Week 11: Oral Communication Strand Blog Post

Week 11: Oral Communication Strand Blog Post

Guides at Rasmussen College. Communication. Picture [Online Image]
Retrieved From http://guides.rasmussen.edu/communication

Roche Consulting Group. Public Speaking. Picture [Online Image]
Retrieved From http://rocheconsultinggroup.com/public-speaking/

 

How To Encourage Public Speaking & Oral Communication Within the Classroom!

 

Public Speaking, you either HATE it or you LOVE it! How did public speaking and oral communication come to be such a dreaded activity for so many people? Is it the way we introduce it to our students'? Do we introduce it too late, too early? Is it the teacher's fault or are some people just not public speakers? I'm here to investigate some key activities and solutions through the fabulous world of Pinterest, that both pre-service and in-service teachers can use to create a safe and positive environment for introducing public speaking and upping our students' oral communication skills.

 

Growing up in a family with four brothers and a twin sister you develop your voice and speaking well, (arguing) skills rather quickly. Your voice, speaking skills and time management are key when fighting for your parents attention and trying to get your opinions heard by everyone. Therefore, I found my voice rather early and ended up loving everything that entailed public speaking and oral communication throughout my years at schools.

 

I loved presenting in front of the class, participating in the public speaking competitions, speaking over the announcements and even speaking in front of the entire school. Unfortunately, some students absolutely hate public speaking; they freeze up, speak too fast, loose their words or get stage fright. I believe students need to be introduced to public speaking and oral communication at a young age and build up their skills and comfort as they progress throughout each grade. Teachers need to create a safe and fun space, with engaging public speaking activities that help to improve students' oral communication and develop a love for presenting!

 

Fun Activities to Promote Public Speaking in Your Classroom!

 

Puppets and Props:

Puppets and Props is a resource that I found on Pinterest, it can be found at, http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/balancedliteracydiet/Recipe/50244/.  This is an excellent activity that helps students build complex oral language structures through the use of puppets by retelling familiar stories. This activity could be used to improve oral communication skills for students in both the primary and junior grades. In the primary grades, teachers can use this idea and develop a lesson plan to improve students' oral language and reading comprehension. In the junior grades, teachers can use this idea to help students improve their vocabulary skills.

 

The Puppet center helps to promote imaginative play and conversations between students. Mainly the center is used to promote story retell in which students' retell their favourite stories in their appropriate sequence. This activity helps to create positive feelings towards public speaking because students are re-telling some of their favourite and most memorable stories. The puppets comfort the students and are used as an outlet to promote oral communication through the art of storytelling.

 

Some additional items that can be included in this center are additional props, books, pictures and a velcro story board. It is key that the teacher constantly adds new props and puppets in order to keep the activity intriguing and fun for the students. This activity is a great way for students in the younger grades to develop their public speaking skills in front of small groups of their peers. As well, it helps students' oral communication improve as they tell more elaborate stories.

 

The Balanced Literacy Diet. Puppets and Props- Building Oral Language by Retelling Familiar Stories (Virtual Tour). Picture [Online Image] Retrieved from http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/balancedliteracydiet/Recipe/50244/

 

No Prep iPad Literacy Center:

The iPad Literacy Center is a terrific tool for our increasingly technological students in grades 3 and up. The resource can be found at, http://luv2teachgirl.blogspot.ca/2012/11/no-prep-ipad-literacy-center.html. It is used to help students retell their stories through the creative technology of an iPad. Whether students' bring in their own personal devices or the school provides class iPads, this resource helps to encourage public speaking through the use of technology.

 

I Heart Teaching. No Prep iPad Literacy Center. Picture [Online Image]
Retrieved from
http://luv2teachgirl.blogspot.ca/2012/11/no-prep-ipad-literacy-center.html

Today's generation of students is increasingly technological. Therefore, teachers need to develop their lesson plans and activities to suit the interests and learning styles of their students. Long ago were the days of pencil and paper, overheads and writing on the chalkboard. Classrooms are becoming more and more technological as teaching becomes more digital. Hence, we need to engage our students' and teach in a way that they will find interesting.

