Thời gian áp dụng sáng kiến: Sáng kiến này có thể áp dụng cho lớp 12 trong suốtnăm học, đặc biệt giai đoạn ôn thi tốt nghiệp và ôn thi học sinh giỏi; lớp 9 trong giaiđoạn ôn thi học sinh
Trang 1SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NAM ĐỊNH TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN LÊ HỒNG PHONG
SÁNG KIẾN DỰ THI CẤP TỈNH
BÁO CÁO SÁNG KIẾN
TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING PARAGRAPH WRITING
Tác giả: Phạm Kim Anh Trình độ chuyên môn: Thạc sỹ
Chức vụ: Giáo viên Nơi công tác: Trường THPT chuyên Lê Hồng Phong
NAM ĐỊNH, THÁNG 5 - 2014
Trang 2THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ SÁNG KIẾN
1 Tên sáng kiến: Techniques of teaching paragraph writing.
2 Lĩnh vực áp dụng sáng kiến: Sáng kiến này được viết chủ yếu nhằm áp dụng cho
lĩnh vực dạy viết đoạn văn cho học sinh lớp 12 ôn thi tốt nghiệp Ngoài ra, sáng kiếncũng có thể áp dụng cho việc dạy viết đoạn văn cho học sinh lớp 9 ôn thi học sinh giỏi
và thi vào lớp 10 chuyên Anh; cho học sinh lớp 12 ôn thi học sinh giỏi phổ thông và họcsinh lớp 10 chuyên Anh
3 Thời gian áp dụng sáng kiến: Sáng kiến này có thể áp dụng cho lớp 12 trong suốtnăm học, đặc biệt giai đoạn ôn thi tốt nghiệp và ôn thi học sinh giỏi; lớp 9 trong giaiđoạn ôn thi học sinh giỏi và thi vào lớp 10 chuyên Anh; lớp 10 chuyên Anh trong cảnăm học
Chức vụ công tác: Giáo viên
Nơi làm việc: Trường THPT chuyên Lê Hồng Phong- Thành phố Nam ĐịnhĐịa chỉ liên hệ: Trường THPT chuyên Lê Hồng Phong, số 76-Vị Xuyên
7 Điều kiện hoàn cảnh tạo ra sáng kiến:
Do sự thay đổi về cấu trúc đề thi tốt nghiệp môn Tiếng Anh năm 2014 và yêu cầuthực tế của bộ môn trong các kì thi học sinh giỏi, thi tuyển sinh vào lớp 10 chuyên; bêncạnh đó, do thực trạng dạy và học viết đoạn văn còn đang gặp rất nhiều khó khăn nêntôi muốn góp một phần nhỏ bé của mình nhằm cải thiện thực trạng đó Sáng kiến này sẽ
Trang 3giúp giáo viên dạy viết tìm được những cách dạy phù hợp với đối tượng học sinh củamình và phù hợp với yêu cầu cụ thể của mục tiêu đề ra
Trang 4PART I - INTRODUCTION
I Rationale:
It is a fact that English is becoming increasingly popular these days, which can beseen in almost every field of everyday life such as on TV, in newspapers, on the radio.This fact can also be seen in school curriculum, in which English is always considered
as one of the most important subjects
In order to have a good command of English, learners must be good at four skills:listening, speaking, reading and writing, of which writing is widely seen as the mostdifficult and inconvenient one
As for me, I have chosen to study this because of the following reasons:
1 There is a change in the requirement of the GCSE test, in which writing aparagraph is a compulsory part
2 Writing a paragraph has always been a must in such other important exams asexams for gifted students of the 9th form, entrance exam into Le Hong Phong school
3 Students of the 10th form are required to write a paragraph well enough, which isconsidered as a precondition of essay writing in their following form
4 Above all, writing a paragraph has always been what I am interested in I seewriting as a way to broaden knowledge of various fields, improve vocabulary of aparticular field and most importantly, the way to use English language
II Aim of the study:
In fact, writing is a skill that takes such a lot of time and patience Therefore, notmany students are willing to start doing it, leading to certain difficulties for the teachers
of writing
I have decided to devote my time and effort to writing about this matter with aview to sharing some of my modest experience with colleagues, hoping that writing aparagraph is no longer a boring and challenging task and is better welcomed bystudents
III Scope of the study
Due to the limited time and strength, this study only focuses on the topics familiar to thestudents between the 9th form and the 12th form
Trang 5of islands-more than 17,000 of them Travelling between islands by boats is great fun.Just like the many islands, there are also may different groups of people living inIndonesia In fact, there are around 300 different ethnic groups! Most Indonesians areMalay, but others Javanese, Balinese, Chinese, or Indian All these groups togethermake Indonesian culture very interesting Finally, Indonesia has many cities andhistorical sights to see Jakarta, the capital city, is fast becoming a modern center ofcommerce, yet the ancient temples on the island of Bali show that the country’s oldtraditions are still alive All the people, places, and things to see definitely makeIndonesia a great place for a vacation.
