Adjusting Language

Good readers read with a purpose in mind.

-- Partnership for Reading, 2000

A good example:

• Students work in cooperative groups to create a TV commercial designed to persuade their classmates to accept a particular point of view, such as “All students should wear uniforms.”

• Students decide on a point of view

• Design a clever argument• Advertise it• Present to the class

integrating appropriate use of visuals and role play.

Incorporates all 4 major learning modalities

• Visual: visuals, visualization

• Auditory: brainstorming, discussion, reciprocal teaching

• Tactile: drawing, writing, manipulatives

• Kinesthetic: role play, movement, work study

NCTE/IRA, 1996, Standard 1

• Students will adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5 Motivators

Invite students to learn with:

• Affirmation• Contribution• Purpose• Power• Satisfaction

Strategic Activities

Objective: Adjust language

for effective communication

Brainstorming and Discussion

• Select a controversial topic and have students work in pairs taking opposing sides and develop arguments to support their point of view. They can then debate before the rest of the class and the students will decide who had the most convincing argument.

Drawing and Artwork

• Students can create a visual depicting information they learned after reading a chapter or completing a unit of study. They should be given options such as drawing, making a collage, completing a graphic organizer, etc.

Humor

• Have students create cartoons, comic strips, jokes, riddles, or puns based on the content.

• As a down-time activity, they can volunteer to tell their original jokes or bring in related jokes to share with the class for entertainment purposes.

Music, Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap• Have students work

(individually or in small groups) to create a song, rhyme, or rap which demonstrates their understanding of the concept you’ve taught. They can then perform these for the class.

Project-Based and Problem-Based Instruction• Design a project in which students

present information, creatively, in 3 ways: – written form (such as writing a

paper or completing a graphic organizer)

– visual form (poster, drawing, or PPT)

– spoken form (an oral presentation)

• Have students prepare a Reader’s Theatre from a story they have read.

Storytelling

• Have students prepare a retelling of a story they have read independently in such a convincing and entertaining way that their classmates will want to read the book for themselves.

Technology

• Have students create PowerPoint presentations that show what they have learned from a chapter or unit of study. These can then be presented to the class. – Grade these based upon

both the accuracy of the information and the visual appeal.

Visualization and Guided Inquiry

• Have students write a descriptive paragraph and read it to the class while their classmates close their eyes and try to visualize it.

Writing and Journals

• Quick Writes: students write brief answers to designated questions related to course content, such as “Write 2 synonyms for the word dilapidated.”

• Cross-curricular opportunities to write for a variety of purposes (persuade, inform, describe, entertain).

• Write a letter as if they were an historical figure or a story book character.

Now…..

Let’s have some fun!