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Janet Charles-Johnson
Rekeisha Lewis
Rhea Lewis
Monica Lewis

 November 28th, 2017

 LIT REFLECTION #8

Poetry is a language in which man explores his own amazement. – Christopher Fry

From this quote we understand that poem is a writing that allows a person to be creative, it is not limited and restrictive, rather one is able to write about anything as they express themselves.

Although we knew a bit about poetry writing, we gained much information in this class session. To be honest, we cannot remember that we were taught the different types of poem in primary and secondary school. However, in class, we learnt that there are many different types of poems which includes: Cinquain, Haiku, Concrete, Sonnet, Limerick etc. We were also reminded of the different elements of poetry pieces, which includes; figurative devices, radiant imagery, compress language, rhythm, structure (stanza). Figurative devices and radiant imagery are used to add essence, provide clarity and paint a picture in reader’s mind.

Prior to this lesson, we knew that the length of poems varied, however we thought it was based on how much the poet wanted to write. We did not know it was based on the type chosen. Our favorite type is free verse. With free verse one is able to write how they feel without following a specific style or format. It does not necessarily has to include rhyme. We are free to express ourselves in whatever way we choose.

Additionally, we liked the way the concepts in the slides were presented with visual aids to foster understanding. Also, the different strategies that can be used to teach the different types of poems. We liked the FIVE FINGER strategy, this is a strategy we see ourselves using in our classroom and our own personal lives. This strategy can be used in the different content areas, especially in mathematics when teaching Long division. For example, to teach students the different the steps in doing Long division, which includes- divide, multiply, subtract, bring down, and review. When this strategy is used, students will know if they forget a step, because each step will be represented by a finger. It can be used in Language Arts when students are planning any piece of writing, it would allow them to plan what they want to include in their piece. 

Certainly, we liked the teachable moment that the teacher provided. This was when we were asked to use the five finger strategy to do the “I am poem”, a student did otherwise. Although the poem was well done, she was applauded and reminded that she has to follow, but instructed instruction. As simple as this was, it was a teachable moment for us. In the classroom we would meet students who do not follow instructions, however it is our duty to tell them how important it is to follow instructions and ensure we have the control over our classroom. Furthermore, we appreciated the way the teacher took the time out to model a literacy block for us. We were able to observe how it is taught which would benefit us when we go on our practicum and also as prospective teachers.

Although the lesson was excellently delivered, we think that there were few things that should have been done; For example, we think that the teacher should have plan ahead on the possible questions that students might have had and prepare for them so that she would be able to provide teachable moments for students. In addition, we would have enjoyed reading our poems in an author’s chair. We thought it would have been interesting since it was an activity we learnt about in this course. It would have been a way of utilizing what we learnt.

Indeed, the information learnt this week will be applied in our classrooms. Firstly, the different types of poems will serve as an avenue to provide our students with a variety of poems to choose from. Also, we will use the weakness identified on the lecturer’s path to better prepare ourselves to plan for our students. In that, when we are planning a lesson, we would ensure to gather possible questions that our students may ask so that we would be prepared to provide answers. Furthermore, According to psychologist Howard Gardener in Multiple Intelligence Theory, everyone is good/ intelligent in an area. So students will be given the opportunity express themselves in their area of intelligence why we give them the opportunity to choose what they would like their poems to be about.

As prospective teachers, we would have to teach poems at some point in time. In our teaching, we would introduce poems to students and let them see the characteristics and note how they are different from a letter, story, expository piece, etc. We would expose them to a type/types of poetry and let them examine the characteristics. Definitely, we would have to teach figurative devices if students do not know them. Figurative devices add to poems, it makes them more interesting, more creative and gives readers a clearer image of what the poet is trying to say in his or her piece. We would go through the poem with students first, discussing the words and terms with them which they are unfamiliar. Each line of the poem will be discussed as we encourage the students to participate. It is important that we make connections with what they are reading and their own lives.

