Saturday Seminar Series Genre approaches to teaching ... · 5 Recount A Recount aims to recall past...

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1 Saturday Seminar Series Genre approaches to teaching writing Dr Stella Kong Complaint Letter Dear Sir / Madam, I am writing to complain about [the smartphone that I bought from your company online]. I ordered a smartphone (model no.: zzz) on your company website (www.zzz.online) on 1 st March this year. Your company delivered it to me today. After I unwrapped the package, I saw a crack on the screen. I called the customers service department of your company at 22223333 immediately to ask for a replacement. They asked if I had signed on the receipt. When I said yes, they said on the receipt, there is a statement that says ‘Please sign to acknowledge that the product is in good condition.’ Therefore, they could not give me a new phone. I think (that) this is totally unacceptable. I demand that you send me a new phone in good condition or a full refund. If I do not hear from you within one week, I will complain to the Consumer Council. Yours sincerely, XXX Label the following stages (not given in order) in the Complaint Letter above: Evidence of complaint^ Request for action Aim of complaint^ [^ = followed by]

Transcript of Saturday Seminar Series Genre approaches to teaching ... · 5 Recount A Recount aims to recall past...

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Saturday Seminar Series

Genre approaches to teaching writing

Dr Stella Kong

Complaint Letter

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing to complain about [the smartphone that I bought from your company online].

I ordered a smartphone (model no.: zzz) on your company website (www.zzz.online) on 1st

March this year. Your company delivered it to me today. After I unwrapped the package, I

saw a crack on the screen.

I called the customers service department of your company at 22223333 immediately to

ask for a replacement. They asked if I had signed on the receipt. When I said yes, they said

on the receipt, there is a statement that says ‘Please sign to acknowledge that the product

is in good condition.’ Therefore, they could not give me a new phone.

I think (that) this is totally unacceptable. I demand that you send me a new phone in good

condition or a full refund. If I do not hear from you within one week, I will complain to the

Consumer Council.

Yours sincerely,

XXX

Label the following stages (not given in order) in the Complaint Letter above:

Evidence of complaint^ Request for action Aim of complaint^

[^ = followed by]

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Story / Narrative

Activity 1: Teaching language (vocabulary: saying verbs) Dialogues can make stories more interesting and lively. Using saying verbs well can make dialogues and the characters alive. In the story below, all the saying verbs (in bold) are the same. Use another saying verb to replace each one to show the feeling of the prince and the princess when they talked. You can choose from the following box or you can use your own saying verbs. Note that some of the saying verbs below are not appropriate for the story.

advised; answered; commented; complained; exclaimed; praised; replied; smiled; murmured; stammered; whispered

Bestest and the Prince

Once upon a time a witch put a beautiful princess in a tall

tower. Her name was Bestest. She was best in

everything. One day, Bestest saw a prince and shook her

long hair out of the window. The prince climbed up her

hair.

‘I’m here to save you,’ said the prince.

‘Oh! Your teeth are black,’ said Bestest. ‘How

often do you brush your teeth?’

‘Once a week,’ the prince said.

‘You should brush your teeth twice a day. Come back

when your teeth are clean,’ said Bestest.

The next week the prince climbed up Bestest’s hair again. He smiled a handsome

white smile at Bestest. ‘That’s better,’ she said, ‘but your hair is very dirty. How

often do you wash it?’

‘Three times a month,’ said the prince.

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‘Ugh!’ said Bestest. ‘You should wash your hair three times a week. Come back

when your hair is clean.’

The next week the prince climbed up Bestest’s hair again. He ran his fingers

through his shiny hair. ‘That’s better,’ said Bestest, ‘but your fingernails are too

long. How often do you cut them?’

The prince never came back. [adapted from Primary Longman Elect 4B, 2009, pp.46-47]

Activity 2: Teaching language (vocabulary: time phrases) There are 5 time phrases in the story that tell the time of the story: Once upon a time (line 1); One day (line 2); The next week (line 10); The next week (line 15); never (last line). Use other time phrases to tell time in the story. Make sure the times of the story are logical. Some of the following time phrases may be useful (but some are not). You can also use some of your own phrases.

a long time ago; ever again; in the long time past; on a boring day; one sunny day; long long ago; not at all; the day after; the next day; three days later; yesterday; last month

Activity 3: Teaching language (grammar: prepositional phrases to tell when, where, how) A prepositional phrase is a phrase (more than one word but with no verbs in it) that begins with a preposition e.g. in a tall tower, in everything, out of the window, up her hair (Paragraph 1). A prepositional phrase tells more information about when, where and how.

