ELA reflection

As I begin my education in English Language Arts, knowing the standards of what will result in success in my students is a vital point. After watching the instructional videos and reading the standards I got a clear overview of the Common Core standards for ELA. ELA is divided into five parts reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language. Although each component is focused on individually, they all work hand in hand to develop a high standard of English as a language. In the early years of a child’s education English is taught primarily by one teacher. In these years the foundational skills of reading and writing are taught. From grades 6 – 12 application of the five areas of ELA is introduced. The ELA teacher continues to teach while subject teachers use reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language within their subjects to help students apply English to the real worlds. Thus teachers of different subject areas all work with assistive technology to develop the English language of the students.

The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension and application to real world and to learn from text. As a child moves from grade to grade their level of understanding and discernibility increases to the ultimate level of a career/college student.  Teachers have to think of technology and digital text to help students read. Most of all students should be able to make use of text by making connections between ideas and various texts. As a 4^th grade Literacy teacher I find that constantly asking students to make inferences and analyze gets them to think a bit deeper. Also, when a student gives an answer it should be based on the text for evidence.

Although Writing includes the writing process, writing is also directly linked to reading. Writing is important for a teacher to understand students’ level of comprehension. Students have the ability to express themselves and put their thoughts on paper. Having students write arguments, narratives, and explanatory/informative texts allows students to make connections to texts they read. A journal for younger grades is a grade way for students to express their feelings about literature.

Speaking and listening includes formal presentation, oral communication and interpersonal skills.  Students work together by listening to each other and responding. This is a great way to develop ELA skills outside the standard written – text.  Different tools and technology can be used for students to express what they understood from their reading.

Lastly, to enhance student’s language teachers should focus on vocabulary. This can be taught with different technological tools. Student should be able to use the proper vocabulary in correct context in written text and oral language.