GUIDE
_________________________________________________________________
The Teaching of Living Abilities with Literacy A Training Manual
WRITING STRATEGIES _______________________________________________________________________________
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
● Introduction ………………………………………………………. 2 ○ SWOT analysis ………………………………………… 3-4 ● Spain ………………………………………………………….... 5-11 ● Turkey ………………………………………………………….. 12-20 ● Germany ……………………………………………………….. 21-28 ● France ……………………………………………..…………… 29-39 ● Estonia …………………………………………………………. 40-45 ● Conclusions ……………………………………………………. 46-47 ● Annex 1 ………………………………………………………… 48-53
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Introduction The aim of this document is to provide guidance for teachers, and learning support assistants where appropriate, on ways to teach writing skills in order to help learners to become more effective writers. This document has been designed to collect the activities we found most useful to help our students to become good writers, and consequently, also good readers under the Erasmus + project “Go For Literacy to Enlighten your Future” (2017-2019) where countries such as Spain, Turkey, Germany, France and Estonia have collaborated. Activities have been designed for students who are 14-18 years old. Writing skill is a complex process because it requires the skillful coordination of both cognitive and linguistic processes and resources focusing on higher level skills of planning and organizing (i.e. generating and organizing ideas) as well as lower level skills of spelling, punctuation and word choice can be a daunting task for our students. As a result, teaching writing skills is not only very important but also challenging for language teachers. It’s indeed a key component of literacy development and a crucial skill for life beyond the classroom. Developing students’ writing skills must be therefore a focus for our schools. Indeed teenagers use the written word in their own language to communicate in both social and academic contexts, and many of them will need to develop good writing skills in main languages too. Because everything is based on writing during academic years, a student who possesses good writing skills will automatically do better at everything. Exams, essays, assignments, and so on. It is crucial that the teaching of writing skills is carried out in a consistent way across the whole school. In a secondary setting, as learners move between different departments as part of their learning, this is particularly important. This means that writing skills need to be taught consistently, not only by designated language teachers in the modern foreign languages departments but also by teachers of all other subjects that provide a range of contexts for writing across the school. In order to make progress, learners need good teaching that includes the modelling of writing, regular opportunities to develop their skills, and effective assessment practice that leads them to understand how best to improve their work. The really effective writer will reach a stage when the mechanical aspects of writing, such as spelling and punctuation,
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become second nature to them and they are able to give all their attention to experimenting with language and form to engage and inform their readers.
Swot Analysis
At the beginning of our project we applied some questionnaires to students that aimed at analysing our students’ writing skills. Results enlightened teachers about some important issues such as motivation of the student, their interest of writing, the use of writing as a communication channel, and the way ICT tool could affect their writing skills. The most important results of the SWOT analysis are: ❏ Our students(82%) mostly like learning new words by writing in notebook every day. When we add the number of students, who write on blog or social media, this ratio increases to the 99%. ❏ It showed that our new generation students are still open to learn new things by using their writing skills at school. ❏ The students (92%) aware that to writing correctly is very important for correct communication in daily life. ❏ Our students (53%) still start to write without brainstorming about the topic. As teachers we can improve this weakness using new innovative learning methods in lessons such as different group dynamics, gamification, role-playing etc… ❏ When taking their first step, our students (80%) expect teachers’ explanation, help of friends and look at a model of the writing. Teachers have opportunities to develop this weakness inside the group activities. ❏ According to our students (%85) using computers (ICT tools) makes them write better because of revision and edition advantages which come easily online. On the other hands, they (29%) think that using shortcuts when typing is making trouble on communication, and writing too fast is making them more careless.. With the help of teachers’ guidance on Web 2.0 applications, it is possible to improve their writing skills. In the end, as educators and teachers, we should encourage them to write about anything via using notebook and ICT tools such as a love stories, an interview with a footballer, articles about politics, or even jokes. At this stage, students will care less about mistakes they make, and they will feel free to write, since writings do not have to be related with
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curriculums. However, students can reach the aimed objectives under these activities below: organizing contests about slogan, motto, art and science exhibition; making them active on school magazine and monthly newspaper tasks, organizing short visits to hometown public library, press and local writers, as well as including web 2.0 tools-based lessons, or using innovative approaches on teaching writing.
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SPAIN
PREWRITING ANSWERGARDEN: AnswerGarden is a free tool that creates word clouds from multiple users simultaneously. The teacher creates an Answergarden in his/her computer. Afterwards, shares the link with students so they can visit your "garden" on their mobile device. Students simply type a short answer and click "submit." The answers appear in a word cloud in real time on everyone's device so it's easy to see which submission was entered the most frequently. Ideas for use: ●
Getting-to-know-you: everyone post 5 adjectives that describe themselves or their summer.
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Getting-to-know-you game: the teacher poses a question (ex. "Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction?"), and the students type their answer. The answer that grows the biggest on the screen is the most popular.
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Learning styles group quiz: the teacher can pose questions (ex. "Would you rather show your learning with a song or a play?" or "Do you like numbers or words more?"), and the students type their answer.
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Get instant feedback: "What's one thing you're confused about in this lesson?" or “What other questions do you have about this topic?"
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Short discussion: ask or post discussion questions to a novel or topic you're studying and let students weigh in. Or pose a provocative question and let them write freely their answers: “You’ve just won 100.000€!. Explain what you’re going to do with them”
SHORT STORIES IN 20’ This activity is aimed at students who are 12-14 years old.
