Learning About Multiple Sign Systems (2)

The arts are such an important aspect of teaching and learning. The information that we learn in one class can be useful in other classes; however, it is our job as teachers to pull this information out and show our students how they can relate and use the information they've learned to better their understanding in a different class.

 I read the article Responding to Literature Across Multiple Sign Systems on d2l and I learned a lot of valuable information about incorporating other means of discussion and thinking into my classroom for a vairety of different learners. Although the article is written based on a young group of learners, I think that a lot of the information covered is valuable in a classrom of highschool students. I wanted to just share some of the ways that they got their students talking and discussing ideas about the reading they were assigned in class. The author explains, "The discussions always occur within the context of a broader classroom inquiry, and the books are never read as an isolated experience. These literature circles encourage students to share their connections and to engage in collaborative thinking through their understandings about literature and life." I thought that this quote was interesting because it sums up the importance of not just assigning independent reading, but in addition to that allowing the students different means of discussing and asking questions about the material during class time. They stressed the importance of alotting time before a discussion for the students to use an organizer or web or even just a piece of paper to gather their thoughts about a reading and maybe to write down a question or two that they had. This benefited the discussion because as soon as the students got into their groups they were able to immediately engage in conversation about the book rather than using that time to discuss what they wanted to talk about.

To represent their emotions about a story they read, the "children used tempera, pastels, watercolors, chalk, charcoal, and pencil to visually portray visions from the book that reflected their emotional responses." As a student, I always enjoyed the oppertunity to use arts in the classroom; especially in highschool, when we read more emotion-filled stories. I think that the most important part about this is that we are identifying the needs of a variety of learners. The use of the arts is not only important in an English classroom, but also in other classes. It helps the students look at the information they are learning in a different way; and I see this as extremely beneficial to the learner.

As a teacher, I think that it is still a good idea to incorportate arts into the classroom to broaden the student's perspective on a certain reading. I attached a link which offers some free downloadable graphic organizers, webs, and character charts that can allow for good discussions of novels and short stories.
 Graphic Organizer, Webs, and Character Charts