In addition, students would be allowed to work collaboratively for their first attempt. This activity would give them the opportunity to learn from each other, and to put their ideas together to create something good. Like any piece of writing, students would engage in the writing process, where they would brainstorm, produce drafts, revise and edit their pieces. Furthermore, the students will be given the opportunity to publish their pieces in author’s/poet’s chair, display them in the classroom, create a book of poems, post them online or have a poetry reading. We would make this poetry journey an enjoyable one for them. So unlike us, they would not find poetry tedious and uninteresting, rather as a creative piece of writing. Without a doubt, we will utilize the internet to get resources and examples of poems for the students.  

November 14th, 2017

LIT REFLECTION #7

“Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.”

—Larry L. King, WD

We found this quote appropriate to what we were doing over the past months. This shows the importance of reading and how it relates and works hand in hand with writing. Additionally, rewriting to us, indicates the writing process, in that, writing is a process, rather than the product. Our outlook on writing have positively changed over these months and as prospective teachers, our aim is to help our students develop a love and appreciation for reading and writing.

Last week, we delved into the topic of narrative writing. This genre is one we are very much familiar with since we have been doing it since primary school. However, we were eager to learn new information and to get reinforcement on prior knowledge. This session began with  the reading of a piece entitled “the Necklace”. We really enjoyed this story. The story was very interesting and well written which provided a good example of what a well written narrative piece should sound like. Importantly, as prospective teachers we were reminded to always model to our students and also to provide an interesting and entertaining introduction to the day’s lesson.

From this session, we learnt that narrative writing is used basically when writing a story. A narrator is involved, however, stories can be told from the first or third person. Additionally, We learnt of the elements found in a story. First element is the plot. The plot is the sequence of events involving the characters in a conflict situation. The plot has various parts which include: a beginning, middle, and an end. It also contains conflict and there are various types of conflicts. The plot also contain a climax and resolution. Another element in a story is the setting, and this is when and where the story takes place. It tells of the location, weather and time. The setting gives rise to the plot.

Additionally, a story must have characters, and these are all the persons in the story. Another element is the theme, which is the meaning of the entire story. There can be multiple themes in one story. Moreover, there is the element of point of view which states the perspectives or point of view in which people see the world. Stories may be written to relate the point of view of a person, narrator (I) or a third person narrator (he, she, they). Furthermore, a good story must contain narrative devices such as: similes, metaphors and imagery.

In all our years of writing stories, we never really consider most of these elements. When we wrote our stories we just wrote what came to mind. We knew it had to have persons or animals or things that acted as humans, it had to be in a place and something wrong had to happen. We solemnly planned how we would write the story, thus at times they were not always well done. We liked how this session was informative and the lecturer did not assume we knew the information, rather explained the information.

As simple as these elements may sound, these are what make the story, thus we should pay close attention and ensure they are well thought out and that each connects and make sense. We believe as writers, when writing our story, we must ensure that we plan before, being cognizant of the fact that these different elements and what information we would use so that they will be tied in together rather than list a series of event that is not linked.

Indeed, this session helped us to reflect on our narrative writing over the years. As we had problems, especially in at the primary level, so would our students, thus we should be mindful. We learnt that we would meet problems such as: students listing a series of events without tying them together, they omit the middle part of the story, they describe a character without creating a story and their story lack interesting lead or introduction; all of which we were guilty of doing. Therefore, when we go into the classroom, we would be able to relate to the students and know that as teachers, we have to put in the work, ensuring that we teach writing to the best of our ability. Teach so that our students would understand and would be able to apply what was taught.

As prospective teachers, we would definitely teach narrative/story writing. We cannot assume that students previous teachers taught writing, because as big as we are, this session provided information that would improve our story writing skills. We would use exemplary/mentor text when teaching writing, that is, we would teach the element of story writing by using actual stories and allow students to identify the elements in these actual stories. In addition, we would use mini-lessons to explain what each element means and how it should be used in a story. We would allow our students to use story maps to organize their thoughts and ideas. Importantly, we would allow time for the students to do independent writing and have them engage in sharing and critiquing of each other’s writing. Moreover, we would use gradual response, by modeling and explaining, then allowing the students to create work in groups, finally having them work on their own.

