Teaching Language

Photo by Eliott Renya on Unspalsh . Hey there! Thanks for taking the time to visit my Teaching Language blog. I have written this post for teachers looking for oral communication ideas for their grades four-six classes. What is oral communication? In the Ontario Language Curriculum  (2006), the oral communication strand encompasses using speaking and listening skills to both understand and communicate. Without the ability to listen to and speak with others, students would not be able to function in the 21st century. Teachers are shaping the future through their practice. As it is so important to teach our students to communicate well, teachers need to have resources that equip them to teach oral communication to their students. Podcasting Podcasts are a powerful media tool that educators can utilize to the benefit of their students. Colin Gray points out that students can be both consumers and creators of podcasts, and that both are beneficial. Listening to podcasts is...

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unspalsh . Teachers need to teach their students how to be effective writers so that students can communicate and share their ideas. It can be challenging for educators to motivate their students to succeed in writing tasks. As a student, writing tasks used to be one of my least favourite assignments because I did not see them as useful or meaningful. Over the past number of years, I have gained a greater appreciation for communicating through writing. Teachers must help their students see value in the writing process from early grades. In the Ontario Language Curriculum , the Ontario Ministry of Education shares that when students see writing activities as meaningful and creatively challenging, they will begin to have a "fuller and more lasting command of the essential skills of writing" (p. 12). According to  Gage Jeter , how teachers approach writing in the classroom impacts students' desire to write. He shares that when students ...

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash . Why does reading matter? Reading matters because it helps students make sense of the world! We can learn about the ideas of others or get lost in a fictional universe when we read effectively. If you couldn't read, you wouldn't be able to understand this blog post. Reading is one of the four strands in the Ontario Language Curriculum  (2006); it should be the goal of educators to develop effective readers. According to the curriculum , an effective reader "grasps the ideas communicated in a text" and is "able to apply them in new contexts" (p. 10). Teachers have an important job: to develop the next generation of readers. Sharing reading resources is one way that educators can support each other and the literacy of their students. The following are examples of resources that educators can use to promote reading in their classrooms. Inferencing using Graphic Organizers Reading is about more than just unders...

Photo by Van Tay Media on Unsplash . What is Media Literacy? According to the Ontario Language Curriculum  (2006), Media Literacy "focuses on the construction of meaning through the combination of several media 'languages' – images, sounds, graphics, and words" (p. 13). Media languages are part of the everyday lives of our students, making it imperative that they can create and find meaning through these media languages. In Ontario, one of the four strands of the Language Curriculum is Media Literacy. What does that mean for educators in the province? It means that we must ensure all students learn to become media literate across all grades. The Media Literacy strand of the Ontario Language Curriculum (2006) concentrates on students developing the skills they need to create, understand and critically interpret various media texts There are many ways an educator could choose to approach Media Literacy in the classroom. I will be using the remainder of this b...