 

The No Prep iPad Literacy Center is an easy and fun way to promote oral communication. Teachers have zero prep because the students use the iPad. Meanwhile, students do not even consider this work because they are using a piece of technology that they find interesting.

The premise of the center is this- students are tasked to use retelling story cards to put together a story and then videotape themselves retelling that story. The teacher can watch the videos that the students create and assess their oral communication skills, public speaking skills, vocabulary, body language, media skills and tech skills. The center is instant and engaging. Both the students and the teacher are having fun as well as learning at the same time.

 

Public Speaking Games - Delivery, Expression, Distractions, and Gestures:

This is a great resource that I found on Pinterest, it can be located at, https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Public-Speaking-Games-Delivery-Expression-Distractions-and-Gestures-1521165. The resource costs four dollars and can be purchased online at Teachers Pay Teachers. The resource focuses on four hilarious public speaking games that help to get students comfortable in front of the classroom, and speaking to their peers.

 

Teachers Pay Teachers. Public Speaking Games. Picture [Online Image]
Retrieved from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Public-Speaking-Games-
Delivery-Expression-Distractions-and-Gestures-1521165

Delivery- The teacher is to print off the public speaking game cards. Each student chooses one card without looking. The cards all have one common public speaking mistake, and the students must act out their mistake in front of the class. Therefore, the students learn about common public speaking errors in a fun and informative way.

 

Expression- For this game students draw a public speaking expression card and a quote card. Students' are tasked to read the quote while also doing the specific speaking expression that is on their other card. The rest of the students are tasked with guessing which emotion the student is trying to express. This activity helps to promote better facial and vocal expression for students' when they are public speaking.

 

Distractions- This game deals with the numerous distractions that public speakers may face. Each audience member receives a card with a way in which a speaker can be distracted. The students are to attempt to distract the speaker in a fun and lighthearted manner. This helps the speaker to try and stay focused while presenting.

 

Gestures- In this game, student's individually take turns coming to the front of the classroom and acting out the words printed on their cards. Nerves are turned into laughter as everyone learns to feel at ease about public speaking. As well, students' confidence is increased as they learn to be themselves in front of their peers.

 

Thus, this resource has four different activities that help various aspects with which students struggle when public speaking.

 

Curriculum Connections

All three of the above resources follow the Ontario Curriculum Expectations for teaching the Oral Communication Strand. Each resource helps to promote public speaking and oral communication in a fun and engaging way. Each of the resource's helps students to "express and clarify their thoughts, feelings, and opinions." (page 9 Ontario Curriculum) Puppets and Props, helps students to listen and talk to their peers about a wide range of topics including personal interests. As well, it promotes creativity and the expansion of their imaginations when retelling a story.

 

Moreover, No Prep iPad Literacy Center allows students to incorporate the use of technology, to enhance their public speaking and oral communication skills. Students are able to watch their speeches back and reflect on their strengths, weaknesses and areas of improvement when it comes to public speaking and oral communication.

 

Additionally, Public Speaking Games focuses on four major aspects that public speaking involves and how to improve upon each in a fun and playful manner. The students who are presenting in front of the class must use their speaking skills and strategies to communicate with different audiences. As well, the students who are listening to the speakers must use their listening skills in order to respond appropriately in a variety of situations.

 

Thus, each resource above supports the overall expectations for the Oral Communication strand. Each resource can be manipulated to fit certain grade levels and therefore meet the specific grade level expectations. The resources all promote learning in a fun and informative way. 





Conclusion

Listening and speaking skills are essential for social interactions for students' whether they are at school, home or in the wider world. The speaking skills that they build in school are the skills that they will carry with them their entire life. It is important that we introduce our students to public speaking at a young age as well as use fun and engaging activities that promote a positive outlook for oral communication. If students can create positive feelings about public speaking then no one will fear it.

