Writers at work the paragraph teachers manual

Begin at the Beginning The purpose of this introductory section is to have students step back from writing to consider the importance of writing, how they can improve their writing

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Begin at the Beginning ch vo 1

A Morning Person or a Night Person? cv 3

A Person Important to You ) 0 11 The Weekend cu ng kg kia vo 18

A Scary or Funny Experience 0 0 24 Holidays ta vb b bbb ete teen 30 Telling Stories 2.0 a a aậa 35

A Favorite Place 8a aấa ad 38 The Ideal Spouse ee 42 Whats Your OpiniOn? cv cu ru kg ha 47

Supplemental Writing Activities 2 ee 52

Writers at Work: The Paragraph leads high beginning to low intermediate-level students

in either an ESL or EFL classroom through a process approach to writing It can be used

by college, adult education, or high school students It is also appropriate for native speakers of English who are developing their competence as independent writers in English Though the content of the writing is personal, the writing concepts that are taught lay the groundwork for academic writing in the future

Approach

Writers at Work: The Paragraph is designed to put students on the path to becoming independent writers in English Many students believe that good writing “just happens” and have no idea how they can make it so My aim in this book is to help students understand how to make good writing happen To do this, the book overtly teaches and follows the writing process, which is simply the natural progression that experienced writers follow When students understand and follow this process, they begin to have more success with their own writing Begin at the Beginning helps students explore the writing process and understand themselves as writers Each of the nine chapters that follows is organized around the steps of the writing process

Organization of the text

The book contains three major parts:

Begin at the Beginning

This section introduces the course by asking students to step back and think about writing in their own lives — why they write and how they can become better writers It introduces students to the writing process and helps them understand how they can use

Chapiers 1-9

Writers at Work: The Paragraph is arranged thematically, so that all of the content and

activities in a chapter are connected to its theme In this way, the ideas and vocabulary

introduced can be useful in the students’ writing Each chapter begins with a paragraph that introduces the theme and poses questions for class discussion

Quick Check

Quick Check is an editing reference at the end of the book It begins on page 123

Students can use it while they are editing their paragraphs or after their paragraphs are marked and returned to them Quick Check starts with a set of editing marks and symbols that serve as the organizing system for the guide For example, all subject- verb agreement problems are grouped together in one section headed by its symbol, S-V That way, when a student has a paper returned with an error marked S-V, the student can simply turn to that section for help in identifying and correcting the error

In addition, when marking papers, you can refer students to a specific page of Quick Check If you have a particular set of marking symbols that you prefer to use, simply have your students write your symbols next to the corresponding ones at the beginning

Getting Started always begins with Picture this, a page of photographs to stimulate

discussion about the chapter theme Discussing this page will also begin to help

students develop the vocabulary needed for the chapter

In Get ideas, specific idea-gathering strategies are introduced and applied Over the course of the book, the strategies taught include brainstorming, webbing, talking,

drawing, and freewriting The hope is that each student will find a few strategies that work well and can be used in the future

il Preparing the First Draft

After gathering their ideas, students learn the ways that native English speakers usually organize their ideas before writing, as this may be different than the ways that ideas are organized in the students’ native languages Students will learn to organize by category, time, space, and logic

Once students have organized their ideas, they will plan their paragraphs At this stage, they will learn about the elements of the paragraph and consider how they can apply these elements to their own writing

When they are ready to write the first draft, students often tense up It is very important

for students to understand that this is only the first draft and that their writing does not have to be polished at this step Try to help your students relax and feel comfortable as they write For example, bring in quiet music if your students like it and if your facilities allow for it

Introduction V

vi

{It Revising Your Writing

When I have asked students at the beginning of the course to come up with the steps

of the writing process, this is the one step that they most often omit Many students believe that once they have written the first draft, they only need to check the grammar and spelling before submitting their writing

Accurate grammar is what most students associate with “good” writing, so it is

important to remind students throughout the process that they need to attend to

getting good ideas and putting them down on paper in a well-organized way before

they worry about grammar If, as students are drafting and revising, they spot a

grammar problem, it can of course be dealt with, but concerns about grammar

should not dominate earlier drafts

Revision is a difficult step to teach because students need to check for abstract ideas

and concepts For this reason, in this course students first practice revising a sample student paragraph before revising theix own writing It is also at this stage that students learn peer revision so that they will have a reader's input before they write their own final drafts Peer revision is a difficult skill to learn, so don’t be discouraged if students struggle with it for several chapters After revising, students write their second drafts