Furthermore, this generation is becoming more technologically advanced, thus as teacher we would have to cater to their interest and provide activities that they would enjoy. We learnt that when students are engaged, they tend to produce better work. So as teachers we would incorporate technology into our writing class. Students would be given the opportunity to type up and edit their work using a word processor. With this software, they can add multimedia such as: pictures, videos and clip arts to make their work more creative. Students can create digital stories in which narration, visuals and music are combined and either posted online or save on a DVD.

Additionally, wikis, vokis and podcasts can be used by students to create and share their stories. Story writing does not have to be tedious, rather should be use for self expression and to provide entertainment to other. We wish we had all these opportunities when we were in primary school, we would have had a greater appreciation for story writing. Who knows, might have already written a collection of books. In fact, as prospective teachers, the information learnt can be used to create stories for our students. The more our students read, the better it is for them.

This session was very enlightening for us as prospective teachers. We suggest that next session we get the opportunity to write short narratives and share them with other. This would be a form of entertainment and we will also get to apply what we learnt. This would give us an idea of the do’s and don't's when writing narrative as we provide positive criticism to each other.

November 7th, 2017

LIT Reflection #6

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.” - David Warlick

This week for LIT 102 we continued on our writing journey. To begin with, we explored how technology can be integrated into writing. We learnt that if technology is used effectively can encourage a collaborative, interactive, environment that supports the writing process and the social perspective on learning. Additionally, we were exposed to some suitable technologies that we as prospective teachers can introduce to our students. For example the Microsoft word can be used to create and help students edit documents. Wikis and blogs (which we are currently using to write our reflections) can be used to encourage students’ collaboration and writing. in addition, digital storytelling provides students with the opportunity to write using a variety of multimedia practice. We liked that writing has evolved from when we were in primary school. We were only given the opportunity to write our essay in our exercise book, now students have the chance to interact with technology, add picture and other multimedias, and use editing and other features to enhance their work.

Moreover, we looked at persuasive writing. Persuasive writing is where the writer is trying to persuade the reader to agree with him or her on what he or she is writing about (their opinion or stance). This genre appeals to the reader’s emotions, the writer uses words to convince the reader that his or her opinion is correct. Therefore the writer would incorporate rhetorical devices such as repetition, rhetorical question, endorsement, generalization and hyperbole. All with the intention of swaying the reader into siding with his or her belief.

During this session, it was made clear to us that unlike expository writing which is based on factual information, persuasive writing is about opinion. We are now able to write from a first person's perspective. Importantly, in order to sway others to accept your opinion, we believe one should be able to use language effectively. Words should be carefully selected and the write's voice should be able to appeal to the reader's emotion especially when dealing with topic about their well-being and what they consider to be ethical or right, since these matter to most human beings. 

Furthermore, we learnt that this genre of writing must contain a thesis statement and the points that will be discussed, including reasons, evidence and examples. The writer must hold the audience of the piece in mind as this will influence the writer’s choice of words and the way in which it is presented. Additionally, we learnt that transitional word choice is important as this adds to the effectiveness and smooth flow of the piece. We liked the phrase that stated "...wrap up the essay with a 'punch', restating the thesis and stance". This shows that the writer has to defend what he or she is saying and ensure to emphasis on the points for sound writing. 

Additionally, we liked the writing strategy that was provided in this session. We can introduce our students to this so that they can plan out what points they are going to use in their persuasive piece. This strategy is simple and easy to understand and also students can relate to it since many of them would be familiar with the biscuit oreo.