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Teacher asks every student for a word. Everyone writes his own word in a little piece of paper. After that the teacher mixes all the papers, and by chance the teacher gives each student one of the papers with the secret word. This is done so the student can’t choose the word. The activity consists on writing a short story with the word that has been given to them. The word has to appear three times: one at the first sentence of the story, during the story and at the last sentence of the story. They have only 20 minutes to write. GENERATING IDEAS WRITING TALES FOR KIDS This activity is aimed at students who are 12-14 years old. Teacher reads aloud an adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne. Each student take notes of the main ideas inside the story and after that they write all the story with their own words and style in order to read their stories to kids of Primary schools in La Llagosta. Student can also draws a picture next to the story, so that it becomes a kind of tale. We show you some examples below. Finally they go to primary schools in La Llagosta to share and show the tales to the kids.
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INVENTING NEW STORIES FROM FAMOUS CHARACTERS OF UNIVERSAL LITERATURE This activity is aimed at students who are 12-14 years old. The teachers introduces a famous character of literature. Take for example, Ullyses. After this, students will brainstorm in groups and imagine about the time when the character lived, actions done by the character and the time this character lived as well as other antagonist characters. From here, the teacher has got two different options: â—?
Students work in groups of 4 to decide the plot of their story. In this case, one student will be the secretary as he/she will be the one who takes notes of the story
â—?
Everyone in the group decides and write his/her own story taking into account the previously brainstorming done.
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PLANNING STORY CUBES: Individually, students throw the story cube 4 times in order to develop four different sections inside their composition: A. Introduction B. Body ( 2 paragraphs) C. Conclusion
Students are given some requirements for this task. Basically their composition must contain the sections provided previously, and the story will be finally published on the school digital magazine, so this requires them to think about the reader and the context their text will be in. We remind students to take into account cohesion and coherence, as well as register criteria.
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Students’ compositions will be assessed following the previously mentioned criteria. According to the latter, their writing will be assessed as follows: â?? Level 3: the student has used a proper register according to the text type and the communication aim of the composition. Sections required were developed (intro, body and conclusion) satisfactorily. Text shows correctness regarding morphosyntax, punctuation, as well as using a rich vocabulary. Take this as an example:
â?? Level 2: the student knows how to use a proper register according to the communicative aim of the composition and the text is organised including the sections required( intro, body and conclusion). Text shows general correctness regarding morphosyntax, use of basic connectors that show coherence, good punctuation and a correct spelling (just containing a few mistakes) and a correct vocabulary. Take this as an example:
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â?? Level 1: the student has sometimes used a proper register according to the communicative aim of the composition, the text is not always organised including the sections required (intro, body and conclusion). Text shows sometimes correctness regarding morphosyntax, use of basic connectors that show coherence, good punctuation and a correct spelling (containing some mistakes) as well as a basic vocabulary. Take this as an example:
REVISING AND EDITING Drafting stages Task: Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay on with this title:Is it better to watch a film at home or at the cinema? 1. Think about what you have to do: These are the stages that we follow when we are to write an essay. Order them: submit, brainstorm ideas, writing draft, planning, writing a final draft, editing draft and proofread, writing outline
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2. Now, start by brainstorming ideas: HOME
CINEMA
cheaper takes more time
3. Link the ideas above with an explanation: main idea cheaper
explanation you do not have to pay
4. Write the first draft. Pay attention to paragraphing. Remember to introduce the argument you don’t agree with first, and then the one you support. Use connectors to introduce your ideas. 5. Check that you have done it well. Once checked, re-write your essay and hand it in.
YES / NO? Is the content interesting? Have you included 4 paragraphs? Have you introduced the topic? Have you presented the argument you don’t agree with first? Have you given explanations for your ideas? Have you summed up your ideas in the last paragraph? Have you used appropriate connectors? Have you checked your spelling?
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TURKEY Writing is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form. It is essential to understand the basic system of a language in order to write clearly. What are most important steps for an effective writing: ●
Knowledge of grammar
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Punctuation
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Sentence structure
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Vocabulary
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Correct spelling
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Formatting
There are many reasons of writing such as educating, entertaining, persuading and motivating. In 9th grade class, the teacher delivers students worksheets and wants the students to read Paul’s article from the school newspaper about his favourite season, and put the paragraphs in the correct order; Wonderful Winter A______ I do lots of things in winter. I go to school in the morning. In the evening, I stay at home and watch TV or read a book next to a warm fire. When it snows, my friends and I go to the park and make a snowman. At the weekend, my family and I go skiing in the mountains. B_____ Winter is a lovely season. It is my favourite season because everything is beautiful when it snows. C_____ Winter is fantastic. It makes me feel happy. D_____ The weather is very cold. It often snows and the sky is usually cloudy. Some animals sleep all winter. There are no leaves on the trees and there aren’t any flowers.
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After the students order the paragraphs in the correct order, the teacher wants the students to read the paragraphs. The teacher emphasizes the tips by telling them: -A good paragraph always has a topic sentence. A topic sentence reveals the focus of a paragraph. In other words, it's the sentence that explains what a paragraph is mainly about. ( Winter is a lovely season. It is my favourite season because everything is beautiful when it snows.) -In addition to a topic sentence, a paragraph should have supporting details. Supporting details are sentences that back up a topic sentence and strengthen its point. They also connect the topic sentence to other important points in a paragraph. -A paragraph should always include a clear conclusion. The conclusion is the sentence that brings a paragraph to a close.( Winter is fantastic. It makes me feel happy.) In the next activity, the students read the sentences below and underline the correct words; 1.