IV Editing Your Writing

In Section IV, students are ready to turn to editing The editing phase deals with

sentence-level concerns Students are taught to construct standard English sentences and to correct fragments and run-ons (comma splices and fused sentences) This

material is taught cumulatively through the first six chapters, each chapter building

on what was learned in the previous chapters

One of our major goals as writing teachers is to help our students become independent editors of their work Writers at Work: The Paragraph leads students through a detailed, step-by-step edit of their own work using an Editing Checklist It is very important for you to stand back and insist that students learn to edit their own paragraphs They can find many of their own mistakes if we don’t give in to their pleas of “Please tell me what's wrong with my paper.” Of course, this does not mean that you should offer no assistance, but simply that you should encourage them to do as much as they can on their own One way to help your students help themselves is by referring them to Quick Check (page 123) for grammar help After completing the Editing Checklist, students write their third and final drafts

V Following Up

The first activity of this part, Share your writing, is to be done after students have

written their final drafts, but before they turn them in to you Here, through a

variety of activities, students have the opportunity to read and enjoy each

other's paragraphs

Each chapter ends with Check your progress After students have gotten back their

marked paragraphs from you, they should fill out the Progress Check, a form that has

them consider the strengths and weaknesses of their paragraphs The Progress Check

will also help them see the improvements that they make in their writing

Introduction

Begin at the Beginning

The purpose of this introductory section is to have students step back from

writing to consider the importance of writing, how they can improve their

writing, and how the writing process can help them

Read the introduction on page 1 with your class Tell students that they will

not begin the course by writing but by thinking about writing

THINKING ABOUT WRITING

A\ Reasons for writing page 2

Tell students that for this section they will be able to do something that they will not

be able to do for the rest of the course: write in their native language They are allowed

to do that here so that they can write about things that they probably would not be

able to write about in English

Possible answers

text messaging

telephone messages

notes to others

write stories, poems, songs

write down assignments

As a way for students to get to know each other, you could have students meet in small

groups to compare their lists before a whole class discussion Make a class list

If the students’ level of English allows for it, have a class discussion about this question: Has modern technology — telephones, television, movies, computers, e-mail, instant messaging

~ changed when we write or why we write?

Thoughts about writing page 2

Your students may be better able to answer these questions by writing in their native

languages However, have them discuss their answers in English Having students

discuss their answers with a partner or in a small group would be another way for them

1

to get to know their classmates Also, as most people find writing difficult, it can be a comfort to students to realize that others feel the same way about writing as they do

Possible answers

1 Answers will vary

2 Answers will vary

3 Answers will vary here also, but most agree that one becomes a better writer by writing, and that reading also makes a better writer

THE WRITING PROCESS

A, Steps for writing page 3

If your students have sufficient English, you could have them get in small groups

before this section and have them list the steps they follow when they have a writing assignment In effect, they will be considering their approach to the writing process

Read the information box, The Writing Process, with your students If students are having difficulty comprehending the term process, give them some examples from everyday life: baking a cake, changing the oil in a car, getting ready to go to a party, tying your shoes Ask: Can you think of a process in everyday life?

Answers

Step 1: get ideas

Step 2: organize ideas and plan writing

Step 3: write

Step 4: revise (check ideas)

Step 5: edit (check grammar)

Using the writing process pages 3-4

Most students should be able to answer these questions in English Again, students

can share their answers with a partner or a small group before a class discussion of the questions

Possible answers

1 Answers will vary

2 e-mail; letter to a friend; lists; diary or journal

Writing is not usually a linear process Good writers are flexible and move back and forth between the steps as the need arises Have students look at the illustration on page 4 Go over the diagram carefully with students so that they can see ways in which

a writer moves back and forth between the steps

Read the paragraph at the bottom of page 4 together as a class and discuss it Tell students that the chapters of the book follow the writing process The book proceeds

in a linear fashion, but make it clear that students should feel free to revisit any of the

steps that they need to:

In this chapter, students will write a short paragraph describing themselves

as a morning person or a night person This is a simple topic about which

all students should have something to say The steps of the chapter will lead

them through the writing process At each step in the process, they will learn

and apply a concept: brainstorming to gather ideas, organizing by category,

developing the main idea, and writing and editing the simple sentence

Begin by reading the opening page of the chapter on page 5 and discussing

the questions in the first paragraph If the class is small enough, you can go

around the room having each student say if he or she is a morning or night

_ person Of course, there may be people who say they are both or neither

These students can write about the time of day they like best

GETTING STARTED

A Picture this page 6

Depending on the size of your class and how comfortable the students are with each other, you can discuss these pictures as a whole class or in small groups One benefit

of discussing in small groups is that students will have a chance to get to know one another Throughout the course, students will be working in small groups and with partners, so this would be an ideal opportunity for them to become more comfortable with one another

