Using PowerPoint creatively to teach an activity on adjectives and descriptive writing to a Grade 3 class

Mrs Truett's Third Grade

Earlier this term, whilst researching on the Internet, I cam across two posts on adjectives that fascinated me. The first was a post in a Grade 3 blog (Mrs Truter's Third Grade) showing two photos of an activity on Adjectives https://bit.ly/2NfO6EZ (see the photo on the right). The second post was a video on the use of adjectives in descriptive writing found at hhttps://bit.ly/3qN0hXo This gave me the idea of doing something similar to both of these posts with a Grade 3 class and including technology (see photos below).  The students enjoyed the activity so much that I decided to write a blog post about it.

Lesson idea
The Grade 3 students find at least 20 positive adjectives relating to themselves. They present these creatively using PowerPoint where the skills of font choice, font size and colour are emphasised, They discover how adjectives used in writing make writing come alive and write a descriptive paragraph about themselves using as many of the adjectives as they can.   

Step 1: Create a template for the students to use
I figured this could be created on two A4-size pieces of paper joined together with a piece cut out for the head. I created the template idea for the students to copy in PowerPoint.

Download the adjectives template as a PDF

Step 2: Explore adjectives with the class and how they can be used in descriptive writing
The next step was to talk about the importance of adjectives in writing.  We revised the meaning of adjectives. I read the class a very plain paragraph that had no descriptive words and asked them to draw a quick picture using a drawing programme they were familiar with (in this case Paint). All the pictures were different. Then I read the same paragraph but this time with lovely descriptive adjectives and asked them to draw the picture. This time the pictures were very similar because the adjectives had led a much clearer image being imagined.

Step 3: Brainstorm positive adjectives that can be used to describe other students in the class.  
We now had a brainstorming session on adjectives that could describe others in the class. The instruction was that the class should use only positive words but that no names should be mentioned.  As the students called out words I typed them out and displayed them on the screen via the data projector. These were left on the screen as prompts for words during the remainder of the activity. 

Step 4: The students think of 20 adjectives to describe themselves and fill them in on the provided template
Since the school I volunteer at uses Windows computers we used PowerPoint for this lesson. However Keynote on an iPad or a Google Presentation on an Android tablet would have done the trick as well. 

Step 5: The templates are completed and printed
As far as technology skills are concerned this was a good way of working creatively with font types, font size, colour and font position. As far as using adjectives is concerned the students enjoyed thinking of positive words about themselves. 

Step 6: Print the templates, cut out the head space, glue the two pages together and draw hair using regular crayons
Here is a photo of some of the final results of this activity. 

Step 7: Create a description of oneself using the selected adjectives
In the next lesson this part of the lesson would be tackled. The students will use the adjectives to write a descriptive piece about themselves. 

Reading aloud to children - how important is it?

World Read Aloud Day is coming up on 1 Feb 2019. Exciting reading activities will take place all over the world. People all around the globe will read aloud together and share stories on that day to encourage teachers and parents alike to read to the children in their care.

Let’s think about the importance of reading aloud to children. Is it important? In this post I plan to put reading aloud in perspective and take a look at what some of the studies on reading aloud show. 

1. Reading to young children gives them a headstart in life

Studies show that one of the most important things we can do for our children is to read aloud to them when they are young. A study conducted in a partnership arrangement between the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, uncovered some interesting information. http://bit.ly/2UDCFVN. The key finding was that frequency of reading to children at a young age has a direct causal effect on their schooling outcomes regardless of their family background and home environment. The study shows that there is an important role for parents in the development and educational performance of their children. Parental reading to children increases the child’s reading and other cognitive skills at least up to the age of 10–11. This is an early-life intervention that seems to be beneficial for the rest of their lives.

Taken from Unsplash

2. Children need 1000 hours of being read to before preschool

This fits in with what I heard about reading before preschool at a reading conference not too long ago. The Dean of Education from Rhodes university quoted a study that showed that If we can develop independent readers by Grade 3, we can almost predict academic success at school. However to become independent readers by Grade 3, he said, children need to have received 1000 hours of being read to before entering preschool.

Just hearing the written word helps them develop their vocabulary, strengthens their memory, and nurtures their imagination. Children who are surrounded by print and immersed in great and well-told stories are more curious, confident, and motivated to learn. Stories help our kids develop empathy for others, curiosity about the world we live in, and they stimulates critical thinking.

Our goal must be for our children to start reading for enjoyment, meaning and understanding on their own. If we can get the children in our care interested in reading for enjoyment, we are setting them up for success. Reading for pleasure makes a big difference to children’s educational performance. 

Taken from Unsplash

3. Research shows the importance of parents reading with children – even after children can read on their own

A study ‘Interactive reading opportunities beyond the early years: What educators need to consider’ by Margaret Kristin Merga found in the Australian Journal of Education, was highlighted in an article by the author. http://bit.ly/2Uv9hkj She found that “hared reading experiences are highly beneficial for young people. Benefits of shared reading include facilitating enriched language exposure, fostering the development of listening skills, spelling, reading comprehension and vocabulary, and establishing essential foundational literacy skills. They are also valued as a shared social opportunity between parents and their children to foster positive attitudes toward reading. When we read aloud to children it is also beneficial for their cognitive development, with parent-child reading activating brain areas related to narrative comprehension and mental imagery. 

4. The Benefits of Reading to Your Unborn Baby

I was curious to see if there was any research on reading to babies in the womb and was surprised to see that there is a lot! Science indicates that reading to baby in the womb helps develop early language learning. 

A study at the University of Oregon found when pregnant mothers were given a recording that included a made-up word to play near the end of pregnancy, the babies were able to recognize the word and its variations after they were born. They could discern this by neural signals emitted by the babies that showed they recognized the pitch and vowel changes in the fake word. The babies who heard the recording most frequently displayed the strongest response, suggesting that infant language learning begins in utero. The researcher says, “Our findings indicate that prenatal experiences have a remarkable influence on the brain’s auditory discrimination accuracy, which may support, for example, language acquisition during infancy. “ A website ‘Womb to World: Reading and Talking with Babies’ highlights some of the research done on reading aloud to babies in the womb http://bit.ly/2Uw0IWv.

A great article on the Baby Centre website called ‘Reading to your baby’ http://bit.ly/2UrxEiK suggests that it’s never too early to start reading to baby. Babies recognize their mother's voice in the womb, so why not make reading aloud a habit while you're still pregnant? Another article ‘Womb to World: Reading and Talking with Babies’ http://bit.ly/2Uw0IWv gives some very practial tips on how to get started. Joining the local library is a great way to start. 

Statistics from local websites

The PUKU website in South Africa gives some interesting global literacy statistics about reading. https://www.puku.co.za/en/south-africa-celebrates-world-read-aloud-day/ Here are two examples:

• Reading aloud to children every day puts them almost a year ahead of children who do not receive daily read-aloud reading, regardless of parental income, education level or cultural background. (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research)

• If all children in low-income countries left school literate, 171 million people could move out of poverty. (World Literacy Foundation)

The Times Live in an article ‘80% of Grade 4s can't read, literacy survey reveals’ quoted that ‘Almost four in five Grade 4 pupils fall below the lowest internationally recognised level of reading literacy‚ and South Africa is last out of 50 countries in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls 2016).’ http://bit.ly/2S27BC7

There’s no doubt about it – reading improves the mind. It has a multitude of benefits to us as humans. We need to start early in the home to ensure academic success at home. “The pen is mightier than the sword.” As parents and teachers let’s join in on the fun on World Read Alud Day on 1 Feb 2019.