In paragraph 1, Paul introduces his favourite weather/season .
2.
Paragraph 2 is about the weather and nature/ Paul’s activities.
3.
Paragraph 3 is about Paul’s family/activities.
4.
Paragraph 4 is about Paul’s feelings/weekends.
In the second hour, the teacher shows a writing plan on the smart board and explains the phases to the students: PLAN ●
Paragraph 1: say why summer is your favourite season
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Paragraph 2: describe the weather and nature
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Paragraph 3: say what you do/ what happens during this season
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Paragraph 4: say how this season makes you feel
-favourite season: beautiful, fantastic, great, awesome -weather and nature: hot, sun, shines, sunny, are not any clouds, trees, green, leaves, birds sing, warm sea - activities: go on holiday, swim, make sand castles, go on picnics, ride my bike
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- feelings: feel happy , lively, relaxed, energetic Then the students are given 15 minutes to write about their favourite season by using the plan given before. â?– A sample one written by a student:
AUTUMN Autumn is a beautiful season. It is my favourite season because it is cool and the trees change colour. In autumn, it often rains and the wind blows. Leaves fall from the trees and birds ly to warm places. In autumn, my mother always buys me a new bag, because school starts in September. My father collects the leaves from the garden. Sometimes I help him after school and I really like that. At the weekends we often visit my grandmother and we cook together. I like spending time with her. I like autumn very much. It makes me feel relaxed and I feel happy. As homework, the teacher wants the students to write about their favourite movie by using the plan and the expression given to them. Completing a Dialogue Worksheets are prepared. A and B papers are composed of dual conversation. For example, the verbs are going to be filled either in singular form or plural form. Completing short letter A gap is given in a written letter or Sms and the students are required to fill the gap in parallel with its meaning. Write a Poem Having the students write a poem, which is consist of 11 words called a study “elfchen� , about the name of fruit and vegetable 1- red
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2 flame coloured 3- in a small basket 4- Every child wants it: strawberry Acrostic Poem Writing acrostic verses or writing the letters of the name up hill and down dale so as to create words.
MELONİ ERDBEERE HİMBEERE BİRNE APFEL Describing (Beschreibung) (Apple): It is red, it is sour or sweet. Everybody likes it, it is healthy.
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Europäische Waldgeschichte
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Leo war sehr beschämt. Er sagte: "Tut mir leid. Ich machte den Graben nicht für euch, sondern für die Männer, die Jäger sind. Dann fielt ihr in den Graben mit Nüssen. Das war sehr komisch. Zuerst möchtete ich mich amüsieren und schaute ich herum, was ich machen konnte. Gerada dann sahen wir die Männer. Sie kamen uns vorbei und ich hatte viel Angst, dass sie euch finden konnten. Also das war mein Schuld. Gerade bin ich sehr glücklich, weil unsere Freunde euch retten konnten." Franzi sagte: "Los gehen! Die Männer müssen vor dem Sonnenuntergang zurückkommen. Sie sollen uns nicht finden." Als alle Tiere und ihr Freund Franzi auf die Lichtung zusammen gingen, sah Alagöz auf der Lichtung etwas Schwarzes. Sie rufte: "Moment, seid Ruhe! Auf der Lichtung gibt es etwas Schwarzes." Franzi: " Ja, ich sehe auch. Aber was ist es?" Ciapek: " Ich sehe auch. Was ist dort los?" Schnuff und Leo waren leise und sagten nichts. Harry und Elvira waren müde und auch leise. Alle schauten einander und warteten leise. Zuerst begann Franzi zu sprechen. Franzi sagte: "Ich habe eine Idee." Alle fragten aufgeregt: "Was ist seine Idee". Franzi erklärte: "Ich möchte erst in die Nahe von dieser Sache gehen und versuche zu verstehen, was es ist." Alle Tieren machten sich Sorgen um Franzi. Franzi sagte:"Macht keine Sorgen! Ich gehe langsam und leise. Wartet mich auf!" Franzi ging gespannt. Gerade sah Franzi eine kleine Gaselle im Schlaf. Aber sie schläft nicht, sondern sie verletzt, müde und liegt auf dem Boden. Franzi kam bei ihr und fragte: "Was ist so passiert? " Sie konnte nicht beantworten, weil sie Angst hatte und sie war verletzt. Franzi ging sofart bei deinen Freunden zurückt und rief sie bei ihr.