As the whole class discusses their answers to the questions, list helpful vocabulary words that come up in the discussion If you write them on a large sheet of paper, the paper can be posted and the list added to throughout the work on this chapter Such

a vocabulary list can serve as a useful resource for students as they write

Get ideas page7

As you come to each step in the writing process in Chapter 1, you may want to refer back to Section II, The Writing Process, on pages 3-4 of Begin at the Beginning Students who are not familiar with the writing process may need to be reminded at each step that they are following a process, or method Students who are not comfortable with

writing (and that is many, if not most students) are grateful to learn a process that

demystifies the act of writing

Engage students in thinking about the meaning of the word brainstorming Ask the meaning of the words brain and storm and then ask what brainstorming might mean Next, read the information box, Brainstorming, together with students Stress that all

ideas are good ideas while brainstorming Also emphasize that students should not

write in complete sentences while brainstorming It takes too long and slows the flow

of ideas

Since brainstorming is being introduced for the first time, it is probably best for the class to brainstorm together so that you can model good brainstorming technique Students will brainstorm on their own in Chapter 2 At the top left of your board space write Morning, and at the top right write Night Then have students call out any words

ox phrases that they associate with either of those words Record their ideas on the board If the flow of ideas slows, ask questions such as: What do you have to do or like to

do in the morning or at night? How do you feel then? What words can you use to describe the morning or night? Ask them to associate new words with ones you have already written

Again, refer back to pages 3-4 to remind students of where they are in the writing process Ask: Now that we have a lot of ideas, what do we do with them?

Read through the information box, Organizing Ideas, with your students If possible, discuss with students why organization is important in writing Elicit from them that

the actual writing will be a lot easier if they choose the ideas that they want to use

beforehand and put them in a good order In addition, a well-organized paragraph

is easier to read

If you have time, show students a brief example paragraph (that you have written

beforehand) that is not well organized This will help students see how difficult it is

to read As students fill in the chart on page 8, move around the room and help them

as needed

Plan your writing pages 8-70

Read through the information box, The Main Idea, with your students Although relevant and irrelevant are challenging words for students, they are important concepts that will

You may wish to have students do this activity in pairs When they are finished, have

students explain why they answered as they did

Answers

1 d This sentence is negative; all of the others are positive

2 c This sentence is about me; all of the others are about my cat

3 a This sentence is about my sister; all of the others are about me

4 b This sentence is about my brother; all of the others are about me

Your turn page 70

Read through the directions with your students As they begin to organize their

ideas, let them know that good writing is a messy business You can refer them back

to the illustration on page 4 of Begin at the Beginning At this point in the process, a good paper will have words crossed out, new ideas added, and numbers peppered throughout

& Write the first draft page 70

Refer to Steps for writing on page 3 of Begin at the Beginning to remind students of where they are in the writing process

Read through the information box, The First Draft, with your students Make sure that students understand what a first draft is Assure them that their first draft does not have

to be perfect because they will be writing other drafts Let them know that they will only be graded on their final draft

Writing is difficult for almost everybody, so it is important that students feel

comfortable when they write Allow students to sit however they are most comfortable Some teachers even bring in quiet music for writing time Have students write their first

draft in class

REVISING YOUR WRITING

Refer students back to Steps for writing on page 3 of Begin at the Beginning Remind students of where they are in the writing process

Revising is the one step that most students would skip if we let them After you read the information box, Revising, discuss with the class why revising is just as important as editing

& Analyze a paragraph pages 10-71

This activity is an important part of every chapter Students are given specific questions

to guide them in their analysis of a student paragraph In the next step, Revise your writing, students analyze their own paragraph in the same way Your turn can be done in

small groups, as a whole class, or for homework with a class discussion the next day

A Morning Person or a Night Person? 5

Answers

1 Answers will vary

2 Yes, although it includes many irrelevant sentences

3 The following sentences are irrelevant:

My brother doesn’t like to come with us

He stays home and studies

My brother thinks I should not smoke

He says I will kill myself with cigarettes

Some men have walked on it

Revise your writing page 71

Read through the information box, Revising with a Partner, with your students

Writing is written to be read, so a reader's comments can be very helpful Emphasize

that students should read carefully and be honest, but not be painfully critical Read through the directions and questions with the class You may want to pair up students based on their personalities and abilities, rather than leaving it to them to find

partners Then, circulate among students as they are working and make sure that

they are just checking for what is listed Remind students that the paragraph is not finished yet; they are still at the revising stage and should not check their partners’ papers for grammatical errors

