Teaching writing

Activity 6: Sentence Combining

Give students a set of propositions and have them combine them into complete sentences:

The procedure for this activity may be as follows:

Provide students with  set of propositions such as the ones below:

1. The man is tall.

2. The man has dark hair.

3. The man is standing by the door.

4. The man looks suspicious

Have students combine the propositions in one sentence.

Activity 7 : Composition based on oral interview.

Have students interview a partner and a composition telling what they learned about the person they interviewed.

The procedure for this activity may be as follows:

Have students interview a partner a certain topics and have then write a composition to tell what they had learned about this partner sample topics:

1. Talk about yourself and your family (i.e., where are you from, where your family lives, your hobbies, etc…).

2. Talk about what you like and dislike about your school.

3. Describe a memorable event.

4. Describe your goals and future plans.

5. Describe a recent vacation.

2.2 Process of Writing Activities

The following process writing activities can be used in cycle  I & II of Basic Education.

Pre-writing: A Place to Start

Pre-writing, the first stage in the writing process, begins long before the writer puts thoughts into writing. The experiences, observations, and interactions that students have prior to entering the classroom have an impact upon what they will write and how they will write it. Within the classroom, pre-writing prompts and activities can be integrated into the writing process as scaffolds by teachers to help students generate ideas for their writing and to practice the thinking skills inherent in the activity.

To initiate thinking and generate possible writing topics, it is important for students to explore ideas for writing topics using a variety of pre-writing strategies, such as the following:

- Brainstorming

- Constructing thought webs and graphic organizers

- Interviewing a person knowledgeable about the topic

- Engaging in peer or teacher-student discussions and conferences

- Listening to music

- Reading about and researching the topic

- Free writing or timed free writing about the topic

- Viewing media such as pictures, movies, and television

- Listing and categorizing information

- Reflecting upon personal experience

- Examining writing models

- Responding to literature

- Role playing and other drama techniques

- Asking the 5 Ws--who, what, where, when and why.

To explore topics about which to write, the teacher may post suggestions on the bulletin board for student reference.  He/she may invite students to add their own pre-writing strategies to ideas such as the following:

1. Brainstorming about people, places, and feelings

Write down or tell a partner the names of people you could describe, then quickly and briefly describe each one. Name several places you have visited and list descriptive words for each place. List and describe some memorable feelings you have had, and explain the situation in which they occurred.

2. Talking and listening in pairs or groups

Take turns telling about an interesting person, thing, incident, or object. Encourage the listeners to ask questions and add ideas. Record possible writing topics or ideas as they arise during the discussion.

3. Looking at art

Study paintings, photographs, drawings, or sculpture in magazines or art books. It may even be useful to take a trip to a local museum or art gallery. Jot down notes and questions about the artwork, the artist and the subject, and any topic ideas that come to mind during the observation. It may help to talk over your information and ideas with a partner or small group. Explain to a partner the stories in the art works.

4. Listening to music

Listen to music you like best or a variety of new and unfamiliar music. Listen to tape recordings or to the radio, closing your eyes and letting the music paint pictures in your mind. Record these images as you listen, or turn off the music and quickly record your ideas. It may be helpful to tell the story you have imagined to a partner or group.

5. Role playing

Pretend to be any character, ask peers to act as other characters, and dramatize an event or incident, and what happened as a result of that incident or event.

6. Observing with all senses

Be aware of all that is happening around you, in the classroom, at home, in restaurants, in malls, and wherever you go. Listen closely to conversations of the people you observe, and try to capture the details of their manners and dress. Observe for issues, problems, or achievements in your community. Jot down ideas and notes as you observe them or as soon as possible after your observations.

7. Listing ideas and information

List such things as the activities that interest you, the sports you play, the clubs that you belong to, and the community and world issues that you know about from the media.

8. Reading

Read such things as nonfiction books, novels, magazines, stories, newspapers, and poems. Jot down ideas that occur to you as you read and list questions you might investigate further. Keep track of interesting vocabulary, story plots, and characters.

9. Newspaper searches

Read the stories and captions that catch your interest. Jot down ideas for writing a newspaper article or ideas that can be developed into other kinds of writing.

10. Author visits

As the authors share their writing and discuss the craft of writing, students gain further understanding of the writing process and possibly get ideas for their own writing.

Pre-writing prompts or activities planned by the teacher can serve as writing scaffolds for inexperienced writers who have difficulty accessing their own feelings, ideas, experiences, and knowledge. Teacher-planned pre-writing activities, such as the samples that follow, give students a place to start and make them become aware of places from which to get ideas in the future. Students who have a place to start with will be more motivated to continue developing their ideas and their own writing voices.[5]

Sample Pre-writing Activity #1

Time allotment (5-10 minutes)

Give each student any book or magazine to use (e.g., Readers' Digest, anthologies). The teacher should have a selection also, in order to model the process.