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Alle Kamen schnell und sahen eine kleine verletzte Gaselle, die auf dem Gras hinliegt. Sie halfen sofort ihr, ihre Wunden zu heilen. Sie fütterte sie auch. Sie begannen zu warten, sie sich zu verbessern. Am Nachmittag wachte sie auf und schaute sie sich um. Sie sah andere Tiere. Danach lachelte sie sich glücklich und sagte : "Gott sei Dank. Ich bin in der Scherheit." Alagöz fragte: "Wie heisst du?" Kleine Gaselle : "Ich heisse Karaca" sagte. Alle sagten ihre Namen. Ciapek, Harry, Franzi, Leo, Schnuff, Elvira, Alagöz. Alagöz: "Wo sind deine Familie?" Karaca weinte und sagte:"Ich hatte eine Familie. Aber jetzt habe ich keine Familie. Die Männer, die Jäger sind, haben zuerst meinen Vater getötet und dann meine Mutter getötet. Heute möchteten sie mich töten. Nach ersten Schuss bin ich sehr schnell gelaufen.Im Wald weiss ich viele Wege und Felse. Ich versteckte mich in einer Höhle. Danach haben sie mich verloren. Ich war verletzt aber ich musste auf die Lichtung kommen. Ich hörte, dass ihr hier zusammen sein möchtetet. Ich lief mit meiner Verletzte schnell und verlor ich viel Blut. Deshalb war ich totmüde. Alagöz sagte zu Karaca: "Du bist sehr klein und musst immer bei mir bleiben." Karaca antwortete: "Ja, immer bin ich bei dir. Danke, vielen Dank für eure Hilfe." Sie waren alle sehr hunrig und mussten etwas fressen und Franzi essen. Franzi sagte deine Tierfreunde: "Macht mich keine Sorge! Ich kann schaffen. " Die Tiere gingen aus den grünen Grass und frissen. Vor dem Abend machten alle eine Veranstaltung zusammen.Sie diskutierten darüber, was sie danach machen sollten...... (Ende Teil 4, Die Türkei)
Autor: Heike Kroll Zuletzt bearbeitet von: Lemia Sert
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GERMANY
1. Writing a comment Due to the curriculum students are asked to write comments. Here they have to give their own opinion on a topic, statement etc. This is a very complex task for students. Therefore they are first of all taught how to structure such a comment and which phrases are useful. They are given the following paper.
How to write a comment In a comment we state our opinions and personal views on something. In a personal comment, we usually state first whether we are for or against something. Then we give reasons, or arguments, for our view. We usually finish with a conclusion based on the evidence that we have given. Example: Do teenagers need a smartphone? (topic) Step 1 Introduction
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● The question … is a contentious1 issue2 in modern society. Many people regard … as absolutely necessary. Others think that … ● Nowadays it is often discussed if … Some people are convinced3 that… But others… ● In our world of modern communication one often disputed4 point is the role of mobile phones in our everyday lives. Many people believe that… But others…
Step 2 Beginning (giving your opinion) For
Against
To my mind young people need mobile phones because it is part of modern life.
In my opinion teenagers should not have mobile phones because they do not need them.
Step 3 Arguments (keywords) For
Against
● You can talk to your friends at anytime and from anywhere ● You always know what’s going on ● You can call for help in dangerous situations ● …
● The use of mobile phones costs a lot of money ● Excessive use can damage your health ● People call you when you do not want to talk to them ● …
Firstly… Secondly… Moreover… Furthermore… In addition… Step 4 Conclusion (End) For
Against
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contentious: umstritten issue: Thema, (Streit-)Frage 3 (to) be convinced of: überzeugt sein von 4 (to) be disputed: umstritten 2
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All in all you must say that it is absolutely impossible to live without mobile phones in a modern world.
Considering all the arguments you must come to the conclusion that mobile phones are not only unnecessary but also dangerous for mankind.
Having been given the structure students have problems in finding arguments. Therefore the writing of the first comment is practised in small groups. Together they collect arguments for and against the above-mentioned topic. They make a list and then they should bring the arguments in an order starting with the least important one towards the most important one to convince the reader. Having written the comment some students read their comment out. After that we discuss in class what was good and what could be improved. 2. Writing business letters Before writing business letters students are asked which kind of business letters they know (previous knowledge), for instance, enquiries, offers, orders, acknowledgements of order, delivery notes, reminders, credit enquiries etc. The terms are collected on cards and are stuck on the board. Then students try to find an order. (cf. picture) The next question would be what to consider before writing the letter as the letter not only consists of the body. In business a certain layout is very important and essential. The students receive a model letter with annotations that are read in class. Then they have to practise the layout. They get a blank letter and fill in the gaps. Having exercised the layout students learn how a letter is structured. They have a look at the model letter given before and find out the structure. For instance for an enquiry: source of address, introduction of your firm, reasons for enquiry, request
for information on prices and discounts/terms of payment and
delivery/delivery periods, further requests, if applicable samples or patterns/presentations or
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demonstration/ visit by representative, request to send catalogue and price list/ quotation or cost estimate, closing phrase. The next step will be to provide the students with useful phrases for each part of the business letter as there are text modules that have to be applied in business letters. Now the students are ready to write their own business letters! Having written the letter they may pass their letter to the neighbour and they check each other the letter regarding grammar and content. After that they read it out to the class.
3. The inner monologue Textual basis: Uwe Timm, By the example of my brother Short Summary: The autobiographical story takes place in the time of World War II and beyond. In this story, the author deals with the history of his family and especially with the story of his older brother, who volunteered to serve in the Waffen-SS at the age of 18. He tries to find out how much guilt he has incurred as a member of the Waffen-SS, whether he was a persuader or just an opportunist, and why his father constantly presented his younger brother as a role model. The parents are proud of their son, nobody is protesting. After six months, the son, badly wounded, falls in Ukraine. At home nobody talks about the motives and also not about the experiences that the son eventually has made at the front. By examining the story of his brother, the author also devotes himself to the role of his parents and deals with the guilt of their generation.
