected to take place at each stage in the writing process.

 Prewriting

• Choose a topic

• Gather and organize ideas

• Consider potential audience

• Identify the purpose of the writing 

• Choose an appropriate genre 

Drafting

• Write rough drafts

• Craft leads to grabbing the reader's attention

• Emphasize content rather than conventions (punctuation, spelling, grammar etc.)

Revising

• Share drafts in revising groups 

• Participate constructively in discussions about the drafts of their peers

• Make changes to reflect the comments of their peers and the teacher

• Make substantive rather than only minor changes between the first and final drafts

Editing

• Students set drafts aside (for a day or two in order to see the errors.. looking at it through fresh eyes)

• Proofread compositions to locate errors

• Correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar errors 

Publishing 

• Publish writing in an appropriate form 

• Share completed writing with an appropriate audience

 Ms. Williams further discussed the twelve (12) key strategies that writers can use in their writing pieces. These strategies are very useful and effective. Some activities for each are also mentioned in the brackets below.

• Elaborating- writers expand their writing by adding vivid details. (brainstorming, researching, "explode the moment" activity, and "the snapshot activity."
• Evaluating- writers review and evaluate their compositions and judge how well they met the goals set.(Complete rubrics and checklist, write self-reflections)
• Formatting- writers design the layout for their copies and ensure that their writing is legible, and their illustrations enhance the text. ( decide on a title, make final copies, use word processing software)
• Generating- writers collect, and ideas for writing often using their background knowledge, the information they have collected through research, and other classroom resources. (make list, draw pictures, create clusters, read or reread books, search the internet, peer discussions)
• Monitoring- writing monitor their progress and coordinate writing strategies. ( reread rough/first drafts, as themselves questions, get feedback from the teacher/classmates)
• Narrowing- writers limit their topics so they’re specific and manageable. (use the 5 W's, stay focused on using clusters or other graphic organizers, examine books and internet articles)
• Organizing- Writers group sequence and prioritize ideas for their compositions. (create graphic organizers, make outlines, use graphic programs) 
• Proofreading- writers carefully reread their writing to identify errors in spelling and other conventions. (reread rough drafts, peer proofreading ps:*encourage students to leave a line for corrections) 
• Questioning- writers ask themselves questions as they develop their compositions. (use think alouds) 
• Rereading- writers review their writing to check the flow of ideas and determine whether they are meeting their goals. (have students reread drafts) 
• Revising- writers add words and sentences, make substitutions and deletions, and move text around to communicate more effectively. (participate in revising groups, colour code the notes, make a list of goals.) 
• Setting goals- writers set action-oriented goals to direct their writing. (setting goals, monitoring, evaluating, questioning)