02/07/2023
Reporting Verbs Class Activity
Dividing the class into 5 groups, I asked each group to write one sentence using a strong reporting verb and another using a neutral reporting verb. We used an excerpt from the class reading as a basis to construct the sentences. We divided the blackboard into two sections: one section for the strong reporting verb and another for the neutral. Here is a picture from the neutral section. I asked each group to write their sentences on the blackboard. There are a few reasons for this approach:
1. I did not use any website or app (such as Padlet or Miro) deliberately to ask students to share their sentences with the whole class. Students are already surrounded by such technology as laptops, cellphones, and the internet all the time. So, this was a chance to connect them with the traditional media.
2. I used this activity as an opportunity to get students out of their seats. Students got to walk around the class a bit. Each group had 4 to 5 students. So, I noticed different student representatives from each group wrote the sentences on either side of the board. Also, a student from one group held the laptop for his peer while he copied the sentence on the board.
3. Students are used to typing. They hardly get an opportunity to practice their handwriting. Writing by hand utilizes more complex motor skills and has greater cognitive and behavioural benefits.
4. Students are not dependent on any software to take care of spelling and punctuation errors while transferring the answers on the blackboard.
