PHONG GIAO DUC VA DAO TAO QUANG XUONGTRUONG THCS QUANG NGOC SANG KIEN KINH NGHIEM TEN DE TAI “THE EXPERIENCES OF TEACHING THE GRADE 8 STUDENTS IN QUANG NGOC SECONDARY SCHOOL HOW TO WRITE
Trang 1PHONG GIAO DUC VA DAO TAO QUANG XUONG
TRUONG THCS QUANG NGOC
SANG KIEN KINH NGHIEM
TEN DE TAI
“THE EXPERIENCES OF TEACHING THE GRADE 8 STUDENTS IN QUANG NGOC SECONDARY SCHOOL
HOW TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH”
Người thực hiện: Hoang Thi Thao
Trang 2TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I - INTRODUCTION 2
1 Rationales 2
2 Aims of the study 2
3 Scope of the study 2
4 Foundation of the study 2
5 The participants 2
PART II - CONTENTS 3
1 Pre - writing stage 3
2 While - writing stage 10
3 Post - writing 10
4 The sample planning lesson 12
PART III - PRACTICE EXCERCISES 16
PART IV - EFFECTIVE OF STUDY 17
PART V- CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 18
1 Conclusion 18
2 Suggestions 18
REFERENCES 19
Trang 3PART I: INTRODUCTION
1 Rationales:
With the changes of Ministry of Education and training about the nationalexamination this year, There will be Part Wrtiting in exam paper that makesstudents worry a lot because it is a new point they always concern which form is
it, How is its structure and organization in a writing paragraph to have effect It
is an anxious problem of students this year
Writing is considered as one of the four important skills (speaking,listening, reading and writing) stressed in each of unit in textbook It is adifficult skill and most of the students are not good at it and not to practiceperfectly during learning it due to years ago they had to only take part in a testnot have part writing but this year it is compulsory in the exam paper
However, during teaching some of the teachers still ignore teaching writingskill, especially, difficult writing lessons and they often focus on grammarexcercises for the test exams Therefore, to reduce students’ pressure and worrying
I would like to present “The experiences of teaching the grade 8 students in Quang Ngoc secondary school how to write a paragraph” to help my students to
write a paragraph easily Besides, writing skill is one of important skills ofcommunication A good writing skill will help students to communicate theirmessage with clarity Therefore, the teachers who are directly teaching, alwaysthink what they should do to make students’ motivation in writing lessons
I hope that these experiences could help students to have a good writingand help develop their writing skill, motivate them in writing a paragraph
Moreover, this theme would be shared with colleagues who have the sameproblem or anyone who is interested in this theme
2 Aims of the study.
- Improving the students’ writing skill and understanding through practical writing
- Reducing the difficulties for the average and under average students inpracticing writings by creating a combination in the paragraphs and using simplewords and structure
3 Scope of the study:
- Practising writing the paragraphs basing on English 8 and other paragraphs
4 Foundation of the study:
- Basing on students’ result of writing is very low
- Students’writing skills is very bad
5 The participants:
- The grade 8 students in Quang Ngoc secondary school
Trang 4PART II: CONTENTS
In the current education curriculum, writing skill is a combination of otherskills to enrich students’ knowledge as well as help improve their writing skilland use writing activities to gain other specific purposes
The stages of teaching writing skill are very important and they also havesignificant effectiveness on the students’ writing performance If students do notprepare well enough, they can not write well, they can not even write anything
in their notebooks.The key to successful writing lessons is that the teachersshould carry out well the following stages:
1 Pre-writing stage
Pre - writing activities is considered to be the most important stages inteaching writing skill and they will help students to get ready to perform thetasks of a writing Additionally, students’ writing performance can be affected
by teachers’ teaching methods and instructions in this stage If the teacherconducts this stage successfully, the students’ result of performance will bemuch better
Firstly, I have helped students to understand these proplems well: “How is
a paragraph” and “how is its organization and structure”, “how to do to have agood writing paragraph”
- Introduction is the topic sentence It is an opening sentence of
paragraph which can be put in different positions in the paragraph But to be safe, students should be put it the first position.
- Body is the supporting sentences which support, explain, define, clarify
and illustrate to topic sentence of the paragraph.
- Conclusion is the sentence affirming the topic sentence and summary the
main ideas of the paragraph again.