Preparation: The students read the novel and dealt with the historical background. As they read, they make notes of the main protagonists of the story, creating a characteristic of all the family members after the writing. They also created a sketch of the family constellation in order to have an overview of the family relationships.
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Although many questions about the actions of the protagonists can be answered with this preparation, still often questions remain open. A good method to deal with the motivations of the protagonists is the inner monologue.
Action: A scene and a question to be worked out with the inner monologue are selected. The students put themselves in the situation and the mood of the figure. Out of this mood, they now write an inner monologue from the perspective of the figure. The character can reveal her feelings and motivations that are not apparent from the text. Language: When writing, colloquial language can be used or open questions can be incorporated. Incomplete sentences or shreds of thought may also be used - similar to a diary entry. The tense is primarily the present tense. Task: For the implementation of the task, the question was asked why the brother volunteered for service in the Waffen-SS. The motives should be presented in the inner monologue. Evaluation: After the students read several monologues, the audience was asked for feedback. Ultimately, the inner monologue is a subjective form of writing, but it must be based on the events in the novel and fit the overall design of the figure. As a result, the students mentioned that the figure now was closer to them and that they could better understand her motives. Motives such as pride, group affiliation, aspiration to please the parents were named. This form of writing is usually easy for the students and makes them fun, because they like to empathize with other characters and to understand their emotions. 4. Creative writing
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In this case the collective term "creative writing" summarizes motivation, intention and occasion of writing. Meaning that the writers will immediately find a personal approach to the photo or develop a certain desire for experimentation. Important is here that: -
there are no text templates;
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personal experiences and subjective feelings as well as emotions should be expressed desired;
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Creativity and imagination are stimulated;
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It is written together in groups.
Equally important is the handling of the written text. Not every text is presented for evaluation, the evaluation criteria can be very different, and above all: before a text is delivered in a final version, it is repeatedly discussed, assessed, changed, improved and expanded. Revising texts is an important part of the writing process. In many curricula, the revision of texts as an instructional component is explicitly required. Nevertheless in the classroom reality that texts may be revised before being graded. This is all the more regrettable because students can gain important insights from the text revision and editing of their mistakes. The writing itself, the reflection and the judgment of the writers and the recipients of the text become more important. Therefore the goal is not so much to consider texts solely as bases of performance evaluation. Writing should not be an annoying dutiful task that they have to work through, but perceive and experience writing in its diverse - communicative and aesthetic - functions. The motivation to write should lie in the own message need. Task:
In a group of six students:
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everyone is looking for a photo that particularly touches him, for example shakes or makes curious
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attaches it - depending on the size - on a blank sheet and writes its own caption as a statement or question form
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the pictures are passed around regarding the picture and each member of the group is asked to write down something that comes to mind - also suggestions or wishes with regard to the following text design.
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Then everyone writes a suitable text for his picture (no picture description).
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FRANCE 1. FREE WEEKLY WRITING STRATEGY: Setting a writing environment in the classroom to motivate the pupils to create and write OBJECTIVES: Develop writing skills in general Develop imagination and personal expression Promote short weekly written expression ACTIVITY: This activity is used in French lessons, mostly in primary school but also in year 6 (11-12 years old pupils). We also use this activity in English classes from year 6 to year 9. The students have a special “free writing notebook�. Every week , they have a 6 minute period to
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answer a question with their own words, no matter the spelling. They can ask for help when they really need to. Here are some examples of questions they have to answer to: “If you were the French president, what would you do for your people?”, “what are the things you love in life?”, “If you were a magician, what would you do?”. Pupils usually enjoy this activity as it is considered as a game and it gives them the opportunity to freely express themselves
and many of them use humor.
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2. QUIZ WRITING STRATEGY: Connecting known information to questions OBJECTIVES: Develop question writing skills Develop the writing skills by thinking and asking Promote speaking and listening skills as well BACKGROUND INFORMATION: This activity is used in the European Section Class in year 9 where the pupils have two extra hours of English language a week. They have one hour of Physical Education in English and one hour of English speaking World Culture in English too. They are working on the annual theme of “ Gaelic Sports in the Irish Culture”, linking PE to Culture. In pairs, they
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have prepared Powerpoint Presentations on the subject. In May, they go to Dublin and visit the studied places and practice the studied activities. ACTIVITY: After having presented their PowerPoint on subjects such as “Gaelic football”, “the history of Croke Park Stadium”, “Camogie, a ladies sport”, and many others, the pupils have to prepare a quiz to check if their classmates have understood them and remember the given information. While writing their quiz, they have to focus on the important information, make choices, debate, write the questions with the appropriate grammar points and correct spelling.
By Arthur and Marine in 3°.
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3. CREATIVE WRITING STRATEGY: Using readings to expand writings OBJECTIVES: Develop writing in the style of a special author Develop reading and comprehension skills as well ACTIVITY: This activity is used in French literature classes in year 9 at the beginning of the school year. The theme of this sequence is “A la découverte de Soi” (discovering who I am). First, the students read the text. Here, the author is Roland Barthes and the title is “J’aime, je n’aime pas” (I like, I dislike). Then, there is a dialogue between the teacher and the students to analyze the text; its meaning, its grammar content, its vocabulary, the author’s choices, the literary references. After these explanations, the pupils have to write their own text with the same structure, on the same subject.
