Can you connect ?

This week was very interesting, enlightening and educational and we are sure other classmates can support us in this regard. Group presentations were made on linking the writing traits to the steps in the writing process. We also focused on the genres of writing, which was more of a review session for us because we had completed this aspect of writing in a previous course. We must commend

our classmates efforts as it relates to their presentations. Each presentation delivered kept us on the edge of our seats. As teachers, this is a reminder that our classroom activities and teaching strategies must be appealing to our students. The classroom climate should be fun and exciting while at the same time learning must be the priority. We anticipated what the various groups had on their charts, therefore we noted that as future teachers the use of visual aids are critical in delivering lessons, as it stimulates students interest and also assist students in creating mental images.

            Moreover it was clear in the presentations that every group made the correct linkages between the writing process and the traits of writing. Each group showed how the writing traits would overlap in the writing process. For example, pre- writing (idea and voice), writing (organization, choice, word choice and voice), revising (sentence fluency, voice, and organization), editing (word choice and voice) and publishing (presentation and voice). This is of utmost importance in order for us to understand and make that connection. We realized that the traits of writing are not categorized in a straight line or stand separate, they can overlap with the writing process. Therefore upon entering the classroom we will experience students that are below the average, medium and above par when it comes to writing, what do us as teachers do at this juncture?

Do we focus on the good writers and ignore the others? Certainly not, as teachers we must utilize the traits of writing and the writing process to assess our students. Therefore we are assisting students in developing their writing skills which takes time and effort on the part of the teacher.

            Furthermore, the presentation that stood out was captioned the “six trait train.”

The group that presented on this had a drawing of a train on their chart. The steam from the train's engine, indicated the writing trait voice, as they conceptualized that the author's expression must be critical at every stage in writing. On the other carts of the train they had the writing traits written on the outside of the window and as they opened the window to that section the stages of writing process corresponding with that trait was revealed.  Therefore it was easy to see a direct linkage between the writing process and the traits of writing. Similarly, the aid we presented captioned ‘fishing for traits’ consisted of five fishermen which were the stages in the writing process where each fisherman catches a fish and inside that fish was the corresponding traits showing the linkage between the writing process and the traits of writing.

Overlapping of each trait was emphasized. Therefore as teachers we do not always have to present the work to our students in a dull or traditional manner that does not stimulate the interest of students. We must be creative and therefore stimulate growth and learning for our students.

           

            Furthermore in Friday’s session the focus was on the genres of writing, more specifically expository text structures. We were engaged in meaningful discussions as the lecture progressed on the issue. The aim of the lecturer however was to have us complete a literacy lesson plan which would assist students in the writing of an expository piece. We were unaware of this until we got to the ‘your turn section.’ We really embraced the fact that the lecturer modeled to us exactly what was expected of us in completing the given assignment. Although we had covered the steps in completing the literacy block lesson plan with another lecturer the previous week it was still modeled to us what was to be done by the lecturer. This made the concept even clearer to us as a group. In reflecting we now understand that as teachers in training, it is important to demonstrate to our students what is required. They must be guided accordingly to fully understand what is expected of them and sometimes this process can be repeated several times so that the concept is grasped fully by the students.

            In concluding we agree that both sessions were indeed educational and a lot of knowledge was gained that can be utilized in the classroom, however there is still room for improvement. We thought that some of the fonts on the charts were too small, which made it harder for us to read and follow what was happening. In future sessions the fonts on the charts should be appropriate for the entire class to view vividly because we do not want this to slip over into our chart preparation for the classrooms, as this would impact the intended purpose of the chart. In other words, ccfwyharts must be clear, sizable and precise. Also on some of the charts there were grammatical errors. We are conscious that no one is perfect and we are all subject to make mistakes, hence the reason why editing our work is very important. Whatever is presented on the charts must make sense when it is read by the students (the conventions of the language must be clear). Therefore for future sessions it appeals to us and our fellow classmates to always review our work before presenting.