Writing For Writing For All All

Miri YochannaTESL OntarioNovember 13-15, 2008

Words for thought… Words for thought…

In the book, The Powers of Literacy (1993), Courtney B. Cazden writes in the Forward the following:

“Anyone teaching writing has what Linda Flower calls a ‘situation theory’. That theory is based on some combination of our own previous experience, as teachers and / or writers, and what we learn from others – those who teach writing and those who analyse writing processes, practices and products. It should be that the more varied the new ideas we consider in formulating our situated theories, the better.”

““Words don't come easy, to Words don't come easy, to me...” me...”

Writing is not a natural ability, like speech.

It must be taught.Don’t expect the learners to write

without having been previously taught how to.

Don’t expect too much after it has been taught. It takes time. It is a process.

Getting Started…Getting Started…

Be calm!! Plan everything so you won’t run into any surprises. Plan the activities in stages so that everyone in the class has something he or she can do at all times. Enable learners to repeat the same stage again and again, until they feel ready to move on. Remember that some learners will write more willingly than others.

Let’s step aside a Let’s step aside a minute… minute…

Of course you realize, you must teach sentence structure and parts of speech too.

Learners must know sentence order – Subject – verb – object

If they don’t know the basics, they cannot proceed.

So work on the basics at the same time: ◦I like pizza. ◦I hate homework. ◦I have a dog. ◦I want a dog.

The basics The basics Once the learners have a basic vocabulary, they

should use it to practice sentence structure. At first, give the sentence format and change the

object:◦ I have (a computer). ◦ I am (tall).

Next, let them change the subject too: ◦ (Jim and Mary) have (a car). ◦ (Kim) has (a house).

Then let them produce more freely within the confines you set, usually using the verbs you’ve been teaching. ◦ Johnny likes hockey and baseball. ◦ Marie plays piano after school.

Small details Small details ◦Add information to each sentence.

◦ I have a dog. ◦I have a big dog. ◦I have a black dog.◦I have a big black dog.

◦ My dog is best.◦My black dog is best. ◦My big black dog is best.◦My big black dog is best. His name is Sammy.

My big black dog is best. His name is Sammy. I love Sammy.

Using Single Words Using Single Words We always teach our learners vocabulary. These words or expressions are familiar

to them. They will then use this knowledge to

begin writing, even if it’s only one word. Look at the examples below:

a sheep a blue sheep

Let’s get started: some Let’s get started: some ideas ideas

Lists!! Lists are a great way to brainstorm ideas. Lists help learners recall the language

they know. Lists help learners organize their

thoughts. Have the learners write different types of

lists. Some lists are only one topic. Some lists are opposites. Some lists contain only words. Other lists work on phrases.

Some list ideas: Some list ideas: I have… – things you have that are connected to a specific topicI can… – things you can do Parties – as an example of a specific topic, it could be anythingI Like – things you like; could be topic centeredI Hate – things you hate; could be topic centered Like / Hate – things you like and things you hate; to compare Typical / Unusual - typical life experiences and unusual life

experiences Fun / Have To – things that you do for fun and things you have

to do Change / Stay the Same – things you want to change and things

you want to stay the same Regret / Proud Of - things you regret and things you are proud

of Events – different events / situations that happened / will happen Characters – who will be / who are the characters in the story

Like / Hate listsLike / Hate listsLike Hate

pizza homework

my dog my neighbor’s cat

soccer tennis

summer winter

weekends tests

Like Hate

chocolate broccoli

hot dogs carrots

chicken milk

chips beans

ice cream yoghurt

A list could be many different things to help them decide on a topic.

A list could be one topic so they can focus on one thing.

Using lists to write Using lists to write Have the learners take the information in their list

and make up simple sentences. Then ask them to elaborate on that sentence. Then ask them to make sure the sentences work

together, i.e. they are all connected in theme. Have them write 4-5 sentences to make up a short

passage that could form a paragraph. An example:

I like pizza. My dog likes pizza too. We eat pizza every weekend.

In the summer, I make pizza at home. Pizza is a great food.

And now what??? And now what??? The learners have:

◦ Made lists◦ Brainstormed ideas◦ Written short sentences using their

lists

What now? ◦ The next step is detail.

◦ Add information to each sentence.

◦ Answer questions such as: ◦ Why? ◦ How? ◦ What? ◦ Who? ◦ Where? ◦ When?

The details count The details count Let’s go back to the sentence we had before:

My dog is the best. And we take this one step further. We ask: Why? – He loves me. / He protects me. How? – He licks my face when I come home. / He barks at people who

come near me. Details. – He plays with me. / He can save me when we go swimming.

This could be done in a chart, to help organize the ideas, for those who need it.

Idea Why? How? Details

My dog is the best.

He loves me. He licks my face when I come home.

He plays with me.

He protects me.

He barks at people who come near me.

He can save me when we go swimming.

What can we do with the What can we do with the detail? detail? The learners can now use the information

they collected in the chart to write a paragraph.

It’s a good idea to work with them on connectors to make sure the paragraphs flow together and are cohesive.

My dog is best. He loves me. When I come home from school, he licks my face. I like that. He always plays with me. I am happy with my dog.

My dog also protects me. He barks at people who come near me. When we go swimming, he can save me in the water.

So???So???Now learners are writing. Now learners feel comfortable writing. Each of the single sentences they have written, can

be combined to form a paragraph, as we saw in the previous slide.

It’s very important to teach what a paragraph is. Remember, a paragraph has to have a main idea.

All the sentences in the paragraph are connected to that idea.

Take everything you worked on until now, the lists, the short sentences and start combining it.

Now they are writing a short story or a short essay.

Prompts Prompts

Pictures Story prompts JournalsLeading questions Comic strips

So to sum up… So to sum up… Stay calm. Writing could be easy. Writing could be done in every class at

every grade level. Everyone can participate in a writing

activity. Start small and work up to the more

complex items. Keep in mind that the more the learners

practice, the easier it will become. Keep in mind also, that the more the

learners practice, the easier it will become for you.

Thank you for joining me. Thank you for joining me.

I hope you enjoyed this talk. Now, if you have questions…