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Roland Barthes: J'aime, Je n'aime pas J'aime : la salade, la cannelle, le fromage, les piments, la pâte d'amandes, l'odeur du foin coupé (j'aimerais qu'un « nez » fabriquât un tel parfum), les roses, les pivoines, la lavande, le champagne, des positions légères en politique, Glenn Gould, la bière excessivement glacée, les oreillers plats, le pain grillé, les cigares de Havane, Haendel, les promenades mesurées, les poires, les pêches blanches ou de vigne, les cerises, les couleurs, les montres, les stylos, les plumes à écrire, les
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entremets, le sel cru, les romans réalistes, le piano, le café, Pollock, Twombly, toute la musique romantique, Sartre, Brecht, Verne, Fourier, Eisenstein, les trains, le médoc, le bouzy , avoir la monnaie, Bouvard et Pécuchet, marcher en sandales le soir sur les petites routes du Sud Ouest, le coude de l'Adour vu de la maison du docteur L., les Marx Brothers, le serrano à sept heures du matin en sortant de Salamanque, etc. Je n'aime pas : les loulous blancs, les femmes en pantalon, les géraniums, les fraises, le clavecin, Miro, les tautologies, les dessins animés, Arthur Rubinstein, les villas, les après midi, Satie, Bartok, Vivaldi, téléphoner, les chœurs d'enfants, les concertos de Chopin, les bransles de Bourgogne, les danceries de la Renaissance, l'orgue, M. A. Charpentier, ses trompettes et ses timbales, le politico sexuel, les scènes, les initiatives, la fidélité, la spontanéité, les soirées avec des gens que je ne connais pas, etc. J’aime, je n'aime pas : cela n'a aucune importance pour personne; cela, apparemment, n'a pas de sens. Et pourtant tout cela veut dire : mon corps n'est pas le même que le vôtre. Ainsi, dans cette écume anarchique des goûts et des dégoûts, sorte de hachurage distrait, se dessine peu à peu la figure d'une énigme corporelle, appelant complicité ou irritation. Ici commence l'intimidation du corps, qui oblige l'autre à me supporter libéralement, à rester silencieux et courtois devant des jouissances ou des refus qu'il ne partage pas. (Une mouche m'agace, je la tue : on tue ce qui vous agace. Si je n'avais pas tué la mouche, c'eût été par pur libéralisme: je suis libéral pour ne pas être un assassin.)
Roland Barthes par Roland Barthes
4. PETITION WRITING
STRATEGY: Using students’ involvement for a cause to get to write
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OBJECTIVES: Writing to convince Develop group writing skills Getting involved and taking responsibilities Develop speaking skills as well
ACTIVITY: This activity is often proposed in English classes from year 7 to year 9. After having talked about a cause, a British or international charity, the pupils have acquired notions and vocabulary on the theme. In this activity, in groups of 4, first, they tell the facts about “Junk Food”, they give the inconvenient and consequences of this issue, they say what they would like to do to improve the situation in the school canteen, they look for solutions and changes and they use expressions to try to convince. Once they have written their petition ,with all these elements, they organize an awareness campaign against “Junk food” in the school yard, they communicate about the issue to the other pupils, they get as many signatures as they can and they send this petition to the headmistress and to our Chef, head of the canteen.
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5. CALLIGRAPHY WRITING STRATEGY: Using art to learn Chinese writing OBJECTIVES: Develop artistic and writing skills Motivate new language learning ACTIVITY: This activity is used in Chinese class with the 1rst year learners. The teacher is using this artistic method to motivate the pupils to learn and write a totally different alphabet. The Chinese teacher is skilled in Chinese calligraphy and she shows and trains the pupils from the beginning of the school year. They have a weekly ritual and their task is to illustrate, in Chinese calligraphy ,the new sinograms they have learnt. Chinese being a very complicated and completely different language from ours, it can be discouraging for 11-12 year old pupils. Chinese has more than 5000 sinograms and the learning of this language requires an important personal motivation and work. The teacher has found, thanks to calligraphy, and its artistic approach, a fun way to motivate her students.
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ESTONIA
1. Co-writing Writing in a small group on a given topic. Depending on the topic, this kind of work is suitable for different age levels. Sample task: Creative story " Good Father" The story consists of three parts or paragraphs (they are written on the blackboard or displayed on the wall): 1. Father's appearance 2. Description of the father's work 3. What we do with my dad The groups of three are formed in the class, each member of the group writes a part of the description. Incomplete writing is passed on to the next member who writes the second part of the story, etc. The writers of paragraphs 2 and 3 should ensure that the written part has some connection to the preceding paragraphs. The recommended time for writing each part could be, for example, 5-7 minutes, then the work is exchanged. In total, three different stories of a nice father are being made in the group. Next, members of the group can choose the best father and read aloud the story in the class.
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2. Story writing based on questions Background information: Due to the organization of the Literacy Day in connection with the Paikuse Library, it was necessary to motivate the class to write a story about "My Favorite Book". Not very long time ago, the introduction of books which were read by the students in summer had taken place and writing the story based on that. The goal is to develop children's literacy and literacy skills. Develop oral and written speech, broaden the horizons, develop critical thinking, etc.
Strategy: Such a strategy supports the correct grammatical literacy of the children at the school, the fluency and logic of the subject, but also the interest in reading the books.