Your turn page 77

Go over the directions and steps carefully with students Then, give students ample time

to answer the questions in Your turn After students have finished revising, ask: Why is

it important to revise before editing? Elicit from them (or tell them) that it is a waste of time to edit sentences that are irrelevant, and that if new ideas are added, editing

would need to be done again

G Write the second draft page 11

While students should focus on revising their ideas in this draft, if they find errors in grammar or mechanics, of course they may correct them

This is also the point at which students give a title to their paragraphs Sometimes students want to do this first, but they should wait until after they revise so that they are certain of the content Explain the basic concepts of title capitalization, using the sample composition titles on page 15 of the Student Book as examples

EDITING YOUR WRITING

A Focus on sentence grammar pages 12-75

Refer to Steps for writing on page 3 of Begin at the Beginning to remind students of where

they are in the writing process

6 Chapter 1

Read through the information box, Editing, with your students If your class has not yet

discussed the importance of revising before editing, this is another good time to do so

Practice page 12

I like to have students mark their answers in the book, and then take a vote on how

many students think each group of words is a sentence I do not tell them the correct answers at this point After they have learned about the simple sentence, we revisit their

answers in Practice 6 on page 14 to see if they still agree with their original votes Then

I go over the correct answers

a language other than English and then translate it word for word into English For example, I usually write Te amo mucho and then under it write its word for word English translation: You I love much You can also invite students to the board to write sentences

in their native languages and translate them word for word into English

This activity gets the message across

Answers

| Subjects: I, aunt and uncle, night, roommate, newspaper, she

Verbs: like, eats, am, snore, is, thinks

Answers

1 Davelikedafternoons the best

2 He@etsup early in the morning for his classes

3 His eyes often Clos@in his 8 a.m class

4 At 12:30, he(meethis friends and @at)lunch with them

5 Dave and his friends (lay soccer in the afternoon

6 Soccerfis)their favorite sport

7 After soccer, everyone hadsomething to drink and falks)about the game

8 Then, Dave@oéHhome for dinner

A Morning Person or a Night Person? 7

8

Have students refer back to their answers for Practice 3 on page 12 See if they still

Answers

Sentence 2 has no subject and no verb

Sentence 5 has no subject

Sentence 6 has no verb

1 I get up at 7:30 / At 7:30, I get up

2 1 go to classes in the morning / In the moming, I go to classes

3 My roommate and I order pizza at noon / At noon, my roommate and I order pizza

4 | usually study on my bed in the afternoon / In the afternoon, | usually study on

my bed

5 My friends visit me in the evening / In the evening, my friends visit me

6 We listen to music and talk / We talk and listen to music

7 My friends leave at 11:30 / At 11:30, my friends leave

8 | turn out my light at midnight / At midnight, I turn out my light

Practice

Answers

Daylight Saving Time

h the United States, we have daylight saving time for half of the year, h late spring, we put our clocks forward one hour, then we have an extra hour

of daylight every day, farmers are happy for an extra hour to work in the fields,

ghildren have more time to play outside, „Nhật parents are happy about that,

ddults have time to play sports after work, @veryone likes the extra daylight in

the summer,

Chapter 1

a club and have a good time My friends and | dance and talk for a long time

We drink coffee and smoke Then, we each go to our own home At home, |

drink one more cup of coffee and listen to the music of silence | look out the

window How beautiful is the moon! | look at the moon and think about my

future The clock says midnight Everything is silent, serene, and perfect | feel

like midnight, too,

page 15 ' Possible answer

In the Morning

| love the early morning! | listen to the songs of the birds The sun's rays

enter my room through the window | always leave the curtains open for the

morning sun | usually walk in the early morning | feel energetic and peaceful

My day starts happy Then, | cook my breakfast and take a shower | begin to

study Also, | listen to music because | feel happy in the morning Time passes

very fast (or Also, | listen to music because | feel happy In the morning, time

passes very fast.) | think the morning is more productive than the night

Edit your writing page 76

One of our major goals as teachers is to help our students become independent writers

They will not always be able to ask a teacher, “Is this right?“ Using the Editing Checklist

in every chapter will, in time, go a long way toward making students self-editors