Use other prepositional phrases to rewrite the first paragraph:

Once upon a time a witch put a beautiful princess _________________________________. Her name was Bestest. She was best _______________________________. One day, Bestest saw a prince and shook her long hair _________________________________________. The prince climbed __________________________________.

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Activity 4: Teaching organisation There are usually 4 parts/stages in a story: 1. Setting – it tells you the background / basic information about the story e.g. who, when,

where. 2. Problem – it tells you that something unusual / not normal had happened; it leads on to the

rest of the plot / story. 3. Complication / Events – it tells you the events that happened because of the Problem. 4. Resolution / Ending – it ends the story.

[^ = followed by; *optional] Label these 4 stages in the story above. Note how the time phrases help to make a part/stage. Activity 5: Rewriting the story Do one of the following: 1. In the second last paragraph, Bestest asked the prince how often he cut his fingernails.

How often do you think the prince cut his fingernails? What could Bestest ask him about again if he came back? Write 3 more paragraphs before the last to give the prince a last chance.

2. Rewrite the story by:

a. swapping the prince and the princess (i.e., the prince was in the castle and the princess came to save him) – What would the prince asked the princess to do before coming back again?

OR b. making the prince demanding the princess to do different things each time he came –

what could the prince ask the princess to do before he would come back again to save her? How much time would the prince give the princess to do what he wanted her to do?

3. The prince never came back at the end of the story. What if he came back? What could

happen? Write a different ending to the story.

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Recount A Recount aims to recall past events (to give a true record of what happened). It has 3 parts: 1. Setting – to tell the reader the basic information of the events e.g. date, time, place 2. Events in time order – to retell what happened in the order / sequence of the time in which the events happened 3. Evaluation – to tell the reader what you think or how you feel about the events The following is an example of a typical recount text: Our School Sports Days. The text tells you what happened (verb: past tense) on our school sports days.

Information Parts in the text (Use the names of the 3 parts (Setting, Events in

time order, Evaluation) to label each paragraph)

Language use (write down the words used in the text to tell you the information; the first one is an example for you)

Our School Sports Days This year, our school sports days were held on 2nd and 3rd January at Ma On Shan Sports Ground from 9.00 to 4.00 on both days. It started with the opening ceremony and ended with the closing ceremony. The opening ceremony began with a parade by the four Houses: Red, Green, Yellow and Blue. Then everyone sang the school song. Our Principal, Mr Chan, gave the welcoming speech. Our Guest of Honour, the famous athlete Sarah Lee Wai Sze, then gave her speech. She encouraged us all to participate actively in sports for our good health.

1. Date: ___________ 2. Place: __________ 3. Time: __________

4. First and last events: _______________ _______________

Events (start with a verb): 1. began with a parade

2. _______________ 3. _______________ 4. _______________

Paragraph 1: __________________ Paragraph 2: __________________

on 2nd and 3rd January

______________________ ______________________ [we use prepositional phrases to tell date, time and place]

Subject Verb Object Other parts The opening ceremony

began with a parade by the four houses …

What is the verb used to tell you this information? ___________

What are the 2 verbs used to tell you this?

________________

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On the first day, we had both the track events and the field events. For track events, we had the sprints for 60m, 100m, 200m and 400m; we also had the 60m and 100m hurdles. For field events, we had long jump, high jump, shot put and discus. On the second day, we had the semi-finals and finals for most events. We also had the relay races and the friendly race between students and teachers. The champion of each event came through. The Green House won the house cup this year. We also had two record breakers. Simon Yu of 4D broke the school record in the boys’ 100m sprint at 11.5 mins. The old record was 11.8 min. Vincy Lee of 5B broke the record for the girls’ 200m hurdles.

Track events:

______________________________________________________ Field events:

____________________________________ Events: 1. semi-finals and finals 2. __________________ 3. __________________ 4. __________________ 5. __________________

Paragraph 3: __________________ Paragraph 4: __________________

Write down the prepositional phrase that starts the paragraph: _______________________ Write down the preposition phrases that introduce the track events and the field events: ______________________________ Write down the verb that tells you the track and field events: We _______ Write down the prepositional phrase that starts the paragraph: _______________________

Other parts

Subject Verb Object Other parts

On the second day

we had the semi-finals and the finals

for most events

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In the closing ceremony, medals and prizes were given. We all felt tired but we were all happy as it was a holiday the next day.

