The Oracy Project

Oracy: Record an oral episode/s of your teaching 20%

This task requires you to make a ten-minute audio recording of your own teaching in a specific task such as Guided Reading, in a storytelling episode, or in a reading episode. Write a 300 word reflection to accompany the recording which describes what you notice and gives specific direction to the marker for feedback that would be helpful to you. The recording is to be given to the tutor on a CD or transferred to the tutor’s computer via memory stick. The task may be submitted at any time until Friday Sept 5. As there is no specific teaching

What are your thoughts now????????

My Observations about the project.

Some of you did this project with great enjoyment and for some it seemed like a chore.

Some of you started with the choice of reading a story,

Some set themselves the more difficult task of guiding, instructing and questioning.

Others distinguished themselves by the way they presented their material and I thank you for that. Those who went a step further, you now have a resource for your own teaching.

So I marked you for your ability, level of difficulty of the task you had undertaken and the understanding of the concepts involved in teaching “Listening and speaking Skills”.

So today I thought I’d go over 5 key points that you need to remember about Oracy

But first a definition and some guidelines:

Oracy

The term oracy was coined by Andrew Wilkinson, a British researcher and educator, in the 1960s. This word is formed by analogy from literacy and numeracy. The purpose is to draw attention to the neglect of oral skills in education.

o·ra·cy [ áwrəssee ]

noun  Definition:   Canada oral communication and comprehension: the ability both to convey thoughts and ideas orally in a way that others understand and to understand what others say

So for you this is going to mean, it is your job to instill a love of language and literacy, to “Give them Wings” to become proficient and critical listeners, speakers and readers.

1. VELS Levels

You need to acquaint yourselves with the VELS Levels for the students you are working with so that:

Select appropriate resources

Understand the concepts behind your teaching

Match questioning and guiding to the age group you are working with.

Below are Level’s One to Three of VELS for “Speaking and Listening”

Level 1

Speaking and listening

At Level 1, students use spoken language appropriately in a variety of classroom contexts. They ask and answer simple questions for information and clarification, contribute relevant ideas during class or group discussion, and follow simple instructions.

They listen to and produce brief spoken texts that deal with familiar ideas and information. They sequence main events and ideas coherently in speech, and speak at an appropriate volume and pace for listeners’ needs. They self-correct by rephrasing a statement or question when meaning is not clear.

SOME EXAMPLES : Class to Discuss

What are appropriate resources and questioning for this level

n Children need to hear 1000 stories read aloud before they begin to learn to read themselves. 3 stories a day will deliver 1000 stories in 1 year alone.

Developing Children’s Speaking & Listening Skills

File Format: Microsoft Powerpoint – View as HTML
Developing Children’s Speaking & Listening Skills. Presented by. Amanda Trouchet & Melissa Reinke. Overview of workshop. How do children learn to talk? …

harrfielss.eq.edu.au/wcmss/images/stories/Parent%20Info/Harris%20Fields%20parent%20training.ppt

Level 2

Speaking and listening

At Level 2, students listen to and produce spoken texts that deal with familiar ideas and information.

They demonstrate, usually in informal situations, that they are able to speak clearly using simple utterances and basic vocabulary. They organise spoken texts using simple features to signal beginnings and endings. They vary volume and intonation patterns to add emphasis. They contribute to group activities by making relevant comments and asking clarifying questions to facilitate communication.

After listening to short live or recorded presentations, they recall some of the main ideas and information presented. They listen to others and respond appropriately to what has been said.

SOME EXAMPLES : Class to Discuss

What’s appropriate material

Questions to ask?

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/english/literacy/strategies/tsvels12speak.htm

Literacy Professional Learning Resource – Teaching Strategies

VELS 1 and 2 – Speaking and Listening

Explanation of some strategies that can be used to develop student speaking and listening skills during reading and writing activities.

• Story reconstruction
• Sentence building
• Circle stories
• Character interviews
• Sharing circle
• Group brainstorming
• Barrier game
• Mystery object
• Recall tray
• Sequence chart

WHAT IMPLICATIONS DO THESE LEVELS HAVE WHEN YOUR ARE DESIGNING ” ACTITVITY CENTRES” AND “TASK MANAGEMENT BOARDS’ ?

Level 3

Speaking and listening

At Level 3, students vary their speaking and listening for a small range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They project their voice adequately for an audience, use appropriate spoken language features, and modify spoken texts to clarify meaning and information.

They listen attentively to spoken texts, including factual texts, and identify the topic, retell information accurately, ask clarifying questions, volunteer information and justify opinions.

WENDY AND NEWSPAPERS??????