Although it will be hard and tedious for them to follow all the steps of this section

at first, if they do so, they will be much more self-sufficient editors by the end of the book Our job is to resist helping them too much and to insist that they do this work

themselves Refer them to Quick Check at the end of the book before helping them with

a problem

For this first chapter, walk students through the editing steps found in the Editing Checklist First, have them do step 1, underlining subjects and circling verbs Next,

read the instructions for step 2 Go through each of the seven questions of the Editing

Checklist together As students do their editing, watch that they look for one kind of error at a time Students can become overwhelmed if they try to find all of their errors

A Morning Person or a Night Person? 9

at once, but if they read their paragraphs over many times, checking for just one kind

of error each time, they will be more successful

e For question 1, they should check that they have underlined at least one subject and circled at least one verb in every sentence Cltculate among students to make sure

that they have correctly identified their subjects and verbs

« For questions 2-4, have students focus only on the verbs in their sentences

* Question 2 refers to subject-verb agreement (They is here has a subject-verb

agreement problem.)

© Question 3 refers to correct verb tense (I saw him tomorrow has a verb tense problem.)

© Question 4 refers to correct verb form (I going to see him tomorrow has a verb-form

problem.)

* Look at the beginning and end of each sentence to answer questions 5 and 6

e Look at each word to answer question 7

Have students turn to the Quick Check, which starts on page 123, and locate the

sections that can help them with subject-verb problems Students should look at

sections A and B on pages 125-129

۩ Write the final draft page 16

You will need to supply students with an example of the format you require for their paragraphs, whether it is on paper or on computer This final draft is the draft that you will grade

FOLLOWING UP

A Share your writing page 17

Students always enjoy reading each other's work, but depending on your class, you may need to discuss the courtesy of a good reader A good reader should be respectful of the

writer and should offer positive comments After all the paragraphs have been read, you

can record an informal tally of the number of morning people versus the number of night people in the class

(8 Check your progress page 17

Be sure to give students enough time to completely fill out the Progress Check as they will be referring back to it at the end of Chapter 2 They can record things that they think they did well on and also the areas they need to work on

A Person Important to You

In this chapter, students will learn to describe and write about a person

important to them New instruction in this chapter includes vocabulary

of description, organization by category, topic and supporting sentences,

as well as sentence fragments and run-ons

With students, read only the first paragraph of the chapter introduction on

page 19 Make sure that everyone knows what an island is, and then ask

for comments on the meaning of John Donne's quotation Then, read the

remainder of the introduction

process

A Picture this page 20

Ask for a volunteer to read the questions at the bottom of the page As a class or in small groups, have students make as many guesses as possible about each photograph

Make a vocabulary list for the class of words not already included in Get ideas on pages

is Get ideas pages 21-23

There is a wealth of vocabulary introduced here, so make sure that students understand

all of the words on pages 21-23 They may want to write definitions or examples on

a separate piece of paper Students may also be able to associate words describing personality with certain classmates or friends

Your turn page 27

When students have finished, ask volunteers to read the words that describe their own

personalities

11

Your turn page 23

For a variation of this activity, have students write their own names and description

words, and their partner's name and words on a separate piece of paper Collect all

of the papers Read descriptions and have students guess who is being described

After going over the information box on page 24, Brainstorming, with students, you may want to model brainstorming on the board or on a large sheet of paper Choose

a person to write about, and write down the person’s name Then say your ideas aloud

as you write them in note form Write quickly and include all ideas, even those that you would not include in a composition You can use these notes later to model the steps

in Organize your ideas on page 25

Your turn page 24

This activity is best done in class rather than as homework so that you can make sure students are truly brainstorming Students should write quickly and not labor over their thoughts and notes for very long

PREPARING THE FIRST DRAFT

& Organize your ideas page 25

Read through the information box, Organizing by Category, with your students Point out that the more specific the details are, the better For example, plays soccer after

school is more interesting than likes sports Also, each personality trait needs at least one example associated with it

Answers

1 appearance, life, personality

2 I miss him!; 2 brothers, 1 sister; | had his teacher before; I wrote to him yesterday They were left out because they refer to the writer, not the brother

3 missing a few teeth; funny — plays jokes; loves animals; talks a lot

Your turn page 25

If you think it would be helpful for students, first model the activity using the

brainstorming list you did on page 24

It would probably be easiest if students used the same three categories for their writing,

but they should be free to choose other categories if they like Also, review what they learned in Chapter 1 about irrelevant ideas (The Main Idea, page 8) as they look for irrelevant ideas in their own lists

IB Plan your writing page 26

Read through the information box, Topic Sentence and Supporting Sentences, with your students To illustrate the concept of support, I draw a picture of a table I label the

tabletop topic sentence and each leg support The tabletop holds the legs together, but the legs hold up the tabletop (A three-legged stool might be an even better illustration

12 Chapter 2

since paragraphs tend to have three pieces of supporting information, but that is

beyond my artistic abilities.)