Paragraph 5: __________________

Write down the prepositional phrase that starts the paragraph: ________________________

How did the writer feel (write 2 adjectives): ___________________ Write down the verbs that tell you how the writer felt: _________________

The following table shows all the track and field events. Circle the ones that took place in your school’s sports days.

Track Field

Sprints Middle-distance Long-distance Hurdles Relays Jumps Throws

60m 100m 200m 400m

800m 1500m 3000m

5000m 10,000m

60m hurdles 100m hurdles 110m hurdles 400m hurdles

4 x 100m relay 4x 400m relay

Long jump High jump Triple jump Pole vault

Shot put Discus throw

Hammer throw Javelin throw

Choose 2 track events and 2 field events to write about. Remember there is also the student-teacher friendly race. Write about the number of heats, who participated, when it took place, who won etc. Start with a preposition phrase, for example: For the 60m sprint, we had 10 heats. Five heats were for girls and five heats were for boys. They took place in the morning on the first day. (Name of student) of (class) won the champion (OR A classmate in my class won the first runner-up). 1st track event chosen: ___________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2nd track event chosen: ___________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1st field event chosen: ____________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2nd field event chosen: ____________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Now, write about your School Sports Day. Use what you have learnt (e.g. preposition phrases, verbs (past tense), a SVO sentence). Our School Sports Day

Write the paragraphs here:

Setting [use a preposition phrase] Date: __________________________________________ Place: _________________________________________ Time: _________________________________________

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

Subject (noun) Verb (past

tense)

Object (noun)

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

This year, our school sports days

were held

Events in time order The opening ceremony For each sentence: 1. First, write the noun for the event / people you want to write about (i.e. the Subject); 2. Then, write the verb for what happened / what they did; 3. Then write the Object and the other parts.

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

Subject (noun) Verb (past

tense)

Object (noun)

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

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The first day For each sentence, 1. First, write the prepositional phrase for the track/field event you want to write about

in the first column; 2. Then, write the noun for the Subject (think of what you want to say about the event); 3. Then, write the verb for what happened; 4. Then, write the Object and the other parts. [You can also use the sentences you have written for the 2 track and 2 field events here.]

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

Subject (noun) Verb (past

tense)

Object (noun)

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

The second day

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

Subject (noun) Verb (past

tense)

Object (noun)

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

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Evaluation [write about how you felt]

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

Subject (noun) Verb (past

tense)

Object (noun)

Other parts (adverb /

preposition phrase)

Word bank:

Sports day prizes: gold medal, silver medal, bronze medal, trophies

Winners: champion, first runner-up, second runner-up, the best athlete of the year

Adjectives to tell how you feel: exhausted, bored [Do not include too many words. It’s more useful to encourage students to ask you for a word they do not know or to use a Chinese-English dictionary so that they are learning to use words that they want to use. When given a list of words that do not actually say what they want to say, they don't actually learn very much.]

General sports day vocabulary for reference: annual sports days, the programme, athletes, pitch, races / events, heats, three-legged race, blind

fold race, sack race, tug of war, triathlon, pentathlon, (pledge to) the spirit of sportsmanship, team spirit, in the spirit of the Olympics, the

guest of honour presides over the function, march past / parade, pistol shot, stop watch, the cheering team, baton, losers, referees, scores

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Information Report

Part 1: (Purpose and structure of an Information Report) The Information Report below tells you about what koalas are and what they are like. There are 2 parts in the Information Report: 1. [General] Classification / Definition – it classifies koalas within the animal kingdom. 2. [Specific] Description / Details – it describes things special to koalas. Read the Information Report below. Colour the General Classification in green, and the Specific Description in orange.

Koalas

Koalas belong to the Marsupial family. This is a group of mammals which raise their babies in a pouch. Marsupials are found mainly in Australia. Koalas are furry creatures about the size of a small dog. They have large round ears, small eyes and a big, flat, leathery nose in an oval shape. They have sharp claws for hanging on to branches of trees.

Koalas spend most of their time in gum trees in the Australian bush. They live high in the branches out of harm’s way. They

are able to sleep wedged in the fork of two branches. Koalas are herbivores, their main diet consisting of the leaves of certain types of eucalypts. Koalas raise their young in a pouch covering the mother’s tummy. The baby is suckled in the pouch and remains there for several weeks until able to feed itself. You will often find nearly fully grown koalas still using the mother’s pouch.

