Multimodal Composition: Creating Engaging Communication in English/Language Arts

  photo by yeshi-kangrang- Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/iuqxv7kFj64?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink November 5: Leveled Questions  I showed a Powtoon video over the different levels of questions and which ones were best for research. We discussed the different characteristics of each level of question and how to identify them. Then, students were grouped based on their seating charts and given one piece of paper with an ancient civilization already written on it. They came up with as many level 1,2, and 3 questions as possible during the timed activity.  While students were working I went around each group and observed their writing and discussions. They all seemed to be on-topic and engaged throughout the activity. I heard lots of “that would be a level ____ question” or “what if we asked this instead to make it a higher level?”. My initial plans were to have them create a poster; however, they seemed engaged with t...

  As teachers we have the privilege of working with students who each bring their unique lived experiences and stories to our classroom. Every student who has come through my class has taught me something and helped me see life through a different lens. Just like our classrooms, our globalized world is full of situations that call for innovative and unique thinking and solutions. We have the opportunity to help our students use their own experiences and perspectives and allow them to strengthen their voices so they can be ready to share their unique ideas to the world around them. If we limit opportunities to traditional composition, we are limiting our own ability to truly assess all of our students’ learning and potential.  My first year of teaching I noticed how much I had missed out by using only traditional modes of writing for assessments, especially for my English Language Learner (ELL) students.  Jiang (2017) discusses a study using multimodal composition in a...

   Jason Leung-Unsplash     Communication is a crucial 21st Century Skill. ELA classrooms are full of communication through discussions and writing. One of the most important aspects students need to understand about communication is its reciprocal aspects; it is important that they not only are able to clearly communicate their thoughts in various modes but also effectively receive communication from others through multiple modes.  The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) guides teachers on 21st Century Literacies, such as communication. In their communication framework, they focus on communication that teaches students to critically look for biases, hate speech, and any sources that might oppress others’ voices; they see communication as a tool that can change society and oppressive systems (NCTE, 2019). It is important to look through this lens to get past teaching communication strategies as a way for students to simply say or write what th...

Resource Implementation for Multimodal Composition The Symbaloo above shows the different resources I linked for my students to choose for their Guided Inquiry multimodal projects over ancient civilizations. I did not want to overwhelm students with too many options that they had not yet explored but also wanted to make sure I gave multimodal options for visual, spatial, aural, linguistic, and gestural. Students will be presenting their projects which will be focusing on gestural communication and the importance of body language when presenting. So far, students have chosen all but StoryboardThat for their project creations. While I am only focusing on three of these resources, they have all shown great successes in classroom creations.  Resource 1: Canva Canva is an online website/resource for visual designs, such as posters, videos, social media posters, and flyers. It is free, and students can sign-up using school Google Accounts. There is a minimum age of 13 years old to use ...

  Photo by Ayesha Parikh- Unsplash                We learn about our own societies when reflecting on those who came before us. Our world has been full of diverse, brilliant, and impactful cultures and civilizations dating over thousands of years ago. Each year I touch on some of these civilizations, mainly focusing our mythical literature in Ancient Greece. My students would choose an aspect of Ancient Greek culture and write an informative essay over it. However, I realize that I was missing out on offering so many diverse perspectives from our ancient realms. I was also limiting my students' pathways in showing their knowledge by allowing one format of writing to encompass all their rich learning.       My implementation plan is a way for me to bring in inquiry, diversity, and multimodal composition into my ELA classrooms. I want my students to see themselves as journalists-choosing their interest fields,...