SD No. 63 Literacy Site

Many students underestimate the importance of literacy skills when writing exams.  The following video provides an informative look at the literacy skills required on the essay question of the Social Studies 11 Provincial Exam. 

I've purposely chosen an essay that I don't like.  There are some errors in the paper that will be noticeable; however, this essay received a 6 by the Ministry audit team.  The commentary will walk you through the reasons it scored as high as it did.  I think the content is quite strong--I only wished that some of the writing was stronger.

Why did I choose this one?  To remind all of us, that a 6 does not mean perfection.  This is a first draft and it is written in an exam setting.  Watch this video with a colleague or show it to your students.

Watch video here.

Colleen presented "Practically Speaking: Considering Listening and Questioning to Enhance Oral Language" to a group of enthusiastic elementary teachers. During this interactive session teachers had the opportunity to review highlights from the last session, reflect on what was tried and what worked well and reach to understand the role of listening and questioning to enhance oral language.

"Like listening, we are our students' best examples of how to use questioning as a learning tool."   Colleen Politano

Colleen's Handout

(Edited by Holly Mair - original submission Wednesday, 25 February 2009, 03:45 PM)