SO!!!!!

VELS LEVELS

Select appropriate resources

Understand the concepts behind your teaching

Match questioning and guiding to the age group you are working with.

2. Reading/ Speaking to your class

In teaching, speaking to your class is hugely important.

1. You will set the tone for communication in your class,

( Get Examples. What do I mean?)

2. You will give instructions.

3. You will introduce concepts and ideas, language and vocabulary

4. Read for enjoyment.

Voice:

Quote from Ruth Sawyer the Way of the Storyteller

“Our voice is our instrument, the words are our colours or the clay on our pallette.”

Voice needs to be clear, warm and firm

You need to practice stories before you share them with a class, so that you get the timing, pace and vocabulary right..

Characters:

Start slowly with your efforts to do voices and characters. This will come in time.

Your’ telling and reading are an extension of yourself. Be yourself.

Be enthusiastic when sharing stories. “Each word is like a precious pouring forth of jewels” as Mem Fox said.

Be confident, students are very forgiving because they do love stories so much

Listening skills:

You may have to focus the students attention back to the task at hand, repeatedly.

Have different tricks to get attention.

Deep Voices help.

Students:

Opportunities for speaking and listening.

Activities to match student level.

Mem Fox’s Ten read-aloud commandments

1. Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.
2. Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to read.
3. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.
4. Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.
5. Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.
6. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.
7. Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are really short.
8. Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child’s name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.
9. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
10. Please read aloud every day, mums and dads, (and teachers) because you just love being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do.

__________

PRACTICE ……PRACTICE …… PRACTICE

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO YOUR TEACHING OF READING?

YOUR VOICE IS YOUR NUMBER ONE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TOOL

3. Questioning

What are the reasons you question students?

What are you trying to find out?

What concepts, ideas or information are you trying to teach?

Are your questions headed towards these learning outcomes?

Ask open ended questions? Eg.(Student?)

VELS Levels. Do you have it mapped out, the practicalities of what you are trying to teach.

http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/pdfs/Skill_Question.pdf

The Skill of Questioning

By Richard James

The importance of a well-developed questioning technique

Acquiring skills in questioning students is an important step towards becoming an effective teacher. A good questioning technique can:

• allow teachers to gather information about the level of students’ knowledge,

• actively involve all students in learning,

• develop the communication skills and confidence of students,

• encourage students to become self-directed learners, and

• provide recognition and reward for achievement.

Teachers develop the skills of effective questioning throughout their careers. Guidelines for effective questioning, such as those given below, will not of themselves create expert teachers, but can assist the ongoing development of an important asset for all teachers.

Some more ideas from a Medical Journal

http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/182_03_070205/lak10788_fm.html

Teaching on the Run

Teaching on the run tips 7: effective use of questions

Fiona R Lake, Alistair W Vickery and Gerard Ryan

MJA 2005; 182 (3):126-127

Introduction; Types of Question; Promoting Higher Order Thinking and reasoning; Other types of Questions; Good habits when questioning; Coping with different levels of learners, Acknowledgements; competing interest,

When teaching in the clinical setting, you often quiz students, the junior medical officer and registrar on patients they present. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it makes the trainees clam up, sometimes you are not sure it is hitting the mark and wonder what they have learned. You wonder whether there are ways to make questioning more effective.

Your students and trainees learn better when they are involved in the teaching episode,1-3 and an effective way to involve them is to ask questions. By using questions you are able to:

· stimulate and engage learners;

· find out their learning needs and knowledge level, so that what you teach them is relevant and pitched at an appropriate level;

· promote higher-order thinking (ie, clinical reasoning);

· monitor how learners are progressing; and

· encourage reflection.

4. Resources.

http://www.worldwithoutbooks.org/ReadersQuest/ReadAloud.aspx

The Indigenous Literacy Project is a partnership between:

The Readers’ Quest : Read aloud booklist

The read aloud booklist is the ideal way to involve pre-readers in the Readers’ Quest.

How to get involved

1. Simply read (or listen to) 10 books choosing at least 7 from our specially prepared booklists.  You can read up to 3 non-booklist books if you wish. Download the read aloud booklist.
2. Record the books you read on your reading record form. Download the reading record form.
3. When you complete the 10 books you can download and print the Readers’ Quest certificate
4. If you participate in the Readers’ Quest we’d appreciate a donation to the Indigenous Literacy Project (large or small).  Click here for donation options.

Each Peach Pear Plum’
Janet Ahlberg & Alan Ahlberg

‘Where’s My Teddy?’
Jez Alborough

‘Who Sank the Boat?’
Pamela Allen