WRITING

Writing is much more than the simple mechanics of getting the words down: it also involves being creative, spelling, grammar, punctuation, choice of appropriate words, sentence linking, and text construction, and for older children, having idea about content, and the ability to be self critical and to edit their own work. The children learn some of these skills when they learn writing in their first language, but other have to be taught explicitly in the English class.
CORRECTION
When we correct writing we are correcting two things:
1. The text itself: are the ideas good? Are they put together in a way which is easy to follow and
2. Is the English correct? A child might invent an excellent story but be unable to get it down in accurate English: it is essential to recognize and praise inventiveness as well as pointing out language mistakes.
Read the child’s written work first for its content, if possible with the child at your side, so that you can make comments and talk about the story together. With older children who can write confidently, point out major error in the English and ask them to write story again.
1.1 VARIATIONS ON A GAP
Variation on a gap is for student in level 2, 3, age group B, C; the aims of this teaching method are to stimulate the imagination of the students and to increase the ability of the students in vocabulary and word order. In this activity the students fill in a gap in short English texts. The first variations are suitable for young learners and beginners and then they increase in difficulty and the maturity required.
We must choose a suitable text and rewrite it, substituting pictures for some of the words. The children should write the words, perhaps with the help of their picture dictionaries.
Example
This is my He eats

And drinks

Besides picture gaps, we can use adjective fill, opposites, other words and no gaps in this teaching method. They will be described and presented in our teaching demonstration.
1.2 THE OTHER DAY……
The other day… is for student in level 2, 3, age group B, C; the aims of this teaching method are to increase the ability of the students in vocabulary, to learn how story is constructed. Another aims is to use the imagination of the students. The children write story one line at a time, folding their papers over and passing them on after each sentence. The final story will be a nonsense story made up of several children’s sentences.
PREPARATION: 1. Read through the story in Worksheet 4.2 (see end of book) and adapt it for your class, or write a similar story yourself.
2. Make a copy of the story for each child.
IN CLASS : 1. Tell the children that they are going to write a story together.
2. Pre-teach or revise the vocabulary needed.
3. Give out the worksheets and show the children how to fold them over so that they can only see the first sentence. Then read the first sentence together and explain that they should write the end of the sentence, and then fold the paper over so that the next child cannot see what the have written, and pass it on.
4. Continue until they have completed all the sentences. Then put the children in groups of four or five and let them read one another’s stories and choose the one they like best. Then either they or you can read their favorite stories to the class.
1.3 THE CHOCOLATE CAKE
The chocolate cake is for student in level 3, age group C; the aims of this teaching method are to practice writing spontaneously, listening to stories, reading a dialogue with correct pronunciation, stress and intonation and another aims is to stimulate the children’s imaginations. The teacher tells the children a story that leads to an argument. When the story reaches a critical point the children continue writing who said what. Materials which are prepared by the students are pencils and papers.
PREPARATION : Practice telling the story, using a colleague as ‘the class’ if possible.
IN CLASS : 1. Set up the situation and put the children in groups of four. Get them to decide who is going to be Mark, his friend, his mother, and his sister. Adapt the number of characters to suit your class. Make sure they all have pencils and that each ‘mother’ has a sheet of paper.
2. Tell the story. Remember to spend time describing the personalities of the characters and then build up the suspense until you get to the point where the mother comes in.
3. At this point say and the mother said…, and in a non-storytelling voice say now write what the mother said. Give the ‘mothers’ a little time to think and write, and then say in your ‘story’ voice: And Mark said..Tell them to pass the paper to ‘Mark’ so that he can write. Carry on until each character has written two or three lines.
4. The groups practice saying their dialogues. Check their pronunciation and encourage them to be as dramatic as possible. Each group performs to the rest of the class.
VARIATION : You can use any story with in-built conflict.
1.4 Simple Poem
Simple Poem is for student in level 2, 3. Age group B, C, the aims of this teaching method are to expand vocabulary, creative use of language and use of adjective, give the children a sense of achievement in the foreign language. The children ask to write very simple poems on a given theme, where each line is made up on an adjective and noun.
MATERIALS : Pencils and paper.
PREPARATION : Prepare a short adjective noun poem yourself or use the one bellow
Summer
Hot days
Cold ice cream
Yellow sand
Blue water
Big waves
Small fish
IN CLASS : 1. Write your poem on the board and them read it out loud to the class. Ask them if they can see the pattern of the lines and if they can add any more.
2. Tell them that they are going to write a similar poem, and either gives them a topic or get the class to agree on one. The first time you do this activity it is a good idea to choose something that is very familiar such as ‘birthdays’, or something tangible, such as ‘out side the window’. Later you can use more abstract ideas like ‘pollution’, what makes me happy’ or a visual stimulus such as a picture or a sculpture.
3. Get the children to call out English word on the theme. Write them on the board and divided them into adjectives and nouns. Show the children how to combine an adjective and a noun as in the example.
4. Tell them to write their own poems using the word on the board. You might like to put on some gentle music to create a quiet, thoughtful atmosphere.
5. Go around the class while the children are writing, encouraging and commenting on their work. When they are satisfied with their poems get them to write them out neatly. You can either display them on the class room walls or make a class book of poem.
VARIATION 1 : If you think that is too difficult for your children, you could give them a poem and get them to change some of the words in it.
VARIATION 2 : Instead of the adjective-noun combination, you could use a verb-adverb combination
VARIATION 3 : The children can write a counting poem from one to ten. Each line could be a noun-adjective combination or a complete sentence, for example
In the garden
One dog sleeping in the sun
Two cats washing their ears
Three children playing in the grass
Four mothers drinking tea
Five trees with green leaves
Six butterflies flying in the sky
Seven clothes on the line
Eight birds in a tree
Nine cloud full of rain
Ten flowers with yellow heads.
1.5 Name Poem
Name Poem is for student in level 2, 3. Age group B, C, the aims of this teaching method are to expand vocabulary, creative use of language, and give the children a sense of achievement in the foreign language. The children write a very simple poem, based on the first letters of a chosen word, for example their name.
IN CLASS : 1. Write the letters of your name
2. Get the children to help you choose words from the board to make up a short poem where each letter of your name begins a line.
3. Now ask the children to do the same with their own names.

