Computational Thinking in the ELA

by Mrs. McDermott

I’ve been an ELA teacher for a long time, and for most of my career, I’ve lived, breathed, and dreamed books, writing, and art. So, when I came to Reedy Creek and learned that I would be responsible for teaching Computational Thinking, I admit that I panicked just a little bit. Most ELA teachers would probably say that we don’t have any particular skill sets in computer science or computational thinking because we don’t teach science and math. But, I soon learned that ELA might actually be one of the best subjects for incorporating computational thinking! In fact, it’s already there in most of our curriculum because we study reading and writing as processes. Read on to find out how your student could be encountering CT habits of mind in ELA class!

Pattern Recognition:

• When students compare and contrast, they are looking for patterns!

• Repetition, one of the conventions of poetry, relies on patterns of words to create an impact on the reader

• Using prefixes, suffixes, and roots to define unfamiliar words asks students to think about patterns in other words that use the same morphemes
  

Algorithm:

• When students analyze model paragraphs or essays to determine how they are constructed, they are looking for algorithms that they can then replicate in their own work!

• Students follow specific algorithms or processes in ELA to determine a theme, write a summary, or approach a poem

• We study specific ELA algorithms like the plot pyramid and The Hero’s Journey in ELA!

• Some poetry conforms to very strict algorithms, including Haiku, Sonnets, and Sestinas!
  

Decomposition:

• Students do this every day in ELA! We decompose when we analyze literature, breaking down poetry and prose into smaller pieces to look at how they work together to create an effect on the reader or establish a theme!
  

Abstraction:

• Three of our most taught skills in ELA involve students seeing beyond the details to get the big idea! When students summarize or get the gist, they are practicing abstraction! When they determine theme, they are identifying only the most important lesson of the book or poem. If they identify a central idea, they are reducing a very complex nonfiction text to one idea.

As you can see, ELA teachers don’t have to look very hard to find Computational Thinking in our curriculum. Hopefully you’ll be able to see it now too!