If you are visiting this website, you have probably attended one of my sessions or workshops “Teaching Students to L.O.V.E. Literacy”. During this session, I spoke of ways to get educators, parents, and advocates of literacy involved in the process of building student literacy skills in non-traditional formats. This session had techniques and discussion that is applicable to nearly any age group, and seeks to help empower those who want to put some creativity into their standards-based learning.
Please find the latest session details, digital presentation, and important links from the session below:
Session Title: Teaching Students to L.O.V.E. Literacy
Session Purpose: Participants will learn and brainstorm….ways to teach and build student (K-12) literacy skills in a non-evasive manner, by the use of implementing technology, everyday life tasks, and student culture.
What does L.O.V.E. mean?
Learning- What are the basic skills that your students need to learn? Literacy learning must include a combination of motivation and innovative repetition of skills. Learning should always be a chance to fine-tune knowledge. Lastly, learning should contain opportunities to explore concepts- new and old.
Opportunity- It also allows a student the opportunity to transcend and explore the world and their surroundings. The improvement of literacy skills is always a learning opportunity. When building a literacy foundation, we should be in search of learning opportunities and resources that are simple to implement and put into practice.
Valued- Learning new literary skills must be an experience that students can have some ownership in. Making connections to their experiences and the importance of the skills they are learning is essential.
Enhanced- Lessons and skills related to reading and writing should always offer room to explore. They should enhance and leave room to extend steps higher in order for students to grow, reach, and explore at another time. Skills should never be introduced in isolation without a clear path of guiding students to a place where they are motivated to improve.
Activities to promote L.O.V.E. for Literacy
Fluency and Close Reading: Activity #1 – Close reading has been a very “hot” topic in recent years. Have your child/student put a spin on close reading with digital tools. Activity: Instead of simply re-reading for understanding, have students use a tool such the Adobe Spark app (available on iOS only) to record and work through the purpose of the reading, the arrangement of the text, and specific vocabulary words. Using the app, they can record their voice, and provide text and pictures or illustrations. (Day 7 in 29 Days to L.O.V.E. Literacy, Opportunity)
Facts and Opinions and Critical Thinking: Activity #2 –Promote the L.O.V.E. of literacy by having your child/student begin to work on formulating opinions, and the ability to think critically. Activity: Have your child/student write a review on something that they have experienced (This experience could be a review of a video game, toy, shoes, or clothing items). They could also review places you visit, such as a museum, a restaurant, or a vacation destination. For a bit of inspiration, view this article:” Twelve Year-Old Entrepreneur Launches Travel Review Website for Kids” (Day 3 in 29 Days to L.O.V.E. Literacy, Learning)
Comparison/Contrast: Activity #3 — Students building their literacy skills might not L.O.V.E. literacy, due to the content in which they are learning not being relevant to them or their future. Students need to know that they are learning literacy skills that will be with them for their entire academic careers, and in whatever field which they choose to make a career of. Activity: Literacy Related Job Description–Instead of having your child/student do the traditional “career project” or career related research report, have them brainstorm a list of careers, and then write down reading and writing skills needed in each career. If done in a classroom, this could be charted and used as a comparison between different careers. A great website for kids (grades K-8) to search career related information is Kids.gov (Day 13 in 29 Days to L.O.V.E. Literacy, Valued)
Poetry & Elements of Poetry: Activity #4– L.O.V.E Literacy by having students/your children write a poem or song lyric. Music is a great way to get students to make a connection with poetry. Activity: Write a poem about love. It does not have to be about “romantic” love, but love in a caring and endearing manner. Poems could be as simple as writing an acrostic or a haiku, or a couplet. If you choose to use lyrics instead of poetry, use lyrics that have already been written— use that as an opportunity to teach elements such as mood, word choice, adjectives, patterns, and sentence structure. (Day 19 in 29 Days to L.O.V.E. Literacy, Enhanced)
Participant Activity (Create Your Own L.O.V.E. Activities):
- Write out all four letters (L.O.V.E)- Leave enough room to create notes.2. Learning: List literacy skills that your students struggle with (Be specific, This must be clear to students as well)3. Opportunity: Give examples of how you can make learning skills an opportunity for student inquiry & simple ideas to practice skills
4. Value: What is one connection you could make to the students’ culture and Daily life? (Relevance, usage)
5. Enhanced: How can your activities motivate students to improve their skills, and promote life-long learning?
To purchase the book referenced in this presentation, visit 29 Days to L.O.V.E. Literacy for easily accessible, interactive e-book copies, as well as print copies.
For even more WONDERFUL resources, visit the Pinterest board created specifically for this presentation:
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