4.6 Story Writing
Story Writing is for student in level 2, 3. Age group B, C, the aims of this teaching method are to write a short and cohesive text, to encourage creative writing and imagination. The children ask to write simple story.
MATERIALS : Pencils and paper, pictures, blu-tack
PREPARATION : See individual activities
IN CLASS : Following an example
1. Write or tell the children a simple story in English
2. Ask the children to write a similar story, illustrate it and perhaps make a book.
Stories on a theme
1. Choose a general theme for example,’ summer holidays’, ‘parties’, or ‘witches’, and write it in the middle of the board.
2. Ask the children to draw pictures connected to the title and stick them up on the board.
3. When you have a boardful, put the children in groups of three or four and tell them to invent a story, using three or four of the pictures on the board.
Beginning, middle, and end
1. Draw three shapes like these on the board:


2. Tell the children that they are the beginning, the middle, and the end of a story. Ask them either to suggest words for each box, or stick or draw a picture in each box
3. Put the children in groups of three or four and get them to write a story using some words from each box.
Modern fairy story
1. Tell the children a fairy story like ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ or ‘ The Three Little pigs’
2. The children write a modern version
Stories from pictures and words
1. Find some picture that make a story
2. Put the picture on the board one by one and ask the children for ideas and English words that go with each picture.
3. Then put the children in groups three or four to write the story
Writing speech bubbles
1. Find or draw a series of pictures showing two or more people.
2. Stick empty speech bubbles coming out their mouths. Photocopy one for each pair of children.
3. The children write what they think the people are saying in the bubbles.
If you do not have access to photocopier, give each speech bubbles a number and stick the pictures around the classroom walls. The children write the numbers in their exercise books and write what the people are saying by each number. When they have finished writing, they can compare their ideas and perhaps write the best ones on the pictures.
Stories from pictures
1. Cut pictures out of magazines and give four or five to each group of three or four children.
2. Each group makes up a story which includes all their pictures.