|
Make a comment
Hey! I Can Do That
Helping Students Become Writers
Nina Parish
Riley, my 2 1/2-year-old niece, has been speaking in sentences and mimicking adults' speech for quite some time now. She has learned that language is the means to get what she wants and to communicate her feelings to others. When I was with her and my family a week ago, she demonstrated a new power she had developed over her language. She took centre stage and proceeded to talk in nonsense words and syllables. She manipulated her language so that, although it sounded like English, it wasn't. Riley looked at all of us with a knowing smirk of pride and accomplishment on her face when she realised that she had fooled us all into listening more closely to try and decipher what she was saying. Although she had mastered the power of language for communication quite a while ago, she now realised that she had also learned the power to manipulate language for fun. To help my students develop this feeling of power to manipulate language for different ends both orally and in writing is one of the goals I have always had as a teacher.
... ... ...
SUBSCRIBE TO READ MORE!
Make a comment
|
Hey! I Can Do That!