Tap huan

Lss teacher training workshop
Topic: Writing skill
content
Problems and solutions
The writing process
Shape of a writing lesson
Writing activities
Lesson plans for writing
Guidelines for teaching writing
Questions for Discussion
Do you enjoy teaching writing? Why? Why not?
How do you teach writing to your students?
What type of writing activities do you do with your students?
Questions for Discussion
What problems do your students have while they write?
What are your solutions for the problems?
The Writing process
Writing is a process that involves several steps:
Step1: Prewriting
(thinking about your topic and organizing your ideas)
Step 2: Writing
(using your ideas to write the first draft)
Step 3: Revising
(improving what you have written)

Questions for Discussion
What are the 2 common ways for prewriting? What are their steps?
What do you do in the next step?
What is Revising?
What is the checklist to revise your paragraphs?
Answer
Prewriting is the thinking, talking, reading and writing you do about your topic before you write the first draft. It is a way to warm up your brain before you write.
2 commons ways: Brainstorming and clustering
Steps for brainstorming
Begin with a broad topic
Write down as many ideas about the topic as you can in 5 minutes.
Add more items to your list by answering the questions what, how, when, where, why & who.
Group similar items on the list together.
Cross out items that do not belong.
Steps for Clustering
Write your topic in the center of a blank piece of paper and draw a circle around it.
Write any ideas that come into your mind about the topic in circles around the main the topic.
Connect the ideas to the center word with a line.
Think about each of your new ideas, write more related ideas in circles near the new ideas, and then connect them.
Repeat this process until you run out of ideas.
TV Commercials
Favorites
Why I hate TV
commercials
Kinds of Commercials
History of commercials
Some are
Funny.
Too many
Boring and
annoying
Good points
Cars
Super Bowl
Some are
sexist & racist
Step 2: Writing

When you write the first draft of your paragraph, use the ideas you generated from prewriting as a guide.
Begin with a topic sentence that states the main idea.
Include several sentences that support the main idea.
Stick to the topic – don’t include the sentences that doesn’t directly support the main idea.
Arrange the sentences so that the order of ideas makes sense.
Use signal words to help the reader understand how the ideas in your paragraph are connected.
Step 3:Revising
Revising checklist
Make sure you have the topic sentence.
Cross out the sentences that don`t relate to the main idea.
Check to see if sentences are in the right order.
Add new ideas if they support the topic sentence.
Make sure you have included signal words to help guide the reader.
Check the punctuation, spelling, grammar.
Shape of a Writing lesson

Questions for discussion

What are the stages of a Writing lesson?
What do teachers/students do in each stage?
Shape of a Writing lesson
3 stages: prewriting, while writing and post writing.
Prewriting:
- T. preteaches key vocabulary.
- Ss collect all the ideas on the topic. - Ss produce language in one skill. which will later be transformed into writing. while writing and post writing.
Shape of a Writing lesson
While writing: Ss practice the writing skill.
Post writing:
- Ss share and compare & correct their tasks.
- T gives feedback and correction.
From controlled to free writing
Place the 6 activities from “controlled” to “free” writing practice on the scale below:
Controlled ---------------------------------- Free




Controlled -2--5--1--6--4-3 -- Free

2. Transformation
5. Gap-fill
1. Questions and answers
6. Substitution boxes
4. Write it up
3. Composition
2.Transformation: Ss change a few words. The structure, context and vocabulary are given.

5. Gap-fill: The context and a lot of structure are given. Ss have to think of the words which make it more difficult.

1. Questions and answers: Ss are given guidance through the questions. Ss have to write complete sentences and put them into a paragraph.
6. Substitution boxes: Ss are given cues to help them make sentences. They don’t have the structures.
4. Write it up: Ss have a lot more freedom. They have to interview and be able to understand the answers and be able to write them down. Then they have to be able to use the information to write complete sentences.
3. Composition: They have very little guidance.

1. Put the sentences about controlled writing under the heading “Advantages and disadvantages of Controlled writing” (Pairwork)
2. Write up the Advantages and disadvantages of Controlled writing and some solutions on a poster.
(Group work)
Advantages of Controlled writing
It builds confidence
It gives practice in sentence construction.
It is a familiar activity for most teachers.
It prevents ss from making a lot of mistakes.
It give ss practice paragraph construction.
It is good for getting ss to practice different writing styles.
Disadvantages of Controlled writing
It is boring for stronger students.
Some teachers don’t like it because it lacks creativity.
Stronger students finish early and have nothing to do.
It is pure copying, which it tends to be, it doesn’t provide meaningful practice or self expression for students.
Solutions
Have some extra tasks prepared for stronger ss.
Make the topic interesting and relevant to the ss’ interest.
Ask stronger ss to help the weaker ones.
Use graded activities.
While writing activities

Transformation
Gap Fill
Questions and answers
Substitutions tables
Substitution boxes
Write it up
Ordering
Brainstorming
Disadvantages of Controlled writing
It is boring for stronger ss.
Some teachers don’t like it because t lacks creativity.
Stronger ss finish early and have nothing to do.
It is pure copying, which it tends to be, it doesn’t provide meaningful practice or self expression for the students.
Controlled writing

Guided writing

Free writing
Examples of controlled writing tasks
Jigsaw sentences
Copying with corrections
Find and copy
Dictation
Sentence combining
Transformation
Gap-fill
Examples of guided writing tasks
Picture description
Picture stories
Summary
Half dialogues
Story completion
Substitution boxes
Questions and answers
Pre-writing Activities
Using a drill
Using a listening text
Using a reading text
Using a survey
Using picture dictation
While-writing Activities
Write it up
Transformation
Substitution tables
Substitution boxes
Gap-fill
Questions and answers
Ordering
Brainstorming
Study the writing activities, summarize them and present them to other groups.(Group work)

Group A: Transformation & Substitution tables
Group B: Substitution boxes & Gap-fill
Group C: Questions and answer & Write it up
Group D: Ordering &Brainstorming
Things to summarize

Which stage is it in?
Is it controlled? How can you make the task more difficult?
What are the steps?
Post-writing Activities
Correction
Sharing and comparing
Exhibition
Lesson plans for writing

What are the pre- writing activities?
What are the while- writing activities?
What are the post- writing activities?

Answer

While- writing activities
Write it up
Transformation
Substitution tables
Substitution boxes
Gap-fill
Questions and answers
Ordering
Brainstorming
Post- writing activities
Correction
Sharing and comparing
Exhibition
Pre- writing activities

Using a drill
Using a listening text
Using a reading text
Using a survey
Using picture dictation
Discussion (Groupwork)
Arrange all the pre-writing activities in 1 group, all the while-writing activities in a second group, all the post-writing activities in a third group.
Make 5 coherent writing lesson plans and fill in the table.
Answer
Choose the most appropriate lesson plan for your students.
Write the aims and objectives for the lesson plan you have chosen.
Micro-teach the lesson in your group.
Marking scheme