Literacy Tactics and Tips
When things are not working the way you want it to be and teaching seems like an ordeal when it suppose to be fun then its about time to check your teaching techniques. Just like everyone else, parents who are involve in homeschooling needs sometime to reassess their skills and update themselves. This is the time when parents need to strengthen their literacy tactics and adapt to other teaching techniques.
But getting those valuable information is sometimes confusing or even more daunting when there are a lot of information out there. So make sure to identify the areas that needs to be updated before jumping to the next phase.
Motivation is a two way street wherein you motivate your homeschooler as well as yourself. This is an essential part of child’s education process, a motivation that comes from within and challenges you to step up in the game. It is necessary to all students whether they are homeschooled or in traditional setting because it guarantees continuous learning and improvement. So as a teacher, literacy tactics begin when you know how to develop and encourage learning into your classroom. There are endless ways to motivate your homeschoolers and you are the only person who knows how to help them achieve their full potential.
So here some literacy tactics that will help you bring back the fun in the classroom and encourage learning.
Read-Alouds – Reading out loud is the key for fluent reading. This is a perfect exercise for young homeschoolers so they can correct themselves while reading. Teachers are advised to read to their students at least 5 minutes every session to encourage fluency. You can select any reading materials that you see fit, a piece that provides them with interesting vocabulary and builds students’ background knowledge. Reading literacy does not only ends in language class, you can make your students read while introducing a new topic about art or science.
Writing to Learn – According to Fearn and Farnan (2001) reading, writing, and content learning are related. More and more teachers are using this strategy to encourage students to find clarity, inquire and reflect on the content of the material. It doesn’t matter which part of the day you use this strategy as long as you give your students the time where they can focus on writing. This is the part where you gage their knowledge about the content, what they think about it and share their thoughts through writing.
K-W-L Charts – This strategy is the perfect activity to hook students into learning. The K-W-L charts uses a series of question from the beginning, middle and end of the class. It starts with “What do you know about the topic?” , “What do you still want to know about the topic?” and “What did you learn about the topic?” These questions may sound very simple and ordinary but it encourage learning more than you could ever expect.
Structured Notetaking – Notetaking is very vital in a student’s life. The lack of study habits for most students is the reason why learning is not taking effect. So teachers used this strategy not just to records facts but to lead them into reflection of the topic.
Useful Reading Resources