Have students open their books or magazines at any page and choose a word at random—the first word that jumps off the page at them--and record this as Word #1; close the book.

Continue this until each student has four words recorded.  Students then focus for about one minute on each word separately, and list all their thoughts, ideas and associations that the word generates. Students then begin to make connections among the four words and their lists of personal associations by writing phrases, sentences, and ideas that demonstrate a relationship among the words. Students now have had a writing warm-up and may continue developing the ideas generated or bank these ideas for another day's writing.

Sample Pre-writing Activity #2

Time allotment (5-12 minutes)

      Teachers may request that students bring pictures of people, or the teacher may supply them (photographs or pictures clipped from magazines). Each picture should show several people in sufficient detail to reveal size, facial expression, dress, and other facets of character.

Quickly walk the students through this activity, question by question, so they record the first thoughts and reactions that the pictures generate, rather than dwelling too long on one question. The teacher should ask students to examine their pictures closely, and explain that they will need to use their imagination for the activity. Some questions the teacher might ask are:

- Who is the main character in the picture?

- What is an appropriate name for this character?

-How old is this character?

- What emotions is this character showing in the picture? Describe the evidence that you have for this (e.g., facial expression, gestures).

- What kind of work might the character do for a living? Give reasons to support your decision.

- What might the person be thinking or saying? What makes you imagine this?

- What other characteristics are revealed by the character's dress and stance?

- What might have happened before the picture was taken? What might happen next?

- How are the other characters in the picture related to the main character? What evidence makes you think so?

- What is the attitude of the main character to the other characters? What is the attitude of the other characters to the main character? What are some possible reasons for these attitudes?

- What might it be like to be the main character or one of the other characters?

Instruct students to record ideas briefly, using phrases and words rather than sentences. Students then may take the opportunity to develop their ideas further, or save their notes and ideas for use at a later date.

Sample Pre-writing Activity #3

Time allotment (5-8 minutes)

- Prepare the students for free writing by explaining that they should write whatever thoughts enter their head from the moment that the teacher says "go" to the moment he/she says "stop", even if it means writing and rewriting, I don't know what to write. I don't know what to write. When the pen or pencil hits the paper it does not stop for pauses, erasures, or    corrections. Eventually, most students begin to focus and the writing flows.    Students then have the opportunity to develop these pre-writing ideas further or save them for another day.

Planning: Organizing for Drafting

After students have generated some ideas, they must decide what they will say about their chosen topic. Students develop an initial plan for the product they will compose. As they do so, they must consider the purpose, audience, point of view, and format because these elements have implications for both the planning and the drafting of the written product.

To develop an initial plan for drafting, students organize the information they have generated during pre-writing by using such structures as outlines, story frames, maps, diagrams, charts, and concept webs.

To consider purpose, students write to express ideas, feelings, emotions, and opinions, and they must ask themselves, "What is my purpose for writing this piece?" Some purposes for students’ writings are:

1. to express personal feelings or viewpoints

2. to imagine "What if ...?"

3. to narrate

4. to entertain and/or amuse

5. to describe

6. to inform or explain

7. to persuade or convince

8. to request

9. to inquire or question

10. to explore and experiment with ideas and formats

11. to clarify thinking.

To consider audience, students must consider who they are writing for and students must ask themselves, "Who is my intended audience?" Some possible audiences are:

1. familiar, known audiences: self, friends, peers, family, teachers

2. extended, known audiences: community, student body, local media

3. extended, unknown audiences: wider range of media and other publications

To consider point of view, students must determine from which point of view their ideas or information will be expressed, so they need to ask themselves, "Who is telling this story/describing the events?" Some points of view for students’ consideration are:

1. physical point of view: where is the narrator in relation to the action?

2. objective and subjective point of view: what emotional involvement does the narrator have in relation to the situation?

3. personal point of view: who is the narrator of the story? (The narrator may take a first person, third person, or an all-knowing omniscient point of view.)

To decide what information will be gathered and how it will most effectively be gathered, students who decide that they need to conduct interviews or go on field trips to gather information will need to brainstorm and construct a list of questions.  Students who require library research will need to decide the types of resources and references to consult.

To consider format, students will use audience and purpose to determine format and genre. They will have the opportunity to write in a variety of narrative, descriptive, expository, and poetic formats.  Their writings may include formats and genres such as: advertisement, advice column, autobiography/biography, comic strip, letter of complaint/request/inquiry, diary/journal, readers theater/role play/monologue, book review, report, fable/fairy tale, greeting card, game rules, directions, interview, news story, poem/song, anecdote/personal experience story, sports column, short story, etc.

