Teach English So Kids Can Argue

• Theme: English – this is before Literacy and Numeracy week, but English includes Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing and Viewing.
• Due: Wednesday 14th July
• Date: Monday 19th July (live on Sunday 18th)

Learning English to Argue

My son and daughter get pelted with the same questions in the car when I pick them up. What did you do in school today? Who did you eat lunch with? Who did you play with. Sometimes I vary it so I can get a glimmer into what they’ve got up to the whole day.

One day, my son (8yo) pipes up that he learned how to develop a reasoned argument. Pardon me? What did you learn at your age? “A reasoned argument, daddy.” Alright, what were you taught?

He said that the teacher taught him using the acronym ‘OREO. ‘ Opinion, reason, explanation, and re-state the opnion. He then went on to give me a really great example of using ‘OREO’ to highlight why we need to save the environment. Wow!

This is the kind of training I never thought he’d get in school. Or at least it was never the kind of training I got in school. That’s a reason why I’ve tried to share with him things like mind-mapping, acronyms like STAR and following a logical reasoned process to develop story ideas. But few are as nice and as elegant as the OREO cookie acronym.

• Opinion: English should teach ways of thinking logically
• Reason: Grammar and vocabulary are basic level information and English can be inspired by reading good literature
• Example: I’ve studied literature and can churn out good sentences, but can still stumble on a story if I can’t create a logical sequence of events that appeals to my reader
• Opinion:  Providing thinking skills plus language fundamentals is a great way to structure English classes

Using the OREO acronym, my son then demonstrates how we can save the environment by cutting down less trees. Isn’t that amazing?

Links

• Previous entries for Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival Hear Music Play Music and Black Belt Learning Skills
• School Holidays – Art over Maths
• Private School in Perth

–
The Original SuperParent
Blog | Favourites | Surveys | Have Your Say | Calendar

Visit Science@home to find out more about the Teach/Learn Blogging Carnival.

Please take the time to visit the other participants and check out their posts on “English.”

• Monique at Your Cheeky Monkey has written about why her family thinks storytelling is so important, some storytelling ideas, and a few of their favorite books.
• Julie at Works For Me Homemaking is encouraging sound play with preschoolers and not just for fun. It is an important tool to develop sound awareness skills and enhance early literacy development.
• Staci from Teaching Money to Kids reminds us that sometimes language and interaction need to be explicitly taught and practiced, and has some ways to teach the language of sharing.
• Leechbabe from Stuff with Thing asks what happens when your child interprets everything said to them in a very literal way? How do you aid their understanding of the funny things people say?
• Squiggle Mum was reminded recently that you don’t have to be a literacy specialist to know how to read aloud to a young child. After all, it ain’t rocket science…
• Lisa at SMMART Ideas has a LETTER MATCHING activity to help you practice spelling words, or even foreign language vocabulary.
• Deb from Science@home has a giveaway to help you go on an expedition on your bookshelf.
• Colin Wee at Super Parents is teaching his kids to argue by learning how to create a reasoned argument for English creative writing and the OREO Acronym.
• The Planning Queen from Planning With Kids had her own bookclub when she and her son read the same book. It was a great experience to have a book discussion with her son where she hadn’t been reading the story “to him”.
• Deb Chitwood from Living Montessori agrees with Maria Montessori that young children have a natural love of learning. Thanks to matching Montessori sandpaper letters with small objects, her son decided as a toddler that learning to read was just a fun game.
• Amanda at HomeAge posts that we all know The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but Eric Carle has so much more to offer to young readers, particularly those interested in the natural world. With bright, beautiful artworks and simple, repetitive stories these books are a wonderful way to entice the young “reader”.
• Miss Carly from Early Childhood Resources has steps and advice in creating a literacy rich environment for children of all ages.
• Christie at Childhood 101 points out that the process of sharing stories through oral storytelling is an age old tradition amongst families, but does it have a place in our busy modern day family life?
• Sarah at Bringing up Baby Bilingual describes her public library’s Writing Buddies program where high school student volunteers lead groups of at-risk fourth and fifth graders through a series of outer-space-themed writing activities. Writing prompts and resources included in the post!
• CatWay at Adventures With Kids asks What is phonics all about? Is this something I should know more about to help my child learn to read and write?
• Narelle from A Bunch of Keys has some simple suggestions for making your own literacy resources for children at home. Includes ideas for books with simple rhymes, books with puppets, books about family trips and making felt boards.
• Zoe at Playing By the Book has gone fishing for words in illustrated dictionaries to support her early reader.

Thanks for visiting our carnival, we hope you enjoy some of these posts and have found some interesting blogs.