Depending on each of topic, students can organize supporting sentences in
a paragraph as follows:
- From the least important details to the most important ones
- From the most important details to the least ones
- Arrange the actions or events in chronological order
In order to have ideas for a paragraph, students should make questionssuch as: “what, where, when, why, how…” answer and connect them tocomplete a paragraph On the other hand, in the textbook English 8
Suggestions,vocabulary and content of writing inherent the topic of unit andbefore writing a paragraph, students should apply the outline below
Trang 5* Topic sentence
Introduces the topic in the paragraph
It is the most general sentence in the paragraphContains controlling ideas that the following sentences in the paragraph will explain, define, clarify, illustrate
Gives a final comment on the topic
There fore, before writing a paragraph, besides depending on outline, students should notice the following stages
- Reading and understand the topic well
- Writing the topic sentence
- Listing all of ideas relating to the topic, connecting ideas in order, writing out all of explainations and reasons
- Writing the concluding sentence reasonablely and clearly
In order to have a associative paragraph, students should use theconnectors which can’t be lack of in a paragraph and they makes the paragraphmuch more interesting if students know how to use them
Sequencing/
Listing
Adding to whatyou have saidContrasting
Trang 6ExpressingsimilarityShowing resultsGiving examples
RestatingInferringSummarizing
Basing on units in Enghlish 8, I have composed many of the topics tostudents to practice
Unit 1 Write a similar email to tell your friend about your freetime
Unit 3 Write a paragraph giving your opinion about life in the countryside
Unit 4 Imagine that you are joining a writing contest about customs andtraditions and have chosen to write about the Obon dance
Unit 5 Write an article about this festival for the school website Unit 8 Write a passage describing the schedule for your visit
Unit 9 Write a news report about a natural disaster you experienced or youhave read about
Unit 11 Writing to express agreement or disagreement
Topic 1: Suppose you were offered a job with one of international organizations, which one would you like to choose? Write a paragraph of about 120 to 150 words expressing the reasons why you choose the organization.
Everyone has his (her) own choice For me, supposed I were offered a job
to work for one of the international organizations, I’d like to work for the WHO for a number of reasons Firstly, I really like biology and I’m very good at it If I work for this organization, I will have a chance to do much medical reseach and help improve international health care, especially in poor countries Secondly, I will have an opportunity to live and work abroad.Thirdly, I can use English at work easily, travel all over the world, meet a lot of people from different countries Futhermore, I can know a lot of famous landscapes, customs as well
as cultures Therefore, my experiences and knowledge can be widened and impoved Last but not least, I can have high salary, as a result my life will be more comfortable and happier Finally, working for the WHO is an ideal dream which a lot of people desire.
After students read the sample writing, Apart from taking notice ofconnectors, I asked students to show the topic sentence, supporting sentences,concluding sentence, and give remarks about the writing lesson
* The topic sentence: I’d like to work for the WHO
Trang 7* Supporting sentences: Firstly, I really like biology and I’m very good at
it If I work for this organization, I will have a chance to do much medicalreseach and help improve international health care, especially in poor countries
Secondly, I will have an opportunity to live and work abroad.Thirdly, I can useEnglish at work easily, travel all over the world, meet a lot of people fromdifferent countries Futhermore, I can know a lot of famous landscapes, customs
as well as cultures Therefore, my experiences and knowledge can be widenedand impoved Last but not least, I can have high salary, as a result my life will
be more comfortable and happier
* Concluding sentence: Finally, working for the WHO is an ideal dream
whicha lot of people desire
* Connectors: Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly, Futhermore, as well as,
Therefore, Last but not least, as a result, Finally
- According to me, the good and excellent students are quick- witted to findout a topic sentence or have ideas for a paragraph after reading the topic whilesome of the average and under average students feel it difficult because theirvocabulary and grammatical structure are limited Therefore, I helped themcreate a combination in some of the paragraphs and I suggested that they shoulduse simple words, easy to remember, easy to find and avoid consuming timewith difficult ones.They can copy ideas of the first topic for another paragraph,only change a bit the topic sentence
* Combining ideas in the topics. Example:
Topic 1: Write a paragraph about an international organization you would like to work for (the sample example 1)
Topic 2: Write a paragraph about a job you would like to do after graduating.
- If students have already read or written the topic 1, they only change a bitabout topic sentence to have topic 2 without changing content They don’t have
to consume a lot of time to think and look up vocabulary It is an easy way toremember and practice the writing lessons scientifically
Every has his (her) own dream Becoming a member of the WHO is my great dream for a number of reasons First……… ….
-Students can copy the whole the rest of part of topic 1 to complete topic
2 Topic 3:Write a paragraph about your favourite subject.
- I think most of the students will choose English to write because it isimportant, necessary for everyone nowadays and there are many reasons tomention
- Students should base on the topic to make a simple topic sentence
- The third topic, students can collect some of ideas from topic 1
There are many subjects I like but English is my favourite one Because of reasons Firstly, Nowaday English is important and popular Beside the mother tongue, It is considered as the second language and used widely in many parts
in the word Secondly, It is a compulsory subject in the national examination so many students like to learn it Thirdly,learning English well, I can communicate with foreigners, read and understand any documents written in English easily.
Trang 8Moreover, I will have an opportunity to live abroad,work for international organizations, use English at work, travel all over the world In addition, I can introduce vietnamese’ customs and cultures to international as well as know a lot customs and cultures of other countries Last but not least, I feel proud of my ability of English with my friends and relatives Lastly I can be easy to have a good job and life if I learn English well.
