The amazing genre of POETRY

Blog # 8: 23rd -24th November, 2017.  

Putting words

On paper to

Express in part

Thoughts from me

Right to

Your heart

Last week’s session concluded our LIT 102 course and the lesson was geared towards poetry. Unlike our previous lessons where we were mostly familiar with the content, poetry was mainly 'uncharted territory'. From last week's lesson, we gained a lot of knowledge about poetry and developed a greater appreciation for the genre. Poetry is referred to as a genre of writing which involves a collection of poems. A poem is a creative piece like no other and someone who combines these creative, descriptive, persuasive and imaginative forms to produce a piece which is as unique as a fingerprint is called a poet. In last week's lesson, we learnt about a poet’s purpose, the elements of poetry, various types of poems and ways in which poetry can and should be taught to students.

We learnt that a poet’s purpose in writing a poem may be to share their feelings, tell a story, send a message, be humourous and/or provide description. At the beginning of the session, the lecturer had us looking at newspaper article and a piece of poetry that spoke about a particular event. She questioned us about the differences in both pieces and we were able to draw out the elements of poetry from this activity. The lecturer further provided more elements of poetry but we particularly liked the graphic organizer, ‘My Poet Tree’ which provided a more concise set of information than the lecture slides. This caused the information to be more understandable and easier to retain.  

Additionally, we were reminded that all poems do not have to rhyme, however, we as teachers should use these types of poems when teaching poetry to students.

Moreover, we learnt about some of the types of poems such as the cinquain, haiku, sonnet,  limerick and more. Our favorite types of poems were the bio and I am poems. They were our favorites because they allowed us to be more open and expressive about our personal thoughts, fears and aspirations. These poems help readers to know more about the poet as their personalities are expressed through these words.  

After learning about the genre, we learnt about the different ways in which we can teach poetry. We discovered that we should introduce poems to student and let them see the characteristics and note how they are different from a letter, story, essay and more. Also, we discovered that students come with the misconception that poetry is boring or hard to create. We as the teachers must show to our students that poetry is fun and it is great way expressing oneself freely. We think that incorporating the activities such as creating simple poems (the five liners, haiku, I am and concrete poems) would help the students to change their perspective on poetry and develop an appreciation for the genre just as we did.

In light of all that was said, last week's lesson was very interactive and enlightening. We could not think of a better lesson to conclude our LIT 102 course. As a result of this, there were many aspects of the class that captivated our attentions and held it hostage. We must say that we enjoyed our final session and must commend our lecturer for a job well done. To begin with, we liked that the lecturer provided multiple samples for the different types of poems as we learnt about them. By doing this we were able to get a better understanding of the different types of poems. Secondly, we liked that she gave us an opportunity to create our own pieces for a few of the different types of poems. This activity helped us to have a better understanding of each type of poem and their diversity. By incorporating these activities into the lesson, the session was active and engaging. We are certain that our classmates felt the same way as they all wanted an opportunity to share their written poetry pieces.

A Sample of an original bio poem

Lastly, we liked that the lecturer read poems to the class at the beginning of the lecture and asked questions to check for understanding and also to draw out from us the difference between poetry and other genres.

In regard to the suggestions for future sessions, we recommend showing the same zest and enthusiasm for the different genres of writing as well as the teaching of the LIT 102 course.

GOODBYE!!!!!

Once Upon a Time, The End

Blog # 7 : 9th- 10th November. 2017

A famous Italian novelist by name of Umberto Eco once said “to survive, you must tell stories”. Is storytelling that important to our existence? Our answer is yes! Storytelling is an innate skill and we see this everyday in children as well as ourselves. The children who are unable to read as yet are able to tell stories based on their experiences and the material that they see. That is how we know that storytelling is a skill we are all born with. For last week’s lesson, our sessions focused on Narrative writing or storytelling. We learnt about the elements of narrative writing and how to teach the genre.

Throughout our primary and secondary school years, we learnt a lot about narrative writing and its components. Therefore, much of the information covered in last week’s sessions were reinforcements. We were already familiar with the elements of narrative writing but we learnt some new information about these elements. To begin with, we discovered that the plot is divided into three parts which are the beginning, middle and end. We also discovered that the terms, introduction, body and conclusion are used in the narrative writing. Prior to last week’s lesson, we only associated these terms with other genres such as expository and persuasive writing. Moreover, we learnt that we cannot end our stories at the climax as this can cause our readers to be confused. We also learnt that in order for the piece of writing to be labelled a story, it must to have a conclusion.

Furthermore, we discovered that the plot is developed in four stages. They are: the problem that introduces the conflict, characters’ roadblocks as they attempt to solve the problem, the climax and the resolution of the problem. Based on all that we have learnt, we realized that the plot is an essential element of a story as without it, the story would be non-existent.

