ORAL LITERACY
What is Oral Literacy?
Oral language is the system through which we use spoken words to express knowledge, ideas, and feelings. Development of literacy depends on oral language.
ORAL LITERACY
The Importance of Group Work
Helps Students:
Learn to take turns
ask questions/problem solve with peers
engage in specific content area language
be more comfortable sharing ideas in small groups over large class discussions
TENOR, FIELD, AND MODE
Language varies according to the context. Students must be able to identify the tenor (audience and writer relationship), field (subject matter), and mode (written, spoken)Â in which a particular piece is written in order to better understand the context.
Present several different types of examples in which the tenor, field, and mode are all different, and have the students work in small groups to determine the tenor, field, and mode of each text.
PROBLEM SOLVING
Taboo
In small groups, the teacher will hand out a card with a specific word on it that reflects the topic of the day.
The other students in the group must guess the word on the card, working together and discussing possible topics. The student with the card will give clues indicating what word is on the card, without using the actual word to give it away.
DONUT CIRCLES
Oral literacy can be improved by having the teacher divide the classroom into groups where people in the center of the group are facing those on the outside.
The teacher gives the students a statement (related to what the lesson will then go on to dissect), which has no simple yes or no answer, and the students must debate their opinions on the subject matter.
After a minute, the students must move to their next partner in the circle and discuss the same topic.
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To conclude this activity, a group discussion will commence.
