Literacy PLT reflection

As a Middle School Digital Technologies teacher, I talk about language and clear communication a lot. It’s not always an obvious link to students but, to write effective code, programmers must follow a basic structure – just like writing an effective sentence.

With JavaScript, the main method is where program execution starts and stops, like the subject of a sentence. Variables tell us about the method, and they can change, like a compliment, while a statement represents an action to be carried out, like a predicate.

I chose to join the Literacy PLT because my students, who range in grade from 5 through 8, all come into the classroom with differing prior knowledge when it comes to writing sentences, paragraphs, and viable code. I wanted to learn how to bring everyone to a baseline with English literacy before attempting to teach another language altogether. Even – sometimes especially! – the kids who can write an ordered algorithm struggle to put a capital letter at the start of their sentence and a full stop at the end. I noticed that, by explicitly teaching how to form a sentence, the bridge between literacy and programming became clearer. They both have rules to follow in order to be understood.

The PLT experience was very interesting! Sharing ideas with colleagues who teach across a variety of age groups and subjects highlighted the fact that clear communication is essential in every discipline. I think it helped the students to have their Technology teacher prioritising paragraph writing at the same time as their Art and Indonesian teachers. There was a bit of resistance at first, but as I began to see the benefit of starting a lesson with a focussed literacy activity, it reminded students that writing with purpose is essential to communicate effectively, whether in words or in script.

Mrs Jen Dowling

Middle School Make (Design, Textile and Technologies) Teacher.