By:Hoang Mai Anh -Class 8C
- Students can use the same ideas for four writings below, the topic sentences and concluding sentence should be changed a bit
Topic 4: Write a paragraph about your favourite sport.
Topic 5: Write a paragraph about the things you would like to do in the free time.
Topic 6: Write a paragraph about your hobby Topic 7: Write a paragraph about your leisure activity.
Topic 4:
Most people like sport, so do I I like sport because sport is my favourite leisure activity in my free time Futhermore, sport is good for health and it also help way of me to get rid of the work stress My favourite sport is badminton.
Because of four reasons Firstly my health will be improved though playing it It makes me not only feel very excited, comfortable but also have a beautiful body,
so I often play it every afternoon Secondly, it makes me more active and creative in my life.Thirdly, I can make a lot of friends We can improve our skills
of playing badminton when we play with each other Finally, playing badminton isn’t as dangerous as voleyball, soccer…it is a safe sport, not being hurt.
Although the game make me very tired, but I always like and practise it I feel heathier and fitter than before I hope that many people admire it like me.
By: Nguyen Van Anh - Class 8A
1.2 Describing(reporting on) a film/ book
b How to write
Title and author, characters should be written by capital letter
Giving the type of the film or book
Using the following adjectives to describe about a film or book such as:
Type of book or film: a detective story/ film; a romantic novel; a love story
film; an adventure story; a science fiction novel; a historical novel; a humorous story; a thriller
Trang 9Adjectives to describe film or book: funny = hilarious; horrifying =
frightening; interesting; gripping; exciting; fascinating; entertaining; brilliant;
realistic; sad; tragic; imaginative; touching = moving; action-packed; written; well-directed; well/beautifully-filmed; wonderfully-acted…
well-Adjectives to describe author or director: great; skilled; observant; gifted =
talented; perceptive; entertaining…
c structure:
Describing: It’s called…; It was (written/ directed/ produced/ published/
designed) by/ in…; It’s by the same (writer/ director) as…; It’s his/ her first/
second (book/ film); It’s about/ tells the story of…; It’s set in…; It’s based on…;
It’s adapted from…; It lasts about…hour(s); The story is very simple/
complicated
Expressing personal ideas: The (acting/ story/ graphics) is/ are brilliant/
terrible.; The best/ worst thing(s) about it is/ are…; … is really boring/
annoying/ exciting.; Another thing I really liked/ hated was…; One weak pointwas…; It’s well worth seeing.; I’d recommend it to anyone who likes…; I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone…
Tenses: Using simple present to describe or report a book or film even
although events happened in the past
Example 1: UNIT6 : FOLK TALES- SKILLS 2
4a Use your notes in 3 to write the fairy tale Use The Princess and the Dragon as a model.
- Teacher asks students to do Task 1
- In group, ask students to put the questions jumbled under the correct headings
* General introduction
7.What is the title of the book?
4.who is the author?
9.What type of book is it?
* Summary of the book’s content 2.where is the book set?
5.What is the main theme of the book?
6.who are the main characters?
8.what is the plot of the story?
* Conclusion:
1.What was your opinion of the book?
3.would you recommend the book?
- After explaining some ideas clearly and suggesting a story to guide
students how to write it For example: The story “The old man and the sea”
- Teacher can help students some of the suggestions such as: vocabulary,theme, title, plot and characters of story by Vietnamese and help them to convertinto English to organize them reasonablely
-Teacher asks students to work in groups and make a sample outline before writing
Trang 10Sample outline I- General introduction
- The title of the book: The old man and the sea
- The author: Hemingway
- Type of the book: Short story
- The main theme: The struggle between man and nature for survival
- The main character: An old Cuban fisherman
- The plot of the story: After 80 days not catching a fish, the old manventures far out into the Gulf to fish and a giant marlin takes his bait Butbecause the fish is too great, he must struggle 3 days and three nights with it
Finally, he is able to catch it
Finally, he is able to catch it.This story teaches us not only one’s impatient but also braveness In my opinion, the story “The old man and the sea” is a good one about the struggle for survival, and I think all of us should read it whenever
we have time to understand more about the rules of life.
- Teacher helps students some vocabulary ( giant marlin, bait, struggle ).
- Teacher gives feedback
2 While - writing stage
This stage is for developing writing skill, students can write individually,but teacher should encourage collaborative writing( work in pairs or in a smallgroup to write the first draft).While writing, teacher goes round the class to seehow well students work and whether they need some help.Especially, teachershould pay more attention to less - active or quiet students and encourage them
to focus on their work
Now students can feel confident to write any required topic easily
3 Post - writing stage
The activities in this stage will help students to gain confidence whilewriting and also help them become more and more interested in their writinglessons
Therefore,after students finish their writings, there are many ways ofresponding to students’writing work
- Correction
Trang 11- Sharing and comparing