Closing Remarks

Closing Remarks 

The LIT Bloggers would like to take this opportunity to thank our Course Lecturer and fellow
colleagues for viewing and commenting on our blogs with constructive feedback. This has helped
us grow tremendously as teachers of writing. The purpose of this blog was to reflect on the various
classes by writing about interesting or impactful concepts and practices modeled by the Course
Lecturer and to provide efficient suggestions for further sessions. Additionally, the intent of the
blogs was to incorporate technology in the writing classroom. 

Through these blogging sessions we have acquired a wealth of knowledge and skills as it relates
to incorporating ICTs in the writing classroom. Of course, it does not limit us to the writing classroom
but also to be applied across the curriculum. The experiences gathered from these blogging sessions
have really helped us grow professionally and has impacted us in our everyday lives personally. For
example, we now see blogging as a form or personal satisfaction and a leisure activity as it strengthens
our communication skills. Moreover, we are better acquainted with using technology in our classrooms
not only as teachers of writing but generally in the 21st Century classroom. The use of the podcasts
were really a step away from our comfort zones and this has really motivated us to use ourselves as a
resource in the classroom. 

With this being said, we would like to end with a quote: “The mission in life is not merely to survive,
but to thrive, and to do so with passion, some compassion, humor and style.” We are grateful for 
your wavering support. Thank you! 

Beverley's Podcast

Ryan's Podcast

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Kashey's Podcast

The importance of washing your hands

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Week Eight (Editing)

      This week we continued our mini lesson sessions. This session intended to give us an opportunity to experience and practice of the teaching of writing. It enabled us to test our skills and knowledge gathered from the LIT lecturers. This week, my partner and I taught the editing process. This task was a challenging onto me because it was my very first time teaching Language arts. Amongst the challenges were the preparation of the lesson plan which demanded my understanding of Language arts lesson planning and teaching techniques. Five students were selected to formulate a class to ensure that the lesson was executed. Using the previous pair’s revising piece. 

        The acronym CUPS was used to direct this lesson. Capitalizat, Usage,Punctuation and Spelling. With the use of this acronym, editing the piece was less challenging because it was used as a guide to walk through this stage of writing. To begin this lesson, we first reviewed the writing stages which were done previously. The students were then given words which they were to create sentences using the appropriate punctuation marks which included commas, exclamation and question marks and full stops. We discussed the uses of punctuation marks. A comma (,) is a punctuation mark that represents a slight pause in a sentence to separate words and figures in a list. An apostrophe (‘) is a punctuation mark that is used to show possession. A full stop (.) is placed at the end of statements and sentences that tells about a subject. For example: Peter is going to the supermarket.Question mark (?) is placed at the end of a questions or sentences that asks about a subject. For example: Is Peter going to the supermarket? Exclamation marks (!) is placed at the end of exclamations or sentences that express strong emotions, loud sounds and commands. For example: boom! Bang!. 

       We then looked at capitalization, a capital letter is sometimes called an uppercase letter.it is bigger than the lower class letter and extends beyond double lines. Capitalization is writing the first letter of a word as upper case and the remaining letters as lower case. The pronoun I must always be capitalized.The first word in every sentence must be capitalized. Proper nouns must always be capitalized. Always capitalize the first and last word in titles. Check that your sentences all starts with a capital letter. Also capitalize all proper nouns. For example: (names of people, places, days of the week,etc.). 

        After which we focused on word usage and spelling, The way in which words are used in context, especially with regards to their meaning. Read over to check for words you may have spelled incorrectly and may confuse the reader. To correct those errors you should check the dictionary or ask someone to check it for you. focus on the beginning sounds then other letter sounds inorder to search for the right place in the dictionary. To end this session, w reviewed the acronym CUPS. 

       This assignment provided an opportunity for my peers and I to learn from each other. It also provided an experience for us as teachers to teach the writing process. I recommend that we have a real life experience in the general educational classroom. Photo depicting the acronym CUPS:

Video explaining the editing stage of the writing process:

Week Seven (First Drafts)

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The Writing Process: Drafting- The First Draft. 

