Oral Communication

Resource for Teaching Students How to Create an Infographic 

The resource, Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything: Infographics as a Creative Assessment https://www.schrockguide.net/infographics-as-an-assessment.html#workshop, explores infographics. 

Infographics are a visual representation of data. When students make infographics, they use visuals, statistics as well as technological literacies. The resource includes links to help teachers develop both formative and summative assessment that have students designing infographics to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. 

I can think of many ways that teachers can incorporate infographics into their teaching. Educators can teach students about organizing information, summarizing their thoughts, thinking how ideas align, etc. Helping students to organize main thoughts is helpful because it can help them to transition into learning more complex literacy skills. For example, these infographics can be the starting point of an assignment and then they can help educators transition into teaching about paragraphs or essay writing.

I will use this resource by instructing students to create an infographic that compares two ideas. Students can use infographics to compare information and help create classroom debates between students. For example, I would create an assignment where the students pick their topic, debate two different sides of the argument and then display this information on the infographic. After, they can then verbally explain their debate to their peers.

Here is a link for example templates for infographics:
- https://www.canva.com/tools/Infographic-maker-v1/?utm_source=google_sem&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=REV_CA_EN_CanvaPro_Infographic_EM&utm_term=REV_CA_EN_CanvaPro_Infographic%20Templates_EM&gclid=Cj0KCQiAt_PuBRDcARIsAMNlBdpj2TW9vatAKI3aWBMw_OrJ17MMOQNTVLQ7y7xqyTvJjAN2u4XNcDAaApVLEALw_wcB

 

Resource for Teaching Students About Creating Podcasts 

Podcasts are spoken audio recordings that are focused on a particular topic or theme. The use of Podcasts in the classroom can be beneficial because they offer the opportunity to broadcast audio content that can be listened to at any time. Students can re-listen to a podcast as many times as they like which can be advantageous for those who need more time to think.

An example of a podcast is a Ted Talk. Ted Talks are educational podcasts that aim to inspire and encourage thinking in listeners. Teachers can incorporate Ted Talks in the oral communication strand. Students can watch one and then answer a series of questions on the content verbally. They can then post their responses in a virtual learning environment. This can be connected to Oral Communication because listening and speaking skills are essential for social interaction.

Here are 5 tips for teaching students to use podcasts:

1.     Prior to a lesson, have students create a fun 1-minute Podcast, so they can explore the various tools they might use for a Podcast.

2.     Choose a topic and/or purpose or have students choose their own. Connect to current events and provide opportunities for students to participate in a constructive debate and solve problems.

3.     Create a rubric with the class beforehand to measure student success and help guide students throughout the task.

4.     Find exemplar podcasts to show. Have students identify the elements of a podcast while listening.

5.     Celebrate the podcasts by sharing them with a larger audience. Have students make connections, ask questions or reflect on the message of each podcast when done.

Resource for Implementing Debating into the Classroom

Debating includes a discussion between two parties aimed at forming a conclusion.  Debating requires two parties having different views about the same topic. The purpose of debating is for students to express themselves. This is done by using arguments that are persuasive. It aims to help refine students’ arguments so they are acceptable to those listening.

Here are 5 Essential Tips for Conducting a Class Debate:

1. Introduce the topic

- All debates start with a topic. Choose a topic to which your students can relate or one with practical application.

2. Assign the Affirmative and the Negative

- There are two sides to any debate. Break your class into two groups and assign groups. One will argue for and another against the resolution.  

3. Give Time for Research

- Your students will need time to research the issue. Make sure all of your students understand any specialized vocabulary so the efficacy of their arguments does not depend on simple comprehension.

4. Keep Track of Time

- First, the affirmative group receives two minutes to present their case to the audience. The negative group then receives two minutes to present their case. After both sides have a chance to speak, both teams receive two minutes to prepare a rebuttal and summary.

5. Make a Judgment

- Usually in debate, the winner is the one who has presented the strongest case. Weigh your own opinion as to who communicated clearly and refuted the opponent’s arguments best. As long as your students were able to communicate clearly, use good grammar, and have good pronunciation, the debate was a success, and their grades should reflect that success.

Writing

Resource for Teaching Students How to Write a Rant Poem

Rant poems come in all shapes and sizes, but they are most commonly defined as free-verse prose poems written about a particular subject.

Some tips for teaching students the structure of writing a rant poem are:

1. Help students find a subject that provokes/annoys/frustrates them

2. Brainstorm a list of reasons why the subject provokes/annoys/frustrates them  

3. Help students develop a tone they want their poem to convey

4. Start to write the rant poem by putting sentences together in chronological order.

5. Get students to break lines in their poem where it is appropriate

6. End the rant with a concluding sentence

Teachers can incorporate rant poems into the writing strand. Writing poems helps students to gain knowledge about poetry, recognize that their experiences and perceptions have value as well as allowing them to express themselves.

Writing a poem is a way to teach vocabulary and sentence structure while fostering individuality and creative thinking.

An activity that I will use in my classroom is a “fill in the blank” poem for the students to fill out. I have attached links to some examples:

- https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/narrative-poetry/

- https://www.familyeducation.com/printables/fill-blank-verse-kids

Below is a link to TedTalk that discuses how to write a poem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0BUYzMypi8 

Resource for Teaching Students How to Revise Their Work

“Guide on the Side: Collaboratively Writing and Revising with Students” by Pytash, Testam, Geise and Kovalchick (2017) explores the benefits of educators writing alongside their students. This is important because it provides students with the opportunity to observe the writing and revision process. Revision is a necessary aspect in the writing process, yet the teaching aspect of it often gets overlooked. It is important for educators to note that revision is more than just editing. Editing involves reviewing spelling, sentence structure and sentence fluency whereas teaching revision involves explaining thinking about reasoning and ideas to the students.

I can think of many examples of how teachers can incorporate revision into their teaching! For example, as the teacher, you could write a paragraph with some details missing and have areas that could be expanded upon. Then read the paragraph aloud with the whole class. After this, as a class, collaboratively work together to revise the paragraph. Guiding questions that could be asked are:

- What are some descriptive words that I can add?

- Where can I include more personal details?

- Where can I provide more detail or go into more depth?

- What parts can I remove?

Resource for Teaching Students about Paragraph Structure

A resource that educators can use to teach their students about paragraph structure is the “paragraph hamburger”. The “paragraph hamburger” is a writing organizer that visually outlines the key components of a paragraph. Topic sentence, detail sentences, and a closing sentence are the main elements of a good paragraph, and each one forms a different "piece" of the hamburger.

Why use a paragraph hamburger organizer?

-       It helps students organize their ideas into a cohesive paragraph.

-       It helps show the organization or structure of concepts/ideas.

-       It demonstrates in a concrete way how information is related.

How to use paragraph hamburger

1. Discuss the three main components of a paragraph or story.

-       The introduction (top bun)

-       The internal or supporting information (the filling)

-       The conclusion (bottom bun)

2. Ask students to write a topic sentence that clearly indicates what the whole paragraph is going to be about.

3. Have students compose several supporting sentences that give more information about the topic.

4. Instruct students on ways to write a concluding sentence that restates the topic sentence.