As prospective teachers this session on persuasive writing was informative, since at some point in our career we would have to teach this topic. Certainly, we would have to expose students to different actual forms of persuasion such as: advertisement and verbal and oral; clippings from political speeches. Additionally, we would allow them to say what they think the elements of a persuasive piece are and then teach them the correct elements. We would provide students with ample opportunities to create their own persuasive pieces and give them the chance to share them with others. Indeed, the stages of the writing process will be used to help students revise and edit their work before submission.

            For the next session, we would appreciate examples of persuasive pieces both good and bad ones. This would help us when we have to write our pieces to know what to write and what not to write. Additionally, we would like impromptu persuasive pieces to write on that we would read in class and critique each other work.

24th October, 2017

LIT REFLECTION # 5

Start writing no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.- Louise L'Amour

This week our session focused on descriptive writing. First of all, We were never fans of descriptive writing. Whenever we had to write an essay we would always avoid writing a descriptive piece. We found it difficult to write because we did not know the right sensory words to use that would make our writing interested and our vocabulary were very poor. This problem stemmed from not reading as much as we should, thus this reflected in our ability to write well.

During this session we learnt and were reinforced on certain things. We were reminded that Descriptive writing should appeal to the senses, and that we must avoid over used words, rather use colorful adjectives, vivid verbs, specific nouns, similes and metaphors for comparison and onomatopoeia for sounds. By doing this, the reader would be able to visualize what they are reading and have a mental picture of what the writing is trying to portray in his or her writing. In addition, these would give the descriptive piece more flavour and make it more interesting. Readers are able to make connections and inferences when they can have a mental image or perception of what is being described.

Furthermore, we learnt about the difficulties students encounter when writing descriptive pieces, due to their limited vocabulary. As a result students' pieces are dull and vague. As we mentioned before we had that same problem growing up, so we are able to relate. However, we are now aware of what descriptive writing is about and some strategies we should implement as teachers to help combat this problem.

This problem could be eliminated by introducing student to the thesaurus and teaching them how it should be used. With the thesaurus, students can find synonyms, antonyms, adjectives and adverbs. These words can be used in their writing for enhancement. We can set up word walls in our classroom to introduce our students to different words which would build their vocabulary. Additionally, when reading to our students we can point out interesting words. Everyday we need to ensure our students learn new words. It is not enough for us to let them continue with the few words they have in their vocabulary. This has implications for us as teachers since if our vocabulary is poor, then our students vocabulary would be poor. Therefore, we need to build our vocabulary and this can be done through reading a lot and learning new words each day. First we have to work on ourselves and the way we view the Language. Ensure we are solid and know what we are about so that we can effectively teach our students. Moreover, we learnt that when we are revising, we as teachers should help our students use and add descriptive words to their pieces. And, very important, never stop reading to our students and encourage them to do a lot of reading.

We Liked how the lecturer included some learning outcomes of writing from the curriculum into the session. This really helped us to realize that it is important for the students to learn how to write, and it is not just putting pencil to paper and write whatever comes to mind and submitting that as final piece. Rather, being able to properly construct all the different genres. Hence, we as teachers have to develop an appreciation for writing, since we are expected to teach it. If we are weak, it is not too late to work on our weaknesses and turn them into strengths. We believe our students will be a representation of us, therefore let us allow them to represent us well.

This week’s session was interesting and informative. However, for future session, we suggest that the lecturer brings a descriptive essay to read to the class. Additionally, she can assist us in writing one together as a class. In that way, we would be able to hear how a well writing piece of descriptive writing sounds and also see how to construct one. We would see the structure of how to write the essay and also the different elements in a descriptive piece.

Moreover, there should be more examples of sentences describing different things. For example, there should be sentences describing a person, their  physical and personality attributes. Sentences describing a scenery etc. These would provide a better understanding of how a descriptive piece should look and sound.  