This class was particularly pragmatic as we assumed the role of teachers of writing. We were therefore expected to demonstrate a variety of skills, techniques and tools demanded by teachers of writing.  We were fortunate to have been given the opportunity to execute a 20 minute mini-lesson to demonstrate what is required of the teacher of writing in teaching each stage of the writing process. Moreover, we had to use the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model in order to teach writing. The mini-lessons were done in pairs where each pair selected a stage to execute during their mini-lesson.  My pair focused on the creation of the first draft. The genre used was descriptive writing and the lesson was created for a grade 3 pretense class; students in the class pretended to be grade threes. Prior to the drafting process prewriting was done and so the ideas used from the prewriting were used in drafting. Subsequently, the same draft created was used in the revision and editing stages. This was done deliberatel so that we can see how each stage is taught as it unfolded. 
The prewriting group focused on brainstorming and used the five-senses cluster in order to graphically

represent ideas before drafting. The teacher created a five-sense cluster for his worst experience which was
a hurricane/stormy weather. The students were then asked to produce a five-senses cluster for their worst
experience.  

We (my pair) then used the five-senses cluster from the prewriting group in order to create the first draft with the students. The teacher (my peer), created a draft from the five-senses cluster provided by the prewriting pair in the prior mini-lesson.  He then read aloud and said his thoughts aloud while he wrote his ideas as he modelled what is required when composing the descriptive piece or any piece for that matter during the drafting stage. Furthermore, I gave students the opportunity to work in pairs in order to talk about their worst experiences. Students then shared it with the class. Using their individualized five-senses clusters, they were given time to write their first drafts. While students were writing their first drafts we went around providing guidance to them.  After this, students were given the opportunity to present their first drafts before the class. 

I wish more time was given to us in order to execute this lesson so that it would have reflected as accurately as possible the allotted time for a Language Arts class. This way adequate time would have been given for each activity so that students could have fully develop their ideas while writing. Additionally, if this lesson were implemented in an actual grade 3 classroom then more realistic and authentic experiences would have been created so that we as teachers of writing can see the real issues and challenges which are experienced in the classroom. For example, the diversity of students and meeting the needs of different levels of proficiency as it relates to writing.  This mini-lesson could have possibly been done during the practicum sessions as students were placed in pairs at schools. 

For further reading on strategies for helping students become good writers see link below: 

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/teaching-elementary-school-students-be-effective-writers 

Week Six (Poetry)

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Poetry!

This week's session  we focused on another genre of writing , introduction to poetry. Our lecturer began by informing the student teachers that there are misconceptions about poetry. Some misconceptions include poetry always rhyme, does not make sense , is something we have to do, uses a complex language and lastly I cannot write poetry. The course lecturer then asked students  to explain their understanding of poetry. She then called on both volunteers and non volunteers to give their response; individuals were able to define the term poetry. In addition, she gave us a simple definition of poetry it is a literature that expresses, ideas, feelings or tells a story in a specific form and stanzas. She elaborated that lines are to poems as sentences are to paragraphs. Also, stanza are to poem as paragraphs are to essay. We also looked at the different types of poems namely: formula, color, free from, concrete,rhymed and limerick. Moreover, we focused on syllable and word count poems such as cinquain ( 5 lines), diamante (7 lines) and haiku ( 17 syllables). Our course lecturer read to the class an example of a cinquain poem which goes like this:

Mice

Little, quiet

Running, crawling,jumping

Bear holes in mama,s furniture

Demons

After reading the poem, each student teacher was given a few minutes to create their own cinquain poem and a few were selected to share what they wrote. To conclude the session our course lecturer asked the students, Do you think poetry can be incorporated during instruction across the curriculum? What really stood out for me in this session was poetry can be used in the classroom in any content areas during instruction so that students can better understand the concepts taught. I suggest that  the lecturer can allow us to continue writing and reviewing our poetry pieces so that we can become successful writers. Here's a video that explains one of my favorite type of poem, a cinquain!

Week five

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Planning writing instruction.