This activity could be done in small groups

Answers

1 Adam is a delightful boy

2 She tells you the topic, Adam, in the first sentence: Adam is a delightful boy

3 In order, these are the categories Sara used: appearance, life, personality

| Mr Jenkins was my favorite teacher

_ © Write the first draft

Refer to the illustrations on page 3 of Begin at the Beginning to remind students of where they are in the writing process Tell students that they will revise and edit this first draft, so they should not be concerned about making mistakes

REVISING YOUR WRITING

2 Analyze a paragraph, page 29

This activity can be done in small groups, as a whole class, or for homework with a class discussion the next day

A Person Important to You 13

Answers

1 Answers will vary

2 Yes

3 No, there isn’t The first sentence is a supporting sentence, not a topic sentence It

needs to be more general For example, Eun Hee is one of my best friends

4 The following sentence is irrelevant:

One doctor always shouts at the nurses

5 Not all of the sentences are grouped in categories A better beginning to the

paragraph is something like this: Eun Hee is one of my best friends When I left Korea,

she cried Eun Hee and I met in high school Now she works at General Hospital, and she is never absent from work Also, the next to the last sentence is out of order It

belongs after the sentence She is cheerful and talkative because it is an example of

that trait

Revise your writing pages 29-30

Read through the directions and questions with the class Then, as students are working, move around the room and make sure that they are just checking for what is listed They should not be checking grammar or spelling If there is time, partners could also draw a picture of the important person, using the description given in the paragraph This would show the writer if the description is accurate and detailed enough

Your turn page 30

Go over the directions and steps carefully with students Students will use the same

basic procedure for revising in all of the chapters, so it is important to make sure they

understand and follow each of the steps Then, give students ample time to answer the questions in Your turn Make sure that students have the Progress Check from Chapter 1 readily available so that they can refer back to it as instructed

Write the second draft page 30

Students can write the second draft in class or as homework

A Focus on sentence grammar pages 30-34

Read through the information box, Fragments, with your students To illustrate

the concept of a fragment, pantomime dropping a plate Say that each piece of the broken plate would be a fragment, a piece of a plate but not a whole plate A sentence fragment is a piece of a sentence, not a whole sentence You can also draw a whole

plate and a broken, fragmented plate on the board

Practice

page 37 Answers

| 1 NV 2 NSV 3 NS 4 NV 5 NS 6 NV

14 Chapter 2

2 One night he came to my door and cried for food

One night he came to my door He cried for food

3 After that first night, Tramp has stayed with me

Tramp has stayed with me after that first night

4 Tramp is a large, gray cat with one torn ear

5 He sleeps a lot during the day and hunts at night

He sleeps a lot during the day He hunts at night

6 He tries to catch mice They are too fast for him

7 My cat and some of the neighborhood cats fight sometimes

8 In the evenings, Tramp watches TV with me

Tramp watches TV with me in the evenings

9 He likes to sleep on my bed at night

At night, he likes to sleep on my bed

10 Day or night, he is a good friend to me He keeps me company

1 A person important to me is my twin sister Her name is Jody

2 Jody and I are the same height We both have blonde hair and green eyes

3 We enjoy the same things For example, we both love hot dogs and chess

4 Jody understands me better than anyone She knows me very well

5 We live in different cities We usually visit each other on weekends

6 I can’t live without my twin Once a day, we call each other and talk on the

telephone

A Person Important to You 15

“He has a tough life 5He takes classes during the day and drives a taxi every

night ®His father drinks too much and sometimes fights with his mother, Mac tries to help her 7He also likes to have a good time 8On his night off, he

goes out with his girlfriend, gometimes he drives to the beach at three in the

morning! ®He is amazing

eyes ®He often smiles 7Then you can see his big, wide smile BHe" short for his

age and a little heavy “Adam goes to school every day, Ihe often plays soccer

with his friends after school *They aren't very good, but they have a lot of

fun Ais loves to follow my teenage brother around He drives my brother

crazy! Adam | is a sweet boy, He really loves animals “Sometimes, he tries to

take care of hurt wild animals 16A [sốt ý "very smart He loves school, and he gets

good grades 17! love him because he is funny and cheerful, too He talks and laughs a lot Me makes everyone laugh with him 'Now, Pin this country, and | miss him very much