17th October, 2017

LIT Reflection #4

During this week’s lecture, there was a lot learnt and discovered. The lecture was based on making connections through reading, writing and spelling. At the beginning of the class we were reminded that reading and writing are the two sides of a coin (Vacca &Vacca). What this is simply saying to us is that, the more you read, you will become a better writer. Therefore, students who are poor or apathetic readers more than likely would be poor writers. Also, we were told that children writing are children reading, and once they are doing both reading and writing they are exposed to language. As children read they expose themselves to the language, learning different vocabulary and sentence structures. They interact with the English language, thus being able to reproduce good writing. As teachers, is it our duty to help student develop both their reading and writing skills. First and foremost, it is wise that you introduce students to a variety of books. Allow them to hear what good literature sounds like by reading to them, and allow them to read different books, newspapers and other articles every day.

Moreover, we learnt that spelling is intrinsically bound up in both reading and writing. This means, when you read you are exposed to spelling and when write you now have to display the words you learnt. A child will learn to spell through reading and he or she will communicate that skill through writing. Prior to this lesson, we were unaware of the different stages of spelling. We learnt that there are five (5) stages a person undergoes as their spelling skill develops. These stages include the emergent stage (3-5 yrs), letter name alphabetic spelling(5-7 yrs), within word pattern and spelling ( 7-9 yrs), syllables and affixes spelling (9-11 yrs) and derivational relations spelling (11-14 yrs). What we liked about this lesson is that it provided the necessary information on all the stages and how students at that stage would spell. It also provided us with tips or activities as novice teachers can use to help students at a particular stage.

As prospective teachers, being aware of these stages would be beneficial. We would have an idea of what stage our student are supposed to be based on their age and grade and how to cater for each student. In addition, this would help in the planning of our lessons where we would employ teaching strategies, student activities and materials that would improve our student’s spelling skills which would result in an improvement of their writing. For example, if we are teaching grade two (2), then base on these stages we know our grade two students would most likely operate at stage three: Within Word Pattern Spelling. At this stage students are expected to be able to spell most one-syllable short-vowel word, and learn how to spell long-vowel patterns. They experiment with long-vowel patterns and learn that words such as come and bread are exceptions that do not fit the vowel pattern. At this stage and age they have a tendency to confuse spelling patterns and reverse the order of letters such as gril for girl. Students also learn about complex consonant sounds such as -tch (batch), and less frequent vowel patterns, such as aw (saw) and ow (now and cow). Students also become aware of homophones and compare long-and-short vowel combination (hope-hop) as they experiment with vowel patterns.

What stood out most for us is the earnest reminder the lecturer gave for us to make sure that we learn that which we are to teach the students. Moreover, we learnt that students at this stage learn spelling concepts such as: long-vowel spelling patterns, more-complex consonant patterns and diphthongs and other less common vowel patterns.

          With this in mind, as the grade two teacher, we would know what type of words to introduce at this stage and also the problems that a likely to occur as students learn to spell. In addition, if our student are not at this stage we would have to plan out lesson in a way that word improve their spelling skill. We would encourage our students to focus on patterns and to classify words. By doing this, they would get familiar with the different spelling patterns and know which rule goes with which word. Furthermore, we would have to teach students strategies for spelling new words. A strategy that we would employ in our classroom is LOOK, SAY, COVER, WRITE, CHECK. With this strategy, students would look at a word they do not know how to spell as yet and observe the letters and the sequence in which they come, say the word, cover the word, write the word and check to see if they spelt it correctly.

          Importantly, it does not matter what grade we are placed, we would ensure that we become familiar with the spelling stage associate to that grade level and students’ age. As teachers we have to make it our business to straighten students reading, writing and spelling skills.

Another aspect that stood out to us, is the earnest reminder the lecturer gave to make sure that we learn that which we are to teach the students. This shows us the importance of always reviewing lecture slides to ensure our understanding.

Additionally, we liked the self-monitoring activities that was provided to help students with their spelling. When students conduct this activity the will be exposed to new words and it will help broaden their vocabulary. Gone are the day when students will use words that is well known by others. As technology advances, so should our student’s knowledge.