 

I believe everyone can become a great public speaker, it all depends on the mindset of the individual. Thus, if you fear public speaking you will hate it. If you love a good debate you will learn to enjoy it. I believe oral communication might not be as stressed as the other three language strands because many teachers do not know how to properly assess it. As well, many students fear presentations and speaking in front of their class. Writing and Reading are always stressed, Media is something that is becoming of greater importance and Oral Communication is somewhat dragging behind.

 

As a future teacher I know I will try my best to try and make every student feel comfortable about public speaking. I know I will stress the importance of Oral Communication within my classroom. It is a life long skill that I believe everyone should master in order to be a successful public speaker.

 

 

Anthony Tracey. Oral Communication, Picture [Online Image]
Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/bandages/oral-communication-12549219



Here is a great video providing advice for how to become a better and more confident public speaker. It could be shown to students across differing grade levels.

 

Cheers, Courtney Helt

 

Week 9: Writing Strand Blog Post

Week 9: Writing Strand Blog Post

 

Clipart Panda. Writing. Picture [Online Image]
 Retrieved From http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/writing-clipart

 

Quotes Gram. Writing Quotes. Picture [Online Image]
Retrieved From https://quotesgram.com/writing-quotes/



How To Promote Student Writing!  

"Once Upon A Time...," the age old opening line for hundreds of classic stories and tales told to children all around the world. But how did these stories came to be you might ask? Someone decided to sit down and WRITE!

Children start off writing with spelling their ABC's and their 1, 2, 3's. They learn what a sentence is composed of, where the capital's go, and what punctuation to use. Many children see writing as a boring, monotonous task that becomes a chore and something unpleasant.

For me, growing up I loved writing; that was a result of being introduced to so many amazing stories. Therefore as a young child I wanted to create my own through journaling. I have always been fascinated and in love with Disney Fairy Tales and this helped to shape my wild imagination.

Back in elementary school writing went something like this; in the primary grades students were tasked with writing in their journals once a week about a prompt given to them by their teachers. In the junior grades, students still wrote in their journals but they are given freedom to choose what they wanted to write about, and in the intermediate grades students could write short stories about whatever was appealing to them.

When I was in elementary school I loved writing because it was my outlet; it helped me to stay organized, focused and stress free. I would write stories or write about my days and what I accomplished. However, my obsession with writing  became somewhat unhealthy when I ended up spending more time on writing every single intricate detail about my day, and not spending nearly enough time on my homework.

As I got older I learned to balance my time when it came to writing and I only focused on key events and the big things that happened in my life. Still, to this day I write about my days and what I did, but it is not as detailed as it once was when I was in high school.

Thus, writing for me has always been a generally positive activity. I can look back to over 8 years ago and see exactly what I did on a given day. Unfortunately, some students do not have this positive interaction with writing and see it as something scary or negative.

Teachers need to change their students' perception when it comes to writing, and this can all be done through fun and intriguing activities that get the students' attention and develop their love for writing.

Fun Activities to Engage Students to Write!

Writing From Lists:
I LOVE this resource because I am a HUGE list maker. In order to stay organized in my life I have multiple lists of the things I need to accomplish within a given day, week and month. This resource contains 5 Unit Plans that teachers can draw from in order to inspire writing for children of all ages. The resource can be found at, https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-from-Lists-Bundle-2159904 and the possibilities are endless! The resource can be downloaded and bought on Teachers Pay Teachers and it includes 5 amazing topics for writing from lists. They include: My bucket list, Things I cannot stand, I can't imagine life without, My prints are all over it and In my head. Teachers can use this resource for, "whole class lessons, writing centers, small group instruction and various assessments". This resource brings the FUN and CREATIVE side back to writing!