Read the Specific Description part again. Write in the boxes what each paragraph tells you about koalas (Use nouns). Which aspects of koalas have you learnt by reading the Specific Description? Part 2: (Language use in an Information Report)

1. The following tree diagram helps to classify koalas. Find 3 nouns from Paragraph 1 to put into the 3 white boxes in the tree diagram to classify koalas within the animal kingdom.

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Animals (vertebrates)

Birds Fish Amphibians Reptiles

Bracket the words in Paragraph 1 that tell you in which box to put the 3 nouns (i.e., the words that tell you how to classify koalas from a bigger class to a smaller class).

2. Circle the nouns in Paragraph 2 that name the parts of a koala’s body. Use the nouns to

label the koala in the picture below.

3. Draw a cross on the adjectives in Paragraph 2 that describe these nouns. Read the

description of the body parts without these adjectives. What meaning do the adjectives tell about the body parts?

4. Find out more about where, what, when, how koalas live. Use a prepositional phrase

(a phrase that starts with a preposition) to answer these questions. Find the answers from Paragraphs 3-4.

prepositional phrases

Where do koalas spend their time? in gum trees (in the Australian bush)

Where do koalas live? in…

Where do koalas sleep?

What kind of leaves do koalas eat?

How / Where do koalas raise their babies?

How long do koala babies stay in their

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mother’s pouch?

Prepositional phrases tell where, when, how we do things.

Part 3: (Writing an Information Report) Kangaroos also belong to the Marsupial family. Use what you have learnt about an Information Report on koalas to write an Information Report about kangaroos. Before you write, use the writing frame on the next page to find out more about kangaroos. Use the following websites: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/content/kids/en_US/animals/kangaroo/ http://www.livescience.com/27400-kangaroos.html http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/kangaroo-mob-kangaroo-fact-sheet/7444/ http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-kangaroo/

Kangaroos General classification - In addition to the Marsupial family, which other family do kangaroos also belong to? - Name some species of kangaroos Specific description Body features - Hind legs: - Front legs: - Tail: - Fur: - Ears: - Height and weight: Habits: - What is the special thing they can do? How do they do this? - What else do they do? - What is their life span? Habitat - Where do they live? In which part of Australia? - In what kind of places do they live (trees, grassland, …)? - How do they live? - How do they protect themselves against enemies? Diet - What is the word to describe their eating habit? - What do they eat? - What is special about the way they eat? - What are their teeth like? Raising the young - What are baby kangaroos called?

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- What are they like? - What is the first thing they do after being born? - Where do they live? - How are they fed? - When are they ready to live on their own? Threats (and other interesting facts) - What are their predators?

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Procedure (Manuals, Recipes)

Snap

Materials: A deck of playing cards

Number of players: 6

Instructions:

1. Shuffle the cards (洗牌).

2. Choose one person to be the dealer (發牌者).

3. The dealer deals each player the same number of cards, clockwise, one at a

time and face down.

4. The dealer goes first. He/she places his/her top card in the centre of the

table face up and says the name of the card, for example, ‘The three of

diamonds.’

5. The player on the left of the dealer is the next one. He/she places his/her top

card on top of the previous cards face up and says the name of the card, for

example, ‘The Jack of clubs’. The game continues in a clockwise direction.

6. If a player places a card on the pile that has the same number or picture as

the previous card, any player can shout ‘Snap!’, and quickly put his/ her hand on

the pile and take all the cards.

7. If two or more people shout ‘Snap!’ at the same time, the person with his/her

hand on the cards first wins the cards. This person takes all the cards and the

game continues.

8. When a player uses all the cards in his/her pile, he/she is out. The player with

all the cards at the end of the game is the winner.

Part 1: Language use in a game instruction 1. The above is the instruction of how to play a card game called Snap. Let’s learn the

names of a deck of cards first. There are 4 groups of cards: Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Jack Queen King

Hearts

Diamonds

Clubs

Spades

We say the Ace of hearts, the two of diamonds, the Queen of clubs, the King of spades etc. Use the table to say the name of each card with your neighbour.

2. Steps 4 and 5 tell the names of two cards. Find them in the table in #1 above.

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3. There are two ways to place a card: face up or face down. Circle these two phrases in the instruction.

4. The prepositional phrases are all underlined. Each prepositional phrase gives more

information about a noun or a verb. Draw an arrow from each prepositional phrase to the noun or verb it describes.