To begin this lesson, the lecturer stated that “writing should reflect a process approach and students need to be taught”. This session focused on lesson planning as it relates to writing instruction. Then the lecturer preceded by placing us into groups. Each group was to work on a lesson plan which she guided us through. A Language Arts lesson plan entails the topic, subject, objectives : cognitive, psychomotor and affective. The content, introduction and steps. Planning writing instruction should reflect a process approach, this means that before involving the students in the writing process, they should be engaged in a discussion which will allow them to speak about their experiences. Additionally, they should also be read to, taken on field trips to enhance their real life experiences and view a video which they will gain more knowledge of the topic which they are required to write about. As of all lessons, the introduction should be interesting and captivating.  Moreover, the lecturer noted that the content of this lesson should not be limited to the objectives. The content should include examples and must also appeal to sensory. Therefore, the five senses must be taken into consideration. In addition, for each activity during the development of the lesson must be demonstrated by the teacher then students will follow. This lesson was informative as it broadened my understanding of planning writing instruction. One thing I took note of was that my activities must meet the needs of diverse learners. To ensure that all the students learn the content and skills which are needed to become an excellent writer, the teacher must ensure that auditory, visual and kinesthetic learners are taken into consideration. Although the lesson plans were incomplete, I recommend that the lecturer allows us to execute our lessons. This is to give us a feel of what it would be like to teach an actual lesson on writing.

This graphic organizer displays the components of a lesson plan.

Week Four

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This week was very different from any other week. It was colorful! Not physically, but at least we saw the colors mentally. They were not just colors as we know them but rather, colors that described images of all kinds! We shifted from narrative writing and particularly focused on this genre of writing which is "descriptive". We did provide some information about what we already know as it relates to descriptive writing and we were also able to examine a poorly written text in order to improve its description. We were introduced to the five (5) sense cluster in helping compose a vivid description of anything. Hence, the use of all the senses are instrumental in providing a description of superb quality. It was brought to our attention that the way in which a person is described differs from a place or object. When describing a person it is useful to focus on the personality and the physical characteristics. However, a place may just be the physical appearance with many characteristics that can be described in great detail. For example, the setting and the elements/objects found there. We see this class as one which is very beneficial to us as a student and as a teacher of writing as we are further aware of some of the different strategies in teaching descriptive writing. Additionally, we are getting the opportunity to grow as a writer in different text genres. One point that resonated with us the most during class was the unique way in which descriptive writing illustrates transitional words. They are not the typical “moreover”, “therefore” or “additionally” that were are used to. In descriptive writing transitional words will appear as a preposition! For example, through, on, over and surrounding are typical transitional words for narrative writing. It would be a great idea to have us draw and color a place or person to begin with and then use this picture to write a description of the person or place. Perhaps, the drawing and coloring will help us generate a fundamental description of what is to be described. The video below sums up nicely descriptive writing elements. Can’t wait to keep you posted on next week’s activities!

Week Three

In today’s session our class had the privilege to visit the computer lab at the University of the West Indies. Each student teacher was able to sit at a computer and began working after the instructions were given by our lecturer. She cautioned us that we should remain focused and complete the process to ensure that we understood the concept of how to blog because most of my colleagues did not understand the task for the assignment . Our first task was to create a limerick of our own.  A limerick is a humorous poem consisting of five lines. The first, second and fifth lines must have seven to ten syllabus while rhyming and having the same verbal rhythm.The third and fourth lines should only have five to seven syllables, they too must rhyme with each other and have the same rhythm. In addition, we were given an opportunity to change the font and the style of the words of the limerick.Our second task was to google and select an appropriate an image associated with our limerick and copy and paste it in our blog. Additionally, each group added our other colleagues to their blog and each student teacher was able to view and comment on each others  blogs individually or as a group. This session was very informative and I learnt a lot during this short period of time. This concept of blogging was relatively new to me as I have never been exposed to blogging but only heard about it. This new experience has enlightened to understand what blogging entails and as an educator will apply what I have learned in the classroom setting. I propose that the lecturer has other sessions like this with the class to better equipped us with the necessary skills required so when we go back to our classroom we will be able to apply what we learnt efficiently.

