Retrieved
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication#/media/File:Transactional_comm_model.jpg
The objective is for us to explore the resources and find ways to teach so that education is more engaging for the students. Literacy, language and the language curriculum is very important. In the curriculum introduction, it states that literacy is more than reading or writing- it is about how to communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture (Ontario Curriculum, 2006). Understandably, my purpose is to provide various opportunities for students to listen and talk and engage in various oral activities to satisfy the three overall expectations in this strand; Students will:
1. listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes;
2. use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes;
3. reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations.
Before I suggest a resource for oral communication I want to say that I never considered listening as an important skill. I was wrong! In fact, it is a skill that we use more than reading, writing or speaking. Listening is social, metacognitive, it makes everyone better thinkers, speakers and writers. Students listen when they are interested and there are many activities to encourage listening comprehension and creating a supportive listening classroom.
One resource that I think would be educational for students in Grade 5 and up is Edutopia. This comprehensive website is part of a movement to transform education and a division of the George Lucas Educational foundation. Yes, George Lucas, the filmmaker of Star Wars. The story is that Lucas was curious and creative, but at school he was bored. When he became a father, he felt that schools did not engage students or inspire them to become active, critical thinking, or lifelong learners. So, he invested and created the Foundation to identify and spread innovative approaches to helping K-12 students learn more effectively.
Joi Ito. (May 31, 2007). George Lucas [Online image] Retrieved from
The objective is for us to explore the resources and find ways to teach so that education is more engaging for the students. Literacy, language and the language curriculum is very important. In the curriculum introduction, it states that literacy is more than reading or writing- it is about how to communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture (Ontario Curriculum, 2006). Understandably, my purpose is to provide various opportunities for students to listen and talk and engage in various oral activities to satisfy the three overall expectations in this strand; Students will:
1. listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes;
2. use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes;
3. reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations.
Before I suggest a resource for oral communication I want to say that I never considered listening as an important skill. I was wrong! In fact, it is a skill that we use more than reading, writing or speaking. Listening is social, metacognitive, it makes everyone better thinkers, speakers and writers. Students listen when they are interested and there are many activities to encourage listening comprehension and creating a supportive listening classroom.
One resource that I think would be educational for students in Grade 5 and up is Edutopia. This comprehensive website is part of a movement to transform education and a division of the George Lucas Educational foundation. Yes, George Lucas, the filmmaker of Star Wars. The story is that Lucas was curious and creative, but at school he was bored. When he became a father, he felt that schools did not engage students or inspire them to become active, critical thinking, or lifelong learners. So, he invested and created the Foundation to identify and spread innovative approaches to helping K-12 students learn more effectively.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Lucas.jpg
Edutopia emphasizes seven strategies; project-based learning, comprehensive assessment, integrated studies, social and emotional learning, educational leadership, teacher development and technology integration. People share tips, strategies, ideas and collaborate with others who are passionate about improving schools. The website offers assorted resources; videos, articles, blogs, and teaching tips for topics A-Z. Edutopia has a strong following on Twitter, Facebook and has its own YouTube channel.
I came across a blog on the website by Rebecca Alber an Edutopia Consulting Online Editor. This resource is useful for teachers. The title caught my eye: Say What? 5 Ways to Get Students to Listen. In earlier years, Alber was a high school English teacher and she confesses to practicing other literacy skills; reading, writing, and speaking. She neglected listening. In her opinion, in order to be prepared for post -secondary education and the outside world, listening is the literacy skill that needs to be perfected. Especially since listening plays a huge role in collaboration and communication, two of the four C’s of 21st century learning.
Alber offers five strategies to help students become better listeners. Her tactics encourage a deeper level of listening and include student accountability.
Strategy #1: Say it Once:
Repeating ourselves in the classroom will produce lazy listening in students. If students are accustomed to hearing instructions twice, three times, and even four times, listening the first time around becomes unnecessary. Establish that you are a teacher who rarely repeats instructions and this will perk up ears. For those who forgot to listen, advise them to, "ask three, then ask."
Strategy #2: Turn and Talk:
To inspire active listening in students, give them a listening task, "I'm going to describe the process of _________. Pause and ask students to turn to a partner and explain to them what you heard." Ask students to take turns talking each time. Pause and walk around observing their conversations. Check for understanding.
Strategy #3: Student Hand Signals:
Use a non-verbal signal, a fantastic tool for sharpening listening skills. Say, "I'm going to read a former president's statement about why he believes war is sometimes necessary. When I'm finished, share your opinion by holding up one finger if you agree, two fingers if you disagree, and three fingers if you are undecided or if you have a question." This strategy allows whole-class participation and response. For those who are shy, this tactic gives them a "voice."
Watch how hand signals encourage active listening in a fifth-grade classroom.
Strategy #4: Pay Attention, Pause, Paraphrase
Children need structured opportunities to restrain themselves from speaking in order to keep their attention on listening, especially when working in groups. Try this:
1. When students talk in small groups, assign one speaker at a time.
2. Ask all others to listen fully to whoever is speaking and to avoid voicing a response while the other person talks. Tell them to listen.
3. When the person stops talking, the other takes a breath before he/she speaks and then paraphrases something the partner just said: "You believe that...." "You aren't sure if...."