5. Now, take turns to tell your neighbour how to play the game step by step in Chinese. A

tells B Step 1, then B tells A Step 2, then A tells B Step 3 etc. Part 2: The structure of an instruction There are 3 parts in the instruction: 1. Materials

2. Number of players

3. Instructions

What does each part tell you? Part 3: Writing an instruction The following is the instruction in Chinese of how to play Slapjack. Write the English version of the instruction. Part of it has been done for you. Complete it.

衾棉胎

用具:一副牌

玩家數目:六

遊戲方法:

1. 洗牌

2. 選其中一位為發牌者。

3. 發牌者將牌平分,順時序依序出牌,

每人每次一張,不能翻開。

4. 首先,發牌者將自己的第一張牌翻開

及放在桌子中間,同時喊‘一’。

5. 發牌者左方的人為下一個玩家。他將

自己的第一張牌翻開及放在上一張已

發的牌上,同時喊‘二’。其後玩家依

序喊到‘十’, ‘「積」’, ‘「囡」’, ‘King’

後,下一個便恢復喊‘一’, ‘二’…如此

類推。遊戲以順時序方向進行。

6. 如果玩家發現發往牌堆上的牌和喊的

數字相同,所有玩家就要立刻朝桌子

中央的牌堆拍下去,掌心向下。最慢

的玩家就要把牌堆的牌都收回去。

7. 如果任何玩家在牌的數字和玩家喊的

Slapjack

Materials:

Number of players:

Instructions:

1. Shuffle the cards.

2. Choose one person to be the dealer

3. The dealer deals each player the same number of cards,

clockwise, one at a time and face down.

4. The dealer goes first. …

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數字不相同時「誤拍」,則同樣要將所

有的牌收回。

8. 玩家先必須把手中的所有牌翻開,並

多拍三次而安然渡過沒收牌才能算獲

勝。如果玩家最慢拍牌或「誤拍」,則

同樣要將所有的牌收回,繼續遊戲。

The instruction in English [You can ask (some) students to write only the prepositional phrases using the bold underlined phrases in the Chinese version, with the rest of the text in English given to them]:

衾棉胎

用具:一副牌

玩家數目:六

遊戲方法:

1. 洗牌

2. 選其中一位為發牌者。

3. 發牌者將牌平分,順時序依序出

牌,每人每次一張,不能翻開。

4. 首先,發牌者將自己的第一張牌翻

開及放在桌子中間,同時喊‘一’。

5. 發牌者左方的人為下一個玩家。他將

自己的第一張牌翻開及放在上一

張已發的牌上,同時喊‘二’。其後

玩家依序喊到‘十’, ‘「積」’, ‘「囡」’,

‘King’後,下一個便恢復喊‘一’,

‘二’…如此類推。遊戲以順時序方向

進行。

6. 如果玩家發現發往牌堆上的牌和

喊的數字相同,所有玩家就要立刻

朝桌子中央的牌堆拍下去,掌心向

下。最慢的玩家就要把牌堆的牌都

收回去。

7. 如果任何玩家在牌的數字和玩家

喊的數字不相同時「誤拍」,則同

樣要將所有的牌收回。

8. 玩家先必須把手中的所有牌翻開,並多拍三次而安然渡過沒收牌才能算獲

勝。如果玩家最慢拍牌或「誤拍」,

則同樣要將所有的牌收回,繼續遊

戲。

Slapjack

Materials: A deck of playing cards

Number of players: 6

Instructions:

1. Shuffle the cards.

2. Choose one person to be the dealer

3. The dealer deals each player the same number of cards,

clockwise, one at a time and face down.

4. The dealer goes first. He or she places the top card face up in

the centre of the table and says ‘Ace’.

5. The player on the left of the dealer is the next one. He or she

places the top card face up on top of the previous cards and

says ‘Two’. The next player does the same and says ‘Three’

etc… After ‘Ten’, ‘Jack’, ‘Queen’, ‘King’, the player says

‘Ace’, ‘Two’… etc again. The game continues in a clockwise

direction.

6. If a player places a card on the pile which matches the value he

or she says, all the players must ‘slap’ the pile – put one hand

on the pile of cards in the centre of the table, palm

downwards. The last player to do so must take all the cards and

the game continues.

7. If someone ‘slap’ the pile but the value of the card doesn’t

match the value of what the player said, he/ she must also take

all the cards.

8. In order to win, the player must use all his or her cards and then

slap the pile for three more times if he or she is the last to slap,

or if he or she slaps when shouldn’t, he or she has to take all the

cards as usual and the game continues.

