Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Talking Time

Carmel Crevola (@carmelcrevola), Heather Jelley (@team_jellybean), and Angie Harrison (@techieang) have all showed me the value in using oral language in the classroom. This year especially, I am trying to give students more and more talking time, and I love hearing what they have to say. Below is a glog that I made today that features videos of students talking about math. Having discussions with them about their learning really shows me what they have learned and what they continue to need to learn.

I hope that you enjoy these video clips! I would love to hear about how you use oral language in the classroom for formative assessment. I think that we can learn a lot from each other!

Aviva

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I teach grade 1 French Immersion so our learning always begins with oral language. Before my students can write, work, share, or even play we always need to begin with the language, the words and vocabulary that they don't yet have. Imagine asking your students to describe 3D shapes before they even have the words for the shapes let alone their attributes? Thanks to your blog I find new ways to get them talking! I often let my students record themselves describing something they have built, drawn, or created before we take on a writing task. When possible I sit with them and respond by injecting the French terms for the items they are describing. When they are ready to put pencil to paper they expressed their ideas orally, I have modeled a bit of they might say in my response, and they have a recording that they can go back to once they do begin writing. My students also love to hear themselves read, whether it is something they have written or a new book. We record those as well. Because I have an archive of their recordings from as early as November I can go back and see and hear their learning. A continuum (which I use for reading and writing assessment) is helpful to track student growth but those recordings truly make learning visible! Thanks for your input along the way. :)

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing Shannon! I love hearing about what others are doing too. Hearing the French Immersion perspective is really interesting too.

Glad that you find this blog helpful!
Aviva