Sample questions which help the student write a story: What book is it? Who is the author of this book? What were the characters in this book? What was the most exciting, funniest or worse place? If you could make yourself a character of the book, who would you be there? What does the author of the book want to teach you? Why is this book your favorite one?
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3. RAFT writing (RAFT- Role Audience Format Topic) Writing includes four perspectives: 1. R: the role of the writer (Who are you?) 2. A: an addressee (to who do you write?) 3. F: Form (in what form do you write?)
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4. T: Theme/ topic (What topic?) RAFT writing can be used both individually and in group work. The RAFT writing process has the following steps: • A teacher presents a theme (eg SCHOOL) • A brainstorm is organised to find roles. The goal is to find as many roles as possible from the point of view of the subject, and who can be involved with this topic (a student, a teacher,a cleaner, a heamaster and so on). Later, the student or a group of students chooses one role from whose role he/she/it writes. • A brainstorming session in a group can be organised to find who the chosen character could write. • Also, brainstorming on text formatting (e-mail, sms ...) • The text is being prepared during the specified period. • There are many possibilities for presentation, for example, the text may be presented orally, submitted using the authoritative method, the written text can be hung on the wall. Brainstorming results can be put into a format of a table. addressee
4. Cinquain This method is to summarize the information, express one's thoughts and understandings using only a few words. 1st line is a single word describing the topic – one noun 2nd line is a two-word description of the subject-two adjectives. 3rd line is the description of the activities of the topic- three -ing words
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4th line is a four-word sentence that expresses the feelings associated with the subject. 5th line is the synonym of the first line, which repeats the essence of the subject. Example (Volcanoes)
Vulkaanid Punased, kuumad Purskamine, p천letamine, keemine Looduse h천천gav hukutav sulatusahi Tulem채gi
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5. Creative/ free story writing Backround: As a part of Estonian curriculum, the students have to do a creative work in basic school (a research, practical work, organising an event at school etc). One student chose a topic of writing a youth story. The process of writing: Step 1. Planning the story- brainstorming about the characters, the style of the story, the structure, the basic content/ events that happen etc Step 2. Writing a story- discussing grammar and vocabulary matters (using synonyms etc) Step 3. Reading aloud the story (error correction) Step 4. Illustrating the story, designing a cover, drawing pictures. Step 5. Publishing the book (digital publishing platform issuu was used) Step 6. A book review is given by the critic/ students (evaluation) Step 7. Presenting the story by describing the process of writing, reading some extracts.
https://issuu.com/luik.elisabeth/docs/elisabeth_loovtoo_parandatud..docx
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Conclusion During our GoFor C4 mobility in Paikuse Pohikool in Pärnu (23th-29th September 2018, Estonia) we met and agreed on the following conclusions regarding advantages and disadvantages of writing as follows: ADVANTAGES OF WRITING o o o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
You don’t have to obey rules (creative writing). Getting writing skills. Permanent knowledge. Everyone can participate and share ideas. You also express your feelings and emotions. Free writing- motivating. The inner monologue- reflective thinking. Artistic writing- acrostic poems- calligraphy, personal expressions, imagination, creativity. Topics connected with students’ lives. Writing visibility. Model sentences/ texts/ paragraphs. Using teamwork/ pairwork. Peer assessment/ self-assessment. Taking responsibility. Spot the mistakes/ rewriting. Writing correction code for a self-correction and inter-correction. Smileys (well done! brilliant!). Useful language boxes. Contextualised texts. Portfolio. Use of ICT. Summarizing. Reading helps writing. More organised . Correct use of punctuation. Use knowledge of grammar. Visualizing.
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DISADVANTAGES WITH WRITING
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
No concept in writing. Long-lasting activity. Not attractive and boring to some students. Can be difficult to some students. Long-lasting evaluation for the teacher. Topics disconnected with sb’s lives. Assign as a homework (to avoid sb to copy from Internet). Writing introductions can cause problems. Missing vocabulary and grammar structures. Lack of vocabulary. Finding one’s words, mostly copying. New ways of communications. Diversity of guidance methods and strategies. Group work- the leaders are the only workers. Students’ ICT languages (social networks, whatsapp, social media...). Negative impact of ICT tools. Incorrect use of punctuation. Lack of taking notes. Lack of grammar knowledge. Lack of organisation skills. Lack of word formation Long texts Blank page. Correct mistakes. Don’t punish when making mistakes in writing tasks.