Example of a  Limerick

There was an old man named Ted

Who always lay down on his bed

He saw a big mouse

And ran out of the house

Laid flat on the ground like a bread

Week 2 The Drafting Process

This week, we focused on one of the stages of the writing process which is drafting. To begin the lesson, the lecturer handed each of us a piece from her newly written and ready to be published book. The course instructor asked us to read the piece in its entirety and encouraged us to read actively by highlight anything which stood out. This activity was fitting not only because we were being taught how to teach students how to write but also learning how to be effective writers. Drafting is the second stage of the writing process. After this was done, she expounded on the key terms which were recognized. It was important that she did so because it expounded on my knowledge of the drafting stage. Writers add and develop ideas to form sentences, however, spelling, punctuation and paragraphs are not taken into consideration. In addition, according to the lecture’s piece of writing, it is advised that teachers point out to students that they are likely to make errors during the first draft, these mistakes may be recognized immediately while others may require a deeper analysis. We recognized the course instructor’s spelling and punctuation errors during her process of creating the first draft. She emphasized that this is one of the features of the drafting process and that we should encourage our students to make mistakes while they draft. After this was discussed, the lecturer began to create a draft of a story which we helped her plan during the previous lesson. As the course instructor wrote her first draft on the board, we were able to recognize her spelling errors immediately. With the help of the students, she was able to tie our ideas together. This activity was very helpful as it increased my understanding of the drafting process. We were then asked to model the drafting process which was a plus because it was a way of applying our knowledge. The drafting process is the second step of the writing process, during this time the writer organizes and puts ideas into complete thoughts. To culminate this lesson, we were given an opportunity to share our drafts. I suggest that the lecturer continue taking us through the writing process by keeping us actively engaged as we learn to become better writers and produce effective future writers.

Week 1 Narrative Writing

This week’s session was particularly focused on the narrative genre of writing. Some classmates voiced their poor efficacy in teaching narrative as opposed to being a superb and proficient narrative writer. This was a fair point made because we are expected to not only be good at writing stories but also to be  phenomenal in using different strategies in getting students to compose a good narrative piece eventually. We revisited the main elements of a story such as setting, plot, point of view, theme, problem, climax and resolution; all of which were refreshed through a brainstorming activity during the introduction of the concept. One resonating factor which was new to my group was the development of the characters. We learnt that a character can be developed and expressed in four main domains namely feelings, actions, speech and thoughts. Hence, the acronym FAST. Another acronym “STEAL” was introduced to us. “STEAL” represents speech, thoughts, emotions, action and looks. We have never really thought of characters being different in those domains rather because we focused primarily on the physical differences and personality differences between characters. Perhaps further sessions on analyzing the various characters of narrative texts would assist us in getting a deeper and broader understanding of how characters are varied in many domains and possibly representing this information using a graphic organizer of choice. Figure 1.0 below illustrates the analysis of characterization through internal and external categories. Outside would comprise physical traits, i.e. what we see. Inside would comprise thoughts, actions and feelings.

WELCOME :)

A warm and hearty welcome to our blog! Blogging is an interactive way to incorporate technology in education. It is not restricted to language classes or just for communication purposes. However, it is encouraged to be used in all disciplines in order to facilitate learning through the digital platform. This blog is used for the course “LIT102” or “Promoting Writing in Primary Grades”. LIT 102 is a mandatory course in Primary Education Associate Degree Program. The intentions of this blog are to reflect on the classes by talking about interesting or impactful concepts and practices modelled by the course lecturer and to provide suggestions for further sessions. We hope to create interactive blogs which not only provide direct information but also further resources in order to expand the reader’s knowledge of the concept of writing being discussed. Additionally, any form of constructive feedback provided in response to our blogs will be greatly acknowledged and appreciated as we understand that constructive feedback is critical to students’ success. Once more, a heartfelt welcome to you from the LITBloggers, Ryan, Kashey and Beverly!