For the next session, we would appreciate if the lecturer provide videos or images that would help up make the connection between the theory learn and real life situation. This would make the learning more concrete and we would get other teachers perception on these stages and see how it works for them in the teaching and learning process.

Additionally, the lecturer can give us the opportunity to recap what we did in the last class before we start a new session. By doing this she can assess our learning and clarify any misconception we might have.

LIT Reflection #3

10th October, 2017

“If you want to be a good writer, you must do two thing above all others: read alot and write alot.”- Stephen King

   This week of LIT 102 was enjoyable and enlightening. To begin with, we made our presentations. This little activity was geared towards assessing our understanding on the Six Traits of writing and the writing process. We had to place the appropriate stage in the writing process to that of the Six traits of writing. We all thought that this activity was a success, as each group was able to effectively meet the objective using a chart. However, the two groups that stood out the most for us was the third and fifth group (see pictures below).

    We liked the third group because it illustrated ideas and voice  which leads the way in writing. This shows that without ideas there would not be a purpose for writing since one would not have anything to write about. Likewise, without voice, the ideas presented will not be effective: there would not be any flavor to the writing. In addition, we liked the fifth group’s chart because they also illustrated how important voice is and that it is used throughout all the stages of the writing process. Voice is what allows an individual to personalize a piece of writing by giving it a person style, tone and flavor. One's writing is make unique through their voice.

    Furthermore, we were reinforced on the topic of expository writing. The lecture was clear and unambiguous, so we were able to understand the information presented. We were reminded that expository writing is used to provide information and explain a concept. Additionally, we learnt that expository writing is objective. It should not be personalize meaning there should not be any personal pronouns,such as; I, we, us, me, you, our. This is something we often forget when writing expository pieces. As prospective teachers  we may tend to allow our students to use these due to ignorance. Therefore, we all hope from this lesson this piece of information sticks with us.

We also learnt that expository writing can be done in a variety of forms or structures such as; compare and contrast, sequence and process,cause and effects, and classifications, all these aim at providing information.  As  prospective teachers we are now aware that when we enter our classrooms, we are not suppose to write a topic on the board and tell our students to write on it. Rather, we are required to introduce our students to the elements by showing them models. As we ponder, how would they know how to do something, if they do not know what it looks like and what it consist of? Additionally, we learnt that we have to teach our students how to use charts and graphic organizers to help organize their ideas before writing. We also learnt that when ideas are not organized before writing, the writing has no sequence and it is hard to understand. Therefore, in order for our students to organize their thoughts and present them effectively for their audience we should definitely introduce them to graphic organizers.

    We also learnt about writing strategies such as: POW, TREE and TAP  although these are not new to us. The repetition of these strategies in the last class was significant as it highlighted ways that  we can use to help our students develop in their writing. For example TREE would allow our students to pick a topic sentence stating what they believe. Next they would provide three or more reasons explaining why they have that believe. Then they wrap up their work and finally examine it to see if they have all the parts. This is an effective strategy to introduce to our students so that they would be able to monitor their writing in order to produce a well written piece.

Lastly, we appreciated the fact that the lecturer went over the literacy block lesson plan. Prior to this session, we did not quite understand how to plan a literacy block, however we now have a better understand of how it is done. To reinforce that, we were given additional practice where we have to create a block lesson plan for the lecturer. We can now better plan the literacy block lessons because it allows concepts to be taught based on how they are used. For example if we are teaching adjectives, students would read a passage that consists of adjectives. They will then be able to see how they are used while writing, rather than teaching adjectives in isolation and not having a piece of writing to relate it to.

However, for further sessions I would like to see the lecturer construct a literacy block lesson and teach it. Also, I would like her to teach it in a way that it would have to be continued in a next lesson. By doing this, she would model to us how it will be done when we go into the classroom and how we are to continue the lesson in the next session.

Pictures above show the third group's chart.

 Above pictures show fifth group's making their presentation. 

Above pictures are the other charts from the presentations.