4. After paraphrasing the partner, he/she can then follow that with an "I" statement: "I see what you mean..., I'm not sure I agree...”
Ask a couple of students to model this strategy so students can see this in action.
Strategy #5: Creating Questions
If students are listening to a debate, watching a documentary, or hearing a story read aloud, break it up by stopping a few times and having students write a question or two about what they just heard. This way, students actively listen for any confusion or inattentiveness they may have -- this takes concentration.
Alber suggests that good listeners make eye contact, show interest and restrain from cutting others off in a conversation. Lastly, she offers some motivating words; “If speaking is silver, then listening is gold.”
Look at the Language Curriculum documents (2006) here
I think that Edutopia provides many solid resources that are appropriate for oral communication instruction for students in Grade 5 that would fulfill the required specific expectations. For example, the blog’s strategies could help students listen to understand and satisfy its nine components.
There are many cool ways to encourage listening comprehension in students. I would like to incorporate some of these tasks and activities in my classroom. More importantly, I will model good listening behaviour.
Ilmicrofono Oggiono. (Janurary 29, 2014). Students-in-class-with-teacher-reading [Online
Edutopia emphasizes seven strategies; project-based learning, comprehensive assessment, integrated studies, social and emotional learning, educational leadership, teacher development and technology integration. People share tips, strategies, ideas and collaborate with others who are passionate about improving schools. The website offers assorted resources; videos, articles, blogs, and teaching tips for topics A-Z. Edutopia has a strong following on Twitter, Facebook and has its own YouTube channel.
I came across a blog on the website by Rebecca Alber an Edutopia Consulting Online Editor. This resource is useful for teachers. The title caught my eye: Say What? 5 Ways to Get Students to Listen. In earlier years, Alber was a high school English teacher and she confesses to practicing other literacy skills; reading, writing, and speaking. She neglected listening. In her opinion, in order to be prepared for post -secondary education and the outside world, listening is the literacy skill that needs to be perfected. Especially since listening plays a huge role in collaboration and communication, two of the four C’s of 21st century learning.
Alber offers five strategies to help students become better listeners. Her tactics encourage a deeper level of listening and include student accountability.
Strategy #1: Say it Once:
Repeating ourselves in the classroom will produce lazy listening in students. If students are accustomed to hearing instructions twice, three times, and even four times, listening the first time around becomes unnecessary. Establish that you are a teacher who rarely repeats instructions and this will perk up ears. For those who forgot to listen, advise them to, "ask three, then ask."
Strategy #2: Turn and Talk:
To inspire active listening in students, give them a listening task, "I'm going to describe the process of _________. Pause and ask students to turn to a partner and explain to them what you heard." Ask students to take turns talking each time. Pause and walk around observing their conversations. Check for understanding.
Strategy #3: Student Hand Signals:
Use a non-verbal signal, a fantastic tool for sharpening listening skills. Say, "I'm going to read a former president's statement about why he believes war is sometimes necessary. When I'm finished, share your opinion by holding up one finger if you agree, two fingers if you disagree, and three fingers if you are undecided or if you have a question." This strategy allows whole-class participation and response. For those who are shy, this tactic gives them a "voice."
Watch how hand signals encourage active listening in a fifth-grade classroom.
Strategy #4: Pay Attention, Pause, Paraphrase
Children need structured opportunities to restrain themselves from speaking in order to keep their attention on listening, especially when working in groups. Try this:
1. When students talk in small groups, assign one speaker at a time.
2. Ask all others to listen fully to whoever is speaking and to avoid voicing a response while the other person talks. Tell them to listen.
3. When the person stops talking, the other takes a breath before he/she speaks and then paraphrases something the partner just said: "You believe that...." "You aren't sure if...."
4. After paraphrasing the partner, he/she can then follow that with an "I" statement: "I see what you mean..., I'm not sure I agree...”
Ask a couple of students to model this strategy so students can see this in action.
Strategy #5: Creating Questions
If students are listening to a debate, watching a documentary, or hearing a story read aloud, break it up by stopping a few times and having students write a question or two about what they just heard. This way, students actively listen for any confusion or inattentiveness they may have -- this takes concentration.
Alber suggests that good listeners make eye contact, show interest and restrain from cutting others off in a conversation. Lastly, she offers some motivating words; “If speaking is silver, then listening is gold.”
Look at the Language Curriculum documents (2006) here
I think that Edutopia provides many solid resources that are appropriate for oral communication instruction for students in Grade 5 that would fulfill the required specific expectations. For example, the blog’s strategies could help students listen to understand and satisfy its nine components.
There are many cool ways to encourage listening comprehension in students. I would like to incorporate some of these tasks and activities in my classroom. More importantly, I will model good listening behaviour.
image] Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/115089924@N02/12212474014
References:
Alber, R. (2016). Say What? 5 Ways to Get Students to Listen. Retrieved from
https://edutopia.org/blog/five-listening-strategies-rebecca-alber
Ministry of Education. (2006). The Ontario curriculum grades 1-8 language. Retrieved from
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca
References:
Alber, R. (2016). Say What? 5 Ways to Get Students to Listen. Retrieved from
https://edutopia.org/blog/five-listening-strategies-rebecca-alber
Ministry of Education. (2006). The Ontario curriculum grades 1-8 language. Retrieved from
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment