EDRG 3344 T/R Talking...

I believe talking is one of the most important factors to have in a successful classroom. Students need to feel that they can express themselves verbally and this also helps to establish social skills. I also agree talking is necessary for learning, and a few examples where we can integrate talking in our classroom is creating small groups. With about 3 to 4 students in each group this will help students take ownership in their thoughts and ideas. Also as we learned in our class lecture it is important for us as the teachers to discuss with the class for about 5 minutes then go back and allow your small groups to discuss for 5 minutes as well. Then allow your small group to share their thoughts with the class. Small groups helps build language proficiency and allows students to participate.

The next idea to integrate talking is to do read alouds. This will help with fluency, and also when reading a poem out loud the teacher and students can take turns reading each stanza. Next, what we can do as teachers as an activity for our students is allow them to create their next stanza for the poem, and this can benefit their writing skills.

Creating a reader’s theatre is another way to get students to comprehend, and again talking is a key factor in a reader’s theatre.

It is also very important to allow our students to present in front of the class at a young age, examples can be show and tell, or to present a oral report. This will benefit them when they are older to feel more confident when in front of the class.

Lastly creating any type of drama with a puppet character as an example can help with logical thinking, and it can also integrate language arts.

I also feel talking has helped me personally, because I feel comfortable when my teacher allows us to discuss and ask questions regarding their lesson. This is helpful because then I have a better idea and understand the lesson, therefore I feel confident discussing my thoughts to the class. It has also helped me when presenting in front of the class. When I first started college I completed a communications class, and that class was definitely very beneficial for me. Our classmates scored us individually and this helped me to see what I needed to work on as my weaknesses and what my strengths were. After completing my communications class, I felt much more confident presenting in front of the classroom.