B Edit your writing page 35

Walk your class through this editing process step by step as you did in Chapter, 1 (see the teaching notes for Edit your writing on page 9 of this manual) Of course, students who already feel confident enough to go through it on their own can work independently

Chapter 2

G Write the final draft page 35

Final drafts can be assigned as homework

FOLLOWING UP

A, Share your writing page 36

If students have not already done so, they could try to draw their partner's important person as part of their discussion of each other's paragraphs Also, if there is time, students could exchange drafts with more than one partner and read more than one paragraph

Check your progress page 36

Give students time in class to complete the Progress Check As they work, move around

the classroom and help students as needed

The Weekend

In this chapter, students will write a narrative about their favorite weekend

day New instruction includes making an idea web, organizing by time,

using transitions of time, and writing compound sentences

With your students, read the chapter introduction on page 37 Explain

that in this chapter, a weekend is Friday night through Sunday, but some

countries have a different concept of when the weekend is Also, be aware

that for some students, the weekend is a time of relaxation and fun, but for

others, it may be a time of drudgery and loneliness

GETTING STARTED

&, Picture this page 38

Have students discuss the photos and the questions as a class or in small groups Using the pictures, help students contrast play and work on the weekend Ask: What do you do for fun on the weekend? What work do you have to do? Do you have more work or play on the weekend? Which is your favorite weekend day? Why?

As in previous chapters, begin a list of words that arise in your discussion Keep the list posted in the classroom and add to it as you work through the chapter

& Get ideas page 39

Tell students that there are many different ways to generate ideas In this course, they will be learning several ways so that they can find a strategy for gathering ideas that appeals to them Ask students: Do you remember how we brainstormed for ideas in Chapter 1? What do you do when you brainstorm? Have students remind each other of the basics

of brainstorming If needed, refer back to Brainstorming on page 7

Have students look at the information box, An Idea Web Refer to the illustration to

make.sure that everyone knows what a web is Students may be familiar with the term web.in relation to the Internet Say that the technique they will learn is called webbing because the end product looks like a spider's web (There are other names such as clustering, given to this technique, but the concept is the same.) Read the box together

and'ask: How is webbing different from brainstorming? Elicit from the class the notion

that the ideas are more clearly connected to one another in webbing

18

To demonstrate more precisely how it is done, you may want to fill out the web for

the topic Weekday together as a class, rather than having students do it on their own

You can copy onto the board the web as it appears in the text, or you can write only Weekday on the board and have your students supply all of the words and phrases Encourage students to respond with words of emotion along with words of action; have

them try to find connections among the ideas

Your turn page 39

Have students position their pieces of paper horizontally to make their webs Then, they should write either Saturday or Sunday in the center, draw a circle around the word, and begin webbing Remind them to use vocabulary from the class list if you have made one After they have finished, they could share their webs with the students around them and get additional ideas from each other's webs

PREPARING THE FIRST DRAFT

Read through the information box, Organizing by Time Order, with your students to emphasize that there are different ways to organize ideas Ask: How did you organize your ideas in your last paragraph, in Chapter 2? (by category) How will you organize your ideas this time? (by time order) Why are you organizing the two paragraphs differently? (Different types of information need different types of organization.) If the students in your class

are not at a level where they can answer the last question, simply point it out to them

Plan your writing pages 40-42

Here is an excellent activity to demonstrate the need for transitions You will need to prepare this before students have read the drafts in this section Before class, type out

both Draft A and Draft B with one sentence on each line Then, cut the sentences up

into strips Put all of the sentence strips for Draft A in one envelope and those for Draft B in another Divide the class into two groups (or make more than one envelope for each draft if you need more groups), and give each group an envelope Tell students that they need to reconstruct the paragraph with the sentences in the correct order Invariably, the group with Draft A finishes more quickly than the group with Draft B because they have transitions to guide them Students can then compare the two

reconstructed paragraphs to see how transitions helped the group reconstruct Draft A Practice

2 Then, after that,

3 Next, Then, After that, Later,

The Weekend 19

4 In the afternoon, Next, Then, After that, Later,

5 Then, After that, Later,

6 In the evening, Then, After that, After dinner,

7 At night, Finally, Later,

¢ Write the first draft page 42

Students can do this in class or as homework

REVISING YOUR WRITING

A Analyze a paragraph pages 42-42

This activity can be done in small groups, as a whole class, or for homework with a class discussion the next day

