Learn English Writing
Review
Last week, we did this:
- looked at the syllabus
- learned about 6+1 writing traits – our class learning goal
- looked at examples of creative first sentence
- completed an exercise to practice creating ideas quickly and writing first sentence with picture prompts
- learned how your personal experience can improve writing voice and with a horse picture
- before and after writing exercise
This Week’s Activity Plan
This is the plan for the English writing this week. Last week, the focus of the class was sentence fluency. This week, the students will use and practice the things we learned – voice and good first sentences – by writing creative stories.
1 Sentence Fluency
This printable worksheet teaches students how to write good sentences with noun modifiers. There are two worksheets; we will do the Level 1 printable worksheet.
2 Story Writing
Students will write a creative story. Why? Because it helps develop and improve idea development and story organisation. These are writing skills which can be used in any kind of writing – essays, reports and even emails. They also help with imagination.
Your story will be based on one of the first sentences you write last week after looking at some prompts. The pictures are here.
3 Fluency Activity
One of my aims this semester is to help students become more fluent. That means you learn how to write faster. We will start one fluency activity this week. In order to complete this activity, it is important have recording sheet.
This week we will do an exercise called Timed Repeated Writing.
4 Extra Resources
Are you interested in improving your listening skills? Here is a free resource for you: englishlistening.rocks.
I suggest you follow this plan: read one short story once or twice. Listen to the story two or three times per week. After a while, the listening will seem simple. That’s good.
The listening lessons are divided sorted into 5 levels based on high frequency words. Level 1 is easy. Level 5 is a little harder.
The lessons work great on a smartphone.
One-Hour Class
After completing the first draft of the creative story, students will:
1 write a mini saga
2 complete the exercise to add punctuation (see below)
3 A terrific first sentence. here is an old letter written by Albert Camus. He wrote a letter to his elementary school teacher after he won a Noble Prize for literature. Please read the first sentence of the letter.
Editing
If time permits, students can take this challenge. Read the story. It has no punctuation or capitalization. Add punctuation and capital letters to make the sentences easy to understand.
The story is below. Or open the pdf file, a printable worksheet which has the raw text plus answers.
_____
if you ask people in Japan what’s the best thing from their country they might say instant noodles sometimes called ramen instant noodles are enjoyed around the world where did they come from
the history of instant noodles begins in Japan in 1957 Momofuku Ando was 47 years old at that time Japan was not a developed country some people didn’t have enough food to eat
Ando wanted to make a new food it should be easy to make and not cost a lot of money he wanted to make instant noodles for one year he tried to make it nothing worked one day something good happened he put noodles in hot oil it worked well they became easy to eat after sitting in hot water for a few minutes he found a way to make instant noodles
people in Japan loved them five years later he went to America some business people tried his instant noodles he watched them eat and saw something interesting
the Americans put noodles in a cup that gave Ando another idea cup noodles in 1971 he made instant noodles in a cup it was a big seller
Ando died in 2007 many people remember Ando as the man who created a new and special Japanese food and it all started with a man and an idea