Drafting: A Time to Indulge

At this point in the process, the emphasis is on content and meaning rather than on mechanics and conventions. This is the time for writers to get down their ideas and thoughts, composing rough drafts based upon pre-writing and planning activities and considerations. As they compose, writers begin to determine what to include and exclude, and make initial decisions about how these ideas will be organized. During the drafting stage of the writing process, meaning begins to evolve.

To produce a first, rough draft, students record their ideas rapidly in order to capture the essence of what they have to say.   They do not have to make any attempt to revise or edit at this point. They focus on talking to the reader and begin to develop a personal style as their voices emerge.

To write subsequent drafts, students often accomplish their work by crossing out, adding, and rearranging ideas directly on the page.  The students’ redrafting does not necessarily require an entire rewrite at this time.

To reflect upon their own writing, students can conference with self, peers and the teacher.  Through conferencing, students can get constructive feedback and support that may help them to shape their writings.  A set of questions or a checklist can be used to assist writers and conference partners as they strive to help the writer make meaning clear. [6]

Sample 1:  Self-Conference Checklist

As you write ... Ask yourself some of these questions:

- How do I feel about what I've written so far?

- What is good that I can enhance?

- Is there anything about it that concerns me, does not fit, or seems wrong?

- What am I discovering as I write this piece?

- What surprises me? Where is it leading?

- What is my purpose?

- What is the one most important thing that I am trying to convey?

- How can I build this idea? Are there places that I wander away from my key idea?

- Who is my audience?

Sample 2:  Teacher-Student Checklist

During the teacher-student conference the teacher may as questions such as

- What is the part that you like best?

- Does it say what you want it to say?

- What do you mean by...?

- Where/when does your story take place?

- Are you satisfied with the beginning/ending? Why or why not?

- Does this sentence/word/phrase make sense to you?

- What reaction do you want your reader to have?

- How do you see your ideas being rearranged or changed? Why?

Sample 3: Steps For A Peer Writing Conference

When peers are conferencing

 1.The writer decides how the written work will be shared. Will it be:

- read silently by the conference partner(s)?

- read aloud by the writer?

- read aloud by the conference partner(s)?

- a combination of the above?

 2. The writer identifies what aspects of the written work will be the focus of the conference (e.g., the beginning paragraph, figurative language).

 3.The conference partner states at least:

- one thing he/she considers that the writer has done well

- one thing he/she especially likes

- one suggestion which addresses the focus of the conference as identified by the writer. (It is useful to have students complete a written conference sheet to guide their responses, especially when the process is new to them.)

4. The writer retains the right to the written work and is responsible for making the final decision about any changes.

To revise the draft for content and clarity of meaning, students will reorganize and sequence relevant ideas, and add or delete details as they strive to make their meaning clear.  Revisions can take place to words, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole piece (e.g., the writer may decide that the ideas would have more impact as poetry instead of prose).

To edit the draft for mechanical and conventional concerns that detract from and obscure meaning, students will proofread for accuracy and correctness in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage.  Peer editing and editing partnerships or groups can be established to assist students who are at this stage in the process.  The use of self and peer-editing checklists can be useful tools.

To focus purpose, audience, and point of view, and confirm appropriateness of format, students have to reconsider and confirm the use of the variables, which were pondered during the planning stage.

Sample 4: Revising Checklist of a Descriptive Paragraph (Self- & Peer-Assessment, Primary Level)

          Writer's Checklist                                                                                Partner’s Checklist

Yes      No     Did I include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion?            Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I write a good topic sentence for each paragraph?              Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I include details that support each topic sentence?             Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I avoid repeating the same words over and over again?     Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I use my senses to describe my topic?                                 Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I use descriptive nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs?   Yes      No

Sample 5: Editing Checklist of a Descriptive Paragraph (Self- & Peer-Assessment, Primary Level)

Writer's Checklist                                                                              Partner’s Checklist

Yes      No          Did I spell all words correctly?                                       Yes      No Yes      No          Did I indent the first line of every paragraph?              Yes      No Yes      No          Did I capitalize the first word of every sentence?         Yes      No Yes      No          Did I punctuate the end of each sentence correctly?    Yes      No Yes      No          Did I avoid using run-on sentences?                              Yes      No Yes      No          Is my handwriting neat?                                                  Yes      No Yes      No          Is my title capitalized correctly?                                     Yes      No Yes      No          (Add your question here)                                                 Yes      No  

Some suggestions for scaffolds at the drafting stage include the following:

- Post the major stages of a writing process (pre-writing, planning, drafting, post-writing) and brief information about each so that students can determine where they are at any time in the process.