Another important story element is the setting. We learnt that the setting is not only where the story occurs but that the time in which the story takes place. Both components of the setting are equally important as they help to drive the plot. In regard to the characters, we learnt that a story usually has one main character with two or three supporting characters. The lecturer highlighted that too many characters in a story can be problematic as readers tend to forget some of these characters. We also agree with her statement.

Moreover, one of the most important things that we learnt during the sessions, was how to develop characters. When we reflected on books that we read in the past, we realized that the authors do not always directly state what a character is like but through their actions, dialogues or monologues, we are made aware of their traits.

After learning about this genre of writing, it is necessary that we ourselves are able to teach students how to write a story. From last week’s sessions, we learnt about some strategies that will help us to teach narrative writing to our students . Modeling continues to be the top of the list of teaching strategies as it very crucial. The use of technology, gallery walks and story maps were some of our favourite strategies that can be utilized in the teaching of narrative writing to children.

We must say that last week was one of our favorite sessions. We had an enjoyable class and we acquired a lot of useful and helpful information. As a result, there were many notable aspects of the sessions that we liked and we must commend our lecturer for an outstanding lesson. To begin with, we liked that the lecturer read a narrative piece to us at the beginning of the lesson and engaged us in an interactive read aloud. The lecturer stopped at intervals to ask questions, encourage us to make predictions and to share our thoughts. It was a great model of the way we should do reading with our students. Moreover, we liked that the story was not solely used as a model of a piece of exceptional writing. The lecturer frequently made references to the story and used it to explain the elements of narrative writing which helped us to make the connection.

Secondly, we liked the manner in which the element of theme was explained. The lecturer provided us with an example of a piece with the theme of ‘racism’ and this helped us to understand how to identify the main point of a piece. Based on previous experiences, identifying the theme of a piece of writing was often problematic if it was not explicitly expressed by the author.

Another aspect of the sessions that we liked was the reading of the story “The Three Little Pigs” from the wolf’s perspective in order to explain Point Of View (P.O.V.).

Finally, we liked that the lecturer expressed a great passion for narrative writing and thus delivered the content with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm and this captured our attention from the beginning to end of the lesson. In light of this, we suggest that the lecturer shows the same zeal in other topic areas of the course because they are as equally important for our development.

Think Oreo! Eat Oreo! Write OREO!

Blog # 6 : 2nd - 3rd November. 2017

The focus of last week's lecture was on persuasive writing and integrating technology in writing. We learnt that the effective use of technology fosters a collaborative and interactive environment that nurtures the writing process and supports the social perspective on learning. Also, we discovered ways in which we can incorporate technology in writing. For instance, we can use software programmes, wikis, blogs, digital stories and podcasts to aid our students’ writing. During the session, the lecturer reminded us that the purpose of persuasive writing is to sway others to the writer’s opinion or stance. The difference between argumentative writing and persuasive writing was also highlighted in the session. Moreover, the elements of persuasive writing were addressed and we discovered that good writers of the genre use these elements to appeal to the reader’s emotions. We were already familiar with the elements; rhetorical devices, repetition, rhetorical questions and hyperbole but we discovered that endorsement and generalizations are also used in this genre.

We learnt that persuasive writing can be utilized in many different forms such as, advertisements, political speeches, sermons, newspapers and sale pitches. We were also reminded of the use and importance of transition words as they ensure cohesiveness in our persuasive pieces. The lecturer advised us to be cautious when using these words as they can be used in the wrong context. For example, the use of the word ‘although’ in writing, means that the writer is to say the opposite of something in spite of what was stated before.

Last week’s lecture was a very informative and engaging session. As a result, there were many aspects of the class that we liked and enjoyed. Firstly, we liked that the lecturer included the “So far” slide to indicate our progression, what we should know thus far and what we are about to learn. Secondly, we liked that the lecturer placed questions at the end of the slides in the powerpoint presentation and solicited our responses. The questions were not thought provoking or challenging, but they allowed us to make the connection with the information based on our previous knowledge. In addition, the lecturer provided some realistic and relatable examples when explaining the content and this allowed us to make connections as well. We were also encouraged to utilize these realistic things as it would help to appeal to our students.

Furthermore, when we were discussing the element, rhetorical devices, the lecture gave a sentence and we had to select the correct device. We liked that she had us engaging with the content and testing our knowledge of the rhetorical devices. Lastly, we liked that the lecturer included the OREO writing strategy, the persuasive writing planning sheet and checklist in the slides to show us how we can teach students to write persuasive writing. In the classroom, we can see ourselves utilizing these tools as they are very useful for both teachers and students.

        

 

          In regard to the suggestions for future sessions, we only have one recommendation. We suggest that the lecturer provides more samples of persuasive pieces in its various forms (advertisements, political speeches) and these samples can be poorly and well written. These samples will serve as a guide for us.