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Discussion

One of today’s most controversial subjects is nuclear or atomic power. In the past, fossil

fuels such as oil and natural gas provided enough energy for homes and industries, but

now they are harder to get and more expensive. People in developing countries

throughout the world need cheap energy for better lives. People in industrialized

countries want to keep their high standard of living. Nuclear power by itself can provide

energy for both these purposes.

However, many people oppose atomic energy. They say that the high standard of living in

developed nations is unnecessary. Moreover, nuclear power can be dangerous. A single

accident could kill or injure thousands of people.

A strong argument of the proponents of nuclear energy is that it is clean. Uranium mines

do not damage the land as surface coal mines do. Coal- and oil-powered industries emit

ugly, bad-smelling pollutants; nuclear generators do not. However, opponents of nuclear

energy point out that nuclear reactors pour coolants into streams and rivers. These

coolants change the temperature of the water. Opponents state that the temperature

changes cause damage to fish and plants. Proponents, on the other hand, say that the

warm water from nuclear reactors provides ideal conditions for raising certain fish.

The safety question is the most important of all. Every nuclear generator has radioactive

waste products. Those opposed to atomic power say that this waste is dangerous because

it is hard to find safe places in which to store it. Moreover, they state that generators

are still dangerous and give the accident at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, as an

example. At the Three Mile Island generators, the cooling system failed. This caused the

temperature of the generators fuel core to rise. The danger was that if the core became

very hot, it might melt and let radioactive materials escape. On the other hand,

proponents reply that this did not happen because nuclear generators are built very

carefully. Furthermore, governments have made many safety rules to assure safe

operation.

Nevertheless, since Three Mile Island, people are afraid of nuclear power. What is your

opinion? Is nuclear power safe? Would you want to have an atomic power plant in your

community? These are important questions for people throughout the world. [from Sorenson, S. (1997). Student writing handbook. New York: Macmillan.]

Book / Film Review

Echoes of the Rainbow is set in Hong Kong fifty years ago. It is about a boy called Big

Ears (played by Buzz Chung). His father, Mr Law (Simon Yam), and mother (Sandra Ng)

run a shoe shop.

Big Ears is a naughty kid who often gets into trouble. He likes wearing a fishbowl on his

head and pretending he is an astronaut. On the other hand, his serious older brother,

Desmond (Aarif Lee), is a top student. Desmond’s dream is simple – he just wants to be

friends with his pretty classmate Flora (Evelyn Choi).

There is humour and love in the life of Big Ears, and his family, although we sometimes

see sadness too. Echoes of the Rainbow is a film to remember. [from Longman Elect S1, p.29]

Page 19: Saturday Seminar Series Genre approaches to teaching ... · 5 Recount A Recount aims to recall past events (to give a true record of what happened). It has 3 parts: 1. Setting –

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Genres (Text types) and Stages

1. Find the stages for each of the following genres from the table below (write the letter of

the genre into the box on the top right corner of each set of stages):

(a) Advice

(b) Application Letter

(c) Book/Film Review

(d) Character Description

(e) Complaint Letter

(f) Editorial

(g) Letter to the Editor

(h) Persuasion

(i) Postcard

(j) Proposal

(k) Response to request

(l) Promotion

Greetings and update^ More news^ *Closing and connection

Thesis^ Arguments for^ *Arguments against and

rebuke^ Reiteration of thesis

Aim of complaint^ Evidence for complaint^ Request for action

Aim of the proposal^ [Details of the proposal^ Justifications for the

proposal] OR Details and justifications of the proposal^

Acknowledge request^ Response to request 1^ Response to request 2^ etc. *Re-acknowledge request

Empathy and help offer^ Advice for the problems^ *Words of comfort and offer

of further help

Catchy title^ The attractions^ Details of one attraction^ *Details of another

attraction^ Call for a visit

Synopsis of book / film reviewed^

Main themes of book / film reviewed^

Recommendation

Issue/Topic^ *Others’ / Current view(s)^ Response to others’ views /

Your view with evidence^ *Reiteration of your view

The character and his/her significance^

Good points of the character with evidence^

Weak points of the character with evidence^

Evaluation

Topic & View^ Points & Evidence^ *Restatement of view

What you are applying for^ Source of information^ *Your background^ Response to the requirements^ Request for an interview

^ followed by *optional

2. Choose 2-3 genres. Explain how the stages in each genre achieve the purpose of the

genre as a whole.