4 No The following are irrelevant sentences:

My roommate buys a lot of clothes and CDs every week

I don’t know why he does that

He doesn’t need them

5 One sentence is out of time order But first, I always talk on the phone to my family and friends This event should be written about before the previous sentence since it happens first

6 No Transitions are needed before these sentences:

We go to a grocery store to buy food and to the mall to buy clothes

I always go to my aunt's house

I go back to my dormitory

I Revise your writing page 43

Read through the directions and questions with the class Then, as students are

working, move around the room and make sure that they are just looking for what

is listed They should not be checking grammar or spelling

Your turn page 43

After you have gone over the directions, give students ample time to answer the

questions in Your turn Make sure that students have the Progress Check readily available

so that they can refer back to it as instructed

© Write the second draft page 22

Students can write the second draft in class or as homework

20 Chapter 3

EDITING YOUR WRITING

A Focus on sentence grammar pages 44-28

Read the instructions and questions at the top of page 44 All of the sentences in

the student paragraph are simple sentences While grammatically correct, they sound

boring when used without variation To make this point to students, read the paragraph

aloud, emphasizing the short, choppy sound of the sentences Elicit from students

that the paragraph would sound better if some of the sentences were lengthened

Lengthening sentences by making compound sentences is the focus of this section

Read through the information box, Compound Sentences, with your students To

illustrate the meaning of the word compound, ask students if they know what the

compound H,0O is Point out that two things (hydrogen and oxygen) combine to make something new (water) The same is true for compound sentences, where two simple sentences combine to make one compound sentence

2 Ken washes cars on Saturday, and he works on Sunday, too

3 Carol loves art, so she goes to the museum every Saturday

4 Christy and Ben go dancing Saturday night, or they rent a video

5 We clean our apartment on Saturday, but it's messy again on Sunday

The Weekend 21

22

Practice

| page 46 These sentences can be completed with a lot of variation Go over students’ answers together as a class so that students can see a number of different ways to construct compound sentences

Possible answers

1 I like to sleep late, but I have to get up early for work

2 We don't have school on the weekend, so I can relax

3 I enjoy Sunday dinner with my family, or I go out with my friends

4 On Saturday afternoon, | call my best friend, and we talk for a long time

§ 1 don’t have time to relax during the week, so I have fun on the weekend

the sunrise, but now she is too old to leave her spouse, my job is to take pictures

of the sunrise for her every Saturday morning first, | leave my house in the dark,

and | walk to the beach with my camera, ‘then, | take lots of pictures of the

sunrise Lam often sleepy, but | love to be near the ocean in the morning, next,

| go home and eat a big breakfast, after that, | print out the pictures from my

computer, in the afternoon, | take the pictures to the old woman, and we talk

about the ocean, dhe pays ‘me, so | have money to go out with my boyfriend, Ật

night, we go to a baseball game, or we have fun at an amusement park, Tater we

walk ‘by the ocean in the moonlight, By Saturday begins and ends by the ocean

Chapter 3

Possible answer

Saturday Saturday is my favorite day | don’t go to school, so | get up late in the morning First, | call my mother, and we talk about my week Next, | vacuum

the apartment My sister cooks us breakfast | can cook, but my sister is a better

cook than | After breakfast, | go shopping, and | usually buy some clothes In the

afternoon, | meet my boyfriend We go to interesting places such as the city, the

beach near the bridge, and famous historic districts, | don’t know my way around

the city, so he guides me | like walking, so we walk together and talk to each

other Later, we eat dinner in a restaurant, and he takes me home Sometimes we

watch a video, or we watch an old movie on TV Then, he goes home | get ready

for bed and talk to my sister about the day | am usually very tired, so | go to

sleep quickly Then, my night of dreams begins

Edit your writing page 4a

Your students may be ready to follow the steps of this section on their own If that is the case, review all of the steps together before they begin Point out the new questions (8, 9, 10) in the Editing Checklist Circulate among students as they edit, guiding them through the steps where needed and referring them to Quick Check for help

© Write the final draft page 48

Final drafts can be assigned as homework

FOLLOWING UP

& Share your writing page 49

Students get more than enough critical comment about their writing, and usually

they are their own sternest critics as well But positive feedback can be just as helpful

as negative It motivates students to know that others can understand and enjoy their

writing, limited though it may be It also shows students their strengths instead of

highlighting only their weaknesses For this activity, stress in your directions to students

that they are to write only positive comments

3 Check your progress page 49

Students can complete the Progress Check in class or as homework

The Weekend 23