Reading

Reading is such a common daily occurrence for an individual to do, whether it is reading a text message, the newspaper, an email, a recipe or even the nutrition facts on a food label. Individuals are constantly reading, even if it’s not a textbook for school or a novel. While an individual is reading all these things daily, it is important for them to understand the information, and be able to process it. Reading a recipe for example, an individual can read what they have to do but will they understand what it means? That is the most important step to reading, without understanding how can an individual proceed with the recipe and ensure it will be edible?

                      via GIPHY

The same applies for students learning in school. The students are expected to read chapters of assigned readings, or a novel for language class to prepare for tests or write an essay. All of which cannot be achieved successfully unless the student understands the information they are reading and can apply that knowledge. Within the Ontario reading curriculum it focuses on teaching students to become effective readers, that is to think clearly, creativity and critically about the information in order to analyze, absorb and understand it. Reading not only helps the students understand concepts better, but also helps with their writing by developing a richer vocabulary, and their own writing style.

Some strategies to help students actively analyze the text as they are reading it would be for the teacher to have students think about the reading before, during and after they have finished. Students can jot down their prior knowledge of the topic to see how much they know. During the reading students can summarize, visualize, predict, question, and identify main ideas.  After reading, students can analyze the text and their summaries, evaluate, and use their critical thinking skills to gain a deeper understanding of the text. Students can then reflect on what they know after reading the text compared to how much they knew before they started.

Within the reading strand, there are four expectations that include:

1.     Read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning.

2.     Recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning.

3.     Use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently.

4.     Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading

More information regarding the language curriculum doc can be found here. 

        I have also found a resource that provides 15 different apps to help improve reading comprehension that can be found at Teacher Thought. These apps are geared towards different grade levels and highlight a different component to reading such as critical thinking skills, reading speed, word and sentence fluency and recall.

       Resources like these can help students that are struggling to read or help students excel, especially since they may find it more engaging! Teachers, students, and parents need to be aware of resources like these and take full advantage since blended learning is making it’s way into the classrooms. Reading is not boring, make sure to give students different choices so they are interested and become motivated to learn! 

Kate Ter Haar. (February 1, 2013). The Love of Reading. (Flickr Image). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2dXeMYf. 

Media Literacy

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog!

As I have begun my journey to become a future educator, I have noticed the enormous shift in education. Applying technology into the curriculum is the new big thing, and the traditional style…well, not so much. As a start I will be introducing two terms that I will discuss throughout this blog, those being media education and media literacy. To begin, media education is the process that students go through to become media literate, and media literacy is being able to evaluate, analyze and understand media messages and productions. That being said, it gives students a chance to explore, be creative and learn in a fun and engaging way!

            Not fully convinced? Here are some reasons why teachers should teach media literacy in the classroom…It allows students to question, evaluate and appreciate the media, allowing them to become active, creative and engaged with different media consumers. It is bringing real life situations into the classroom by giving relevance to traditional subjects such as English, Health, History and Art. For example, What influences does the media have on individuals regarding their body image and how they eat? Media education is student-centred learning, where media such as music, comics, television and video games are apart of the students every day life that they enjoy. It encourages students to use media tools, and prepares them for potential future work placements that use different forms of communication. It deepens the students understanding of diversity, helps the students personal growth and social development, and can help students critique media. This meaning they can differentiate between fantasy and real-life things. They can understand what they should be posting online, and what they should avoid. This as well can be beneficial to them as future employers. 

            Now to incorporate media literacy into your classroom you can give students the chance to be able to create their own media, instead of just analyzing it. This will give your students a fun, and hands on experience. Allow your students to bring their own media to the classroom, with your expectations for the assignment, will allow them to have fun and be more engaged if they have a choice to pick something they are interested in. Another strategy would be to make it so you're asking questions, not just giving them answers. Although you may have an opinion, your students have their own as well. Give them time to share theirs with the class to create a class discussion, this will also help students look at other ideas, and expand their own thinking. Lastly, teach about media, don’t just teach with media, this means that using media in the classroom is good but they need to learn about it or else it is not as beneficial. For example, you can use a book and a movie they are reading within the class. Have them compare the differences between both, and see what way was more meaningful.

For more in-depth information of the information above, click here. 

Denise Krebs. (November 25, 2011). Technology Use. (Flickr Image). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2dLRu3f 

For educational games, teacher tools, and information for parents click here.