(Extracted from College writing from paragraph to essay _By Dorothy E Zemach and Lisa A Rumisek)
Definition of a paragraph:
+ a group of sentences about a single topic
+ sentences: all explain the writer’s main idea (most important idea) about the topic
+ length: In academic writing, between five and ten sentences long, but it can be longer
or shorter It depends on the specific topic
+ the first sentence: usually indented in a few spaces
Analysis of the above paragraph:
- The topic: Indonesia
- The main idea about the topic: It is a country with beautiful tropical islands,
sightseeing, and very friendly people
Trang 6- The ideas that help explain the main ideas are:
+ Many islands- more than 17,000; travelling by boat between them is fun
+ Many types of people – about 300 ethnic groups (Malay, Javanese, Balinese, Chinese,Indian)
+ Many cities and historical sights
2 Organisation of a paragraph:
A paragraph has THREE basic parts:
a Topic sentence
- the main idea of a paragraph
- usually the first sentence
- the most general sentence
b The supporting sentences
- talk about/ explain the topic sentence
- more detailed ideas that follow the
topic sentences
c Concluding sentences.
- found as the last sentence of a paragraph
- finish the paragraph by repeating
the main idea or just giving a final
comment about the topic
3 Topic sentence:
- usually comes first in a paragraph
- length: about 1-1,5 lines
- gives the writer’s main idea about the topic; helps readers understand what the
paragraph is going to talk about
E.g Learning a second language creates job opportunities
Topic main idea (controlling idea)
Xxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx Xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxx xxxx xxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx Xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxx xxxx, xxxx xxxx Xxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx Xxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx, Xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxx Xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx Xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx Xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx
Trang 7- Organisation of a topic sentence: 2 parts:
+ Topic: the person, thing or event that the paragraph is about
+ Main idea (Controlling idea): what the writer will say about the topic
E.g
My friend is an honest person
Topic controlling idea
My friend is the funniest person I know
Topic controlling idea
A topic sentence must not be a simple fact or a specific detail The controlling idea must say something about the topic that can then be supported, developed or
demonstrated in the supporting sentences The controlling idea must also not be too general, or the topic sentence will be unclear
E.g
A surprise party is a kind of party (too general)
There were 14 guests at my surprise birthday party (too specific)
My classmates gave me an unforgettable surprise party for my 18th birthday
The last topic sentence is a good one because it introduces the topic and has acontrolling idea that can be developed in the supporting sentences The paragraph willprobably tell the story of the party
Practice 1 Topic: How to protect endangered species
Animals which are on the verge of extinction can be saved by the efforts from all individuals and the government.
Practice 2 Topic: Should students do volunteer work?
Doing volunteer work among students is very beneficial to not only the students themselves but also society as a whole.
Practice 3 Topic: The measures to reduce domestic violence
Stricter laws and better education about marriage and happiness are the two ways that can ease the problem of family violence now
- Tips: Don’t repeat the task Therefore, use different words (synonyms, different parts
of speech) E.g
Trang 8- endangered species = vulnerable animals; animals at risk; species in danger
- difficulties = trouble
- women = females
- encounter = meet, face, have
- domestic violence = violence from family
4 Supporting sentences:
After students have written a topic sentence, they have to develop their main idea
It means that they have to add more information to explain what they mean at thebeginning There are many ways to do this but the following are three common ways tosupport the topic sentence
a Giving details:
- Details are specific points that tell more about a general statement
Topic sentence: The football match I saw last week in Thien Truong stadium was the most memorable
Details:
- weather: very favorable
- which teams taking part: my school and Tran Hung Dao school
- score: 3-2
- attitude: yourself and other fans
- player’s spirits: very high
Main idea: Charity work helps to build a better community
In the main body of the paragraph, students have to answer the following question: Why does charity work help to build a better community?
