Week Four discussion
Chapter fourteen ‘The Importance of Writing in our Society’ explores how writing still has an importance in our society today and how technology has enhanced the acts of writing and editing to make writing easier. Writing is a valuable tool in the learning process as all children need to be multi-literate. Children need to understand how texts serve different purposes through different text-types i.e. recount, procedure, information report, explanation, exposition of argument etc.
This is relevant within teaching as children need to understand structures of different texts to be able to function within everyday life. Teacher need to teach children many different texts types so children understand how each text serves a different purpose.
Chapter fifteen ‘The Writing Developmental Continuum’ explores an overview of the writing continuum. Children all develop at different rates and no student will fit neatly into one category of the writing continuum. The developmental categories are:
Writing before school: where children already know oral language and they build up their writing knowledge through books, the community experiences etc.
Experimental/early writing: Recognise marks on the page such as mum, dad, car, bus etc.
The developing writer: The child has a greater range of text-types, can spell common words, use correct punctuation, longer more complex sentences etc.
The proficient writer: Range of text-types, aware language is humorous, formal, dramatic etc. experiments with language to create atmosphere, special effects… etc.
I believe Christies point about the significance of teaching children texts structures for them to be able to function with everyday life is very truthful, as the reading states that "Australia is a linguistically and cultural diverse country. Participation in many aspects of Australian life depends largely on effective communication in Standard Australian English." teachers should incorporate writing within their classroom and also with different subjects, writing is a creative process, which offer a powerful way of thinking learning.
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ReplyDeleteChristie stresses the point from Chapter Fourteen that writing still has a very important place in our society, despite the use of modern day technology. I completely agree with this statement as technology is used to enhance and support the acts of writing and editing, rather than surpass it. Writing is a great collector of ideas, a clarifier of thinking and a major aspect of learning itself. It is a creative process and offers a powerful thinking and learning engagement for use in any classroom learning. As Christie suggests, children need to understand how different text structures serve different purposes and use different language. For example: a procedure tells the reader how to do something, whereas an information report presents information about something.
ReplyDeleteChapter Fifteen looks at writing as a developmental process that occurs over a long period of time. I agree with this notion as literacy begins well before a child comes to school. The presence of books and print media in and around the home, and the attitude of parents and carers, will largely influence the literacy development of children. In addition, Christie explains that children are likely to develop some writing structures and aspects before others. For that reason, students will usually fit into more than one developmental category on the continuum. These categories include: writing before school, experimental/early writing, the developing writer and the proficient writer.