LOMCIRAs 5th Annual Literacy Fair

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LOMCIRAs 5th Annual Literacy Fair Reader,
Writer, and Listener Response Activities for
the Computer
Keith McPherson, Co-ordinator Language and
Literacy Education Research Centre University of
British Columbia
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Activity 1 Comic Computer, Writing Warm Up In
pairs, view the following comics and select your
favourite. Each person becomes one (or more)
of the comics characters. Then, using a
computer, write a script for your comic.
You will be sharing your script (reading and/or
dramatization) with the rest of the group.
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Comic Computer, Writing Warm Up
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Activity 2 Brainstorming a Sense of Place
1. List top 5 Places
2. Choose one place to write about
3. Create/recreate sense of place
using...

• 5 Ws
• Sight, Sound, Taste, Smell, Touch

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Lifewriting Guidelines

• Ensure students know their audience

• The more time spent stimulating students sense
  of place often results in more successful and
  meaningful draft writing

• Except for brief pauses for thought, dont stop
  writing

• Write for 10 - 15 Minutes Max. (depending on age)

• Dont spend time erasing

• Write bah blah blah if you cant think of
  anything to write

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Activity 3 From Paper to Screen

• Copy hand written draft word-for-word. Then go
  back and revise on screen. Finally, write three
  different opening and closing sentences and
  choose the best of each.
• Read your hand written draft carefully. Then
  decide on a different opening sentence. As you
  copy your text, try to incorporate fresh ideas or
  details that can be added to your story. Can you
  extend the ending?
• Read your hand written text carefully. Then
  put it away. Start your story with a different
  opening sentence. Continue your story.
  Incorporate as many, or more details, as you
  remember them.
• The procedure is the same as 3, except that you
  turn off the screen of your computer and compose
  only by looking at the keyboard.

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Activity 4 The "Read Around" Leave your Sense
of Place on the screen (on a readable font like
16 point Arial). Then circulate around the Lab
to read others stories. Type appreciative
comments or suggestions at the end of the story
(or hand write on a response slip) to give to the
author. If your own class is mature enough, you
may suggest they type the author any questions
which might help clarify the writing.
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Activity 5 Reader Response to Published
Text Obtain permission to copy a published
authors text (and pictures) and post on the
computer. Have students read the story and
incorporate their response into the text.
Students may wish to use a colored font just for
their responses. Like layered responses in
listservices, this activity gets interesting when
students respond to other students responses and
the transactional element of the reading becomes
multilayered. This activity is recommended for
exploring the variety of interpretations we
arrive at when reading textual and pictorial
stories.
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Activity 6 Reader Response to Picture
Books Using a wordless picture book and
computers, ask a class of paired students to
write the text for the story. Pairs of Primary
children may only composes the text for one or
two pages. Pairs of intermediate students may
compose the story for the entire text. During
the process, students are asked to read and
respond to another groups story. They then
return to their own story to incorporate (or not)
the comments and suggestions from their
reviewers. This can be done several times if the
responses are set up in a question and answer
format.
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Mayer, Mercer. (1974). Frog Goes to Dinner.New
York Dial Press.
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Wiesner, David. (1999). Sector 7. New York
Clarion Books.
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For further information on integrating computers
into Language Arts, visit http//www.lled.educ.ub
c.ca/courses/481 Handouts related to this
presentataion may be found at http//www.lled.edu
c.ubc.ca/courses/481/ho.htm Interested in taking
LLED 481 (integrating computers into the L.A.)
at UBC? Phone [phone], or email
keith.mcpherson_at_ubc.ca