The above question can be answered by giving the following explanations:
Because + better relationship among people
Trang 9+ ease sufferings
+ build up belief in future life
c Example: An example is a specific person, place, thing, event that supports an idea
or statement
The following paragraph includes an example from the writer’s own experience
Even when a first date is a disaster, a couple can still become goodfriends For example, my first date with Greg was terrible I thought hewas coming to pick me up at 6:30, but instead he came at 6:00 I didn’thave time to fix my hair, and my make-up looked sloppy When I got intohis car, I scraped my leg against the car door and tore my stocking Next,
he took me to an Italian restaurant for dinner, and I accidentally droppedsome spaghetti on my shirt Then we went to a movie Greg asked mewhich movie I wanted to see, and I chose a romantic comedy He fellasleep during the movie, and I got angry Now that Greg and I are goodfriends, we can look back and laugh at how terrible that first date was!
Eg Giving examples as support
Main idea: Charity work helps to form your personality
Example: + teach disabled children in Namdinh city → improve sense of responsibility/ sympathy → take action
+ help patients in Namdinh hospital: realise individual as well as social
responsibility → try more in your work/ study → become a better person
Tips: The best organisation of a paragraph consists of three supporting ideas With each
supporting idea, two sub-supporting ideas (example, explanation or detail) should be provided
Include linking devices between supporting ideas:
+ First, …… Second, ………, Third, ……
+ Firstly, ……… Secondly, ……… Finally, ………
+ In the first place,
Another advantage/ benefit/ reason is N/ is that S+V
What’s more,
Furthermore,
Trang 10The last reason/ benefit/ advantage is ….
Include linking devices between sub-supporting ideas:
E.g Topic: How to protect endangered species.
Supporting idea 1: Raise public awareness
Supporting idea 2: Stricter laws
Supporting idea 3: Build new reserves
Sub-supporting ideas (1): + school curriculum
+ mass media
In the first place, we need to raise public awareness about animal protection This can
be put into school curriculum as a compulsory part for students And, people’s
knowledge can be considerably widened through the use of mass media
5 Concluding sentence:
- the final sentence of a paragraph
- sum up the main point/ restate the main idea in a different way
+ sum up: remind the reader of what the writer’s main idea and supporting points were
+ restate the main idea: give the same information in a slightly different way by using:
- different words
- different word order
E.g
Topic sentence:
Trang 11Women, half of the world’s population, are suffering from various problems from both society and their own families.
6 Unity within a paragraph:
It is essential that a paragraph has unity It means that all the sentences support a
single idea This can be seen as follows:
- The topic sentence of the paragraph must have ONE controlling idea
- The supporting sentences must all support the controlling idea In other words,all the supporting sentences must be relevant to the topic being discussed Thiscan be done by means of examples, explanations, details, steps, or definitions Ifone writer fails to do this, the paragraph will be about more than ONE singleidea
- The concluding sentence should restate the idea in the topic sentence orsummarise the main ideas in the body of the paragraph This sentence must notintroduce a new topic; otherwise the main idea will not be clear enough
7 Coherence in a paragraph.
Trang 12Coherence is related to unity In a paragraph, coherence is extremely important Itmeans that the supporting details are arranged in a clear and logical way In this way,the paragraph will become coherent so that the reader can easily understand the mainpoints.
It is necessary for the writer to think about how to organise the paragraph This should depend on the topic or the type of paragraph The paragraph can be organised by using time, space or order of importance
In the paragraph below, the organisation is by space:
When you drive into the airport, you will see many signs for the different terminals After you pass the signs, you will drive over a hill The airport is on the other side of thehill On your right, you will see the international terminal This terminal is two stories tall The front is all glass On the left, you will see the domestic terminals…
II Stages of writing a paragraph: 3 stages: Pre-writing ; While-writing;
Post-writing
1 Pre-writing:
There are three very important steps in this stage
Brainstorming - Editing - Outlining
a Brainstorming:
Brainstorming is a way of gathering ideas about a topic There are many ways to getideas for a specific topic However, the following are the most common one: listing,free writing, mapping…
Listing: the most commonly used
- concentrate on the topic and think about the key word
- write down every idea that comes to you
- don’t worry about whether the ideas are useful or not
- ignore grammar and spelling mistakes
→ Aim: gather as MANY IDEAS as possible
b Editing:
- Choose ideas: the most interesting, relevant
- Add necessary information or ideas