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ANNEXES: ACTIVITIES’ GRID WRITING STRATEGIES
SCHOOL
SUBJECT(S)
LEVEL/YEAR
English Berufskolleg Borken German
TIMING
11/12
Schneider
90' comment/ 180' business letter
12/13
Kompa Conrad
11-13
KEY COMPETENCIES
TRANSVERSAL TOPICS
Applying text modules
Writing German business letter
Apply situation- based communication
Writing comment in German lessons
Giving one's own opinion understanding the motives and emotions of a gure
TEACHER(S)
90'
Frincu
KEY CONTENT
ASSESSMENT
business English
vocabulary tests
Giving one's own opinion
creative writing
feeling empathy personal experience express subjective
subjective writing; according to the general pro le
editing a partners work. Eg: blog write in groups- cooperation personal expression- to write about one's writing without criterias LEARNING GOALS Writing formally correct business letters with appropriate text modules Writing a well structured and convincing comment Understanding the motives and emotions of a gure Develop an understanding of historical relationships
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Experience writing Re ection and judgement of the writers Edit writing Re ection and judgement of the writers Language awareness GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL CRITERIA/STUDENTS GROUPINGS tasked based approach; cooperative learning Individual work Partner work Group work give adequate feedback
individual work, giving feedback in class
bring on your ideas
group work
give feedback MATERIALS & RESOURCES exercise books, board, cardboards, PC, textbooks exercise books, textbooks pictures blog
SCHOOL
SUBJECT(S)
LEVEL/YEAR
Institut Marina
Catalan/Spanish
12 years
Institut Marina
English
17 years
KEY COMPETENCIES
TRANSVERSAL TOPICS
KEY CONTENT
Competence 8: plan the text according to the reader and the context
Social issues
Competence 9: produce texts of di erent typlogy Universal Literature Competence 10: Text editing and revising LEARNING GOALS
Text typology, universal literature main gures
TEACHER(S)
TIMING
Ma Josep Raich/Gemma Tona Pre-writing: 20' Raquel Abad
Activities: 60'
ASSESSMENT Diagnostic assessment in prewriting activities Formative assessment through planning activities Summative assessment in editing and revising
CATERING FOR DIVERSITY STRATEGIES
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Prewriting Generating ideas
Revising and editing strategies have been included to help our students building any kind of text
Planning texts Revising/editing GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL CRITERIA
STUDENTS GROUPINGS
Brainstorming tasks Cooperative learning
Individual work and group work (max. 4 students)
Task-based Approach MATERIALS & RESOURCES pc, projector, students' mobiles phones, crayons, notebook, story cubes
SCHOOL
SUBJECT(S)
LEVEL/YEAR
TEACHER(S)
TIMING
Necmi Asfuroğlu Anadolu Lisesi
English
A-1/2 9th Grade
Mehmet SUSAM
40'+40'
German
A1.1
Lemia SERT
40'+40'
KEY COMPETENCIES
TRANSVERSA L TOPICS
KEY CONTENT
being able to write in a certain topic
-Sharing and exchanging ideas -Write in a foreign language
The students are given homework in which -Writing about one’s they are going to write what their favourite favourite season country is and Why in details? The students hand in their paper individually
ASSESSMENT
reading
- To be able to write what they hear
Reading and Writing the names fruit and vegetables
To be able to say and write the nouns in German
writing
- To be able to write what they see
Singular and Plural nouns
To be able to write the given nouns in German
speaking
- To be able to write what they express
To be able to use singularity and plurality in sentence
listening LEARNING GOALS - To be able write short dialogues By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to; -generate their ideas - focus an idea - organizing their ideas
- to be able to understand and write what they hear -to be able to write simple and known words
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-to be able to write simple and known short sentence GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL CRITERIA/STUDENTS GROUPINGS The students write what their favourite season is individually and they share what they have written with their desk-mate. to be able to write the learnt words correctly
I have three criteria in classifying the students
- to be able understand and write what they hear
- those who understand properly
To be able to write short dialogues and dramatize them.
- those who make less mistakes
- those who need support
MATERIALS & RESOURCES Worksheet, notebook, pc, interactive table
SCHOOL
SUBJECT(S)
LEVEL/YEAR
TEACHER(S)
TIMING
Collège Ste Anne
French, English, Chinese
Year 6 to 9
P.Chirold, S. Bazzo, Kim
1rst Term
(11 to 15 years old)
Hy Ang-Ah, V. Kerihuel
TRANSVERSAL TOPICS
KEY CONTENT
KEY COMPETENCIES calligraphy:writing by drawing
Art
Physical Education
ASSESSMENT peer assessment, teacher's correction of the written
free writing strategies, works
personal creations
literary dimension skills Literature
creative writing
oral correction to discuss
autonomy
calligraphy
strategies
communicative skills
petition writing
social skills, cooperation
CATERING FOR DIVERSITY STRATEGIES
LEARNING GOALS develop writing skills value writing
using IT tools using calligraphy to write
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develop critical thinking
personal written expression
GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL CRITERIA/STUDENTS GROUPINGS free weekly writing and calligraphy writing (individual writing work), quiz writing (pair writing work), petition writing (group writing work) creative writing (getting inspired by an author) MATERIALS & RESOURCES smart board, school books and authors texts, free writing notebooks, calligraphy equipment computers, newspapers and magazines
SCHOOL
SUBJECT(S)
LEVEL/YEAR
Paikuse Basic School
English
classes 5-9
I. Lilles, K. Jürisoo, J. Suve, A. Männik
Estonian
(11-15 yrs old)
1st Term
KEY COMPETENCIES
TRANSVERSAL TOPICS
KEY CONTENT
cooperation, working in a group
ICT
writing according to a topic
literature
planning, following it
art
Critical thinking
TEACHER(S)
TIMING
ASSESSMENT
free writing (a book, co-students' assessment
discussion
critic's evaluation (a book) cinquain)
teacher's correction
iting based on questio RAFT writing
LEARNING GOALS
CATERING FOR DIVERSITY STRATEGIES
expressing one's ideas/ thoughts/ imagination
ICT tools
critical thinking develop writing skills (grammar, use of vocabulary) following the given plan/ example GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL CRITERIA/STUDENTS GROUPINGS individual work, pair work, group work, brainstorming MATERIALS & RESOURCES books, worksheet (for writing a cinquain), website platform to publish a book, worksheets (questions)
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