Teachers Pay Teachers. Writing From Lists: Bundle. Picture [Online Image] Retrieved From https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-from-Lists-Bundle-2159904

 

Emoji Writing:

The Teachy Teacher. Emoji Easy Peasy Writing Activity.
Picture [Online Image] Retrieved From
http://www.theteachyteacher.com/2016/06/emoji-easy-writing-activity.html

Almost every student today is plugged into their Ipads, Iphones or Smart Phones. This resource is an excellent tool because it is relatable to the students. Anyone who has a smart phone knows about the cute and funny emoji's that can be sent between individuals through text messages. This resource is perfect for promoting writing because it includes the BIG TREND of the time, Emoji's.

The resource can be found at, http://www.theteachyteacher.com/2016/06/emoji-easy-writing-activity.html. Emoji writing is a group activity that all students can partake in. Basically the fun emoji characters are cut out and glued to paper blocks. The students roll the blocks and whatever it lands on they have to write about. The teacher can direct the writing piece by stating, "your setting is" and the student will have to make the emoji part of their piece of writing. This resource promotes fun and creative ways to engage student writing through unpredictable, group activities.




The Teachy Teacher. Emoji Easy Peasy Writing Activity.
Picture [Online Image] Retrieved From
http://www.theteachyteacher.com/2016/06/emoji-easy-writing-activity.html

Snowball Writing:

Snowball writing is a narrative writing activity that promotes collaborative writing in a fun and interactive way. The premise behind this activity is, each student fills out one of the pre-made worksheets with a visual story starter to start their own unique stories. The students are given an allotted amount of time and once this time is up they are asked to crumple up their worksheet into a "snowball" and throw it to the front of the classroom. Following this mass throwing of "snowballs" by each student, they are then asked to pick up another snowball and continue writing their story. This process is done once more and then the original student copies are returned to their writers for revising and editing. Students in various grade levels get a kick out of this activity and it helps to promote positive feelings towards writing. The resource can be found at, https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/WRITING-ACTIVITY-SNOWBALL-WRITING-649424 and it includes numerous activity sheets, and printables' that can be used to promote student writing!




Teachers Pay Teachers. Writing Activity: Snowball Writing.
Picture [Online Image] Retrieved From
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/WRITING-ACTIVITY-SNOWBALL-WRITING-649424

 

Curriculum Connection

All three of the listed resources follow the Ontario Curriculum Expectations for teaching the Writing Strand. Each resource helps to promote writing in a creative, engaging and fun way. Each resource asks students to gather and organize information in order to write for an intended audience/purpose. Snowball Writing, asks students to use their revising, editing and proof reading skills to develop a purposeful piece of writing.

Furthermore, Writing From Lists, can help students identify their strengths, weaknesses and areas of improvement because students are expected to write according to the lists presented. As well, Emoji Writing, can allow students to develop their critical thinking and writing skills when asked to write about the image they are presented with after rolling it.

Additionally, each resource above supports the overall expectations for the writing strand. Each resource can  be manipulated to writers in various grade levels and therefore it meets the grade level writing specific expectations. Each resource promotes creativity and engages the student by drawing them in with a fun activity. Thus, they turn, daunting and negative task of writing into something both positive and pleasurable.
 

 

Conclusion

Moreover, as a future educator I believe we need to teach our core subjects in a way that our students can relate to. If students can relate to what they are learning then their entire mindset changes. School becomes fun, homework becomes enjoyable and learning becomes a life long goal. It is extremely important to educate our students on the importance of writing. In my mind some of our youth are too technologically advanced. Everything they do is either typed, texted, or done through some sort of multi-media outlet. Students are not being taught their basic penmanship skills, and cursive writing skills.

There needs to be a balance between technology and the basics. I believe we can use technology to engage our students and make them inspired to learn,but we also need to remember the basics. There are too many kids today who do not have a signature, neat writing or their basic penmanship skills because everything is done online and not with pencil and paper. Balance is key,and I can see myself using the activities above to promote a creative classroom environment in which students can use pencil and  paper or their technological devices to develop their love for writing. 

Below is an excellent video about the power and importance that writing has had on humanity.
 

Cheers, Courtney Helt