Teaching writing

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TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays teaching to express correctly own thoughts in written and oral form became very important. Writing and written speech is a basis for further teaching (learning) development. Bad development of writing influences on the understanding of other school subjects and pupils social adaptation in general.

              From the point of view of Professor Levina R.E. the successful learning of writing process is conditioned by the condition of suppositions of this kind of activity, in other words that means forming of pronouns skills, certain level of auding, enough volume of linguistical knowledge.

              During the analysis of writing activity and in particular during the studying of readiness for learning (development) skills of writing activity, it is necessary to keep in mind some aspects of this issue. First of all writing activity is a part of language phenomenon. That is why it is necessary to consider factors, which define this kind of speech activity from linguistical and psycolinguistical (writing activity is a system of connected writing expressions producing) positions. At the same time writing activity is a special kind of human activity where it is important to define psychological (writing activity is a component of other kinds of activity (epistolary, educational, activity of management and etc.), inside of which it has a certain structural place and functionality) and physiological (writing activity is a process of realization producing productive speech signals and providing them with higher psychological functions) aspects. As a result of this it is necessary to keep in mind not only doctrine about psychical operations but also psyco – physiological structure of each operation.

              Because of that fact that writing activity in the framework of educational process is a subject of teaching it is important to consider the methodical aspect of this issue as well.[1]

              In my course work I tried to consider different points of view and different methods in solving this issue.

Chapter I

The nature of writing process and approaches of teaching writing

1.1    The nature of writing process

Writing is a complex process that allows writers to explore thoughts and ideas, and make them visible and concrete. Writing encourages thinking and learning for it motivates communication and makes thought available for reflection. When thought is written down, ideas can be examined, reconsidered, added to, rearranged, and changed.

Writing is most likely to encourage thinking and learning when students view writing as a process. By recognizing that writing is a recursive process, and that every writer uses the process in a different way, students experience less pressure to "get it right the first time" and are more willing to experiment, explore, revise, and edit. Yet, novice writers need to practice “writing” or exercises that involve copying or reproduction of learned material in order to learn the conventions of spelling, punctuation, grammatical agreement, and the like. Furthermore, students need to “write in the language” through engaging in a variety of grammar practice activities of controlled nature. Finally, they need to begin to write within a framework “flexibility measures” that include: transformation exercises, sentence combining, expansion, embellishments, idea frames, and similar activities).[2]

Obviously, not all students of the same age or grade level write in the same way; students pass through several developmental writing stages:

 Stage 1

Novice Writer (unskilled, unaware, teacher-dependent writer)
- has little, if any, individual style

- has little awareness of writing process

- has undeveloped skills and techniques

- seeks approval from teacher

- is reluctant to revise any writing

- believes good writing comes easily

Stage 2

Transitional Writer  (transitional, self-involved, self-delineating writer)

- needs support and coaching in order to develop

- learns from modeled behaviors

- is developing a degree of comfort with the craft

- is anxious to stand alone, yet is uncomfortable with peer collaboration

- is developing an awareness of personal needs, interests, and preoccupations

Stage 3

Willing Writer  (peer-involved, willing writer)

- is able to collaborate well with others

- requires external feedback to shape progress

- is able to profit from criticism

- is developing objectivity concerning work

- enjoys practicing craft

- is developing a sensitivity to audience

Stage 4

Independent Writer (independent, autonomous writer)

- makes highly objective self-assessments

- has developed a sophisticated personal style

- has developed a writer's voice

- takes risks and experiments

- is self-motivating and self-aware as a writer

- is a craftsperson

Task 1: Define the notions of writing down, writing in the language, and flexibility measures and give examples based on what you have read.

Task 2: Write an essay to describe the nature and the stages of development of the writing process.

Read the passage below and do the task that follows:

Passage 2:

1.2    Approaches of Teaching Writing

There are several approaches to teaching writing that are presented by (Raimes, 1983) as follows:

a-The Controlled-to-Free Approach

In the 1950s and early 1960, the audio-lingual method dominated second-language learning. This method emphasized speech and writing served to achieve mastery of grammatical and syntactic forms. Hence teachers developed and used techniques to enable student to achieve this mastery.[3] The controlled-to-free approach in is sequential: students are first given sentence exercises, then paragraphs to copy or manipulate grammatically by changing questions to statements, present to past, or plural to singular. They might also change words to clauses or combine sentences. With these controlled compositions, it is relatively easy to for students write and yet avoid errors, which makes error correction easy. Students are allowed to try some free composition after they have reached an intermediate level of proficiency. As such, this approach stress on grammar, syntax, and mechanics. It emphasizes accuracy rather than fluency or originality.

b-The Free-Writing Approach

This approach stresses writing quantity rather than quality. Teachers who use this approach assign vast amounts of free writing on given topics with only minimal correction. The emphasis in this approach is on content and fluency rather than on accuracy and form. Once ideas are down on the page, grammatical accuracy and organization follow. Thus, teachers may begin their classes by asking students to write freely on any topic without worrying about grammar and spelling for five or ten minutes. The teachers does not correct these pieces of free writing. They simply read them and may comment on the ideas the writer expressed. Alternatively, some students may volunteer to read their own writing aloud to the class. Concern for “audience” and “content” are seen as important in this approach.

c-The Paragraph-Pattern Approach

Instead of accuracy of grammar or fluency of content, the Paragraph-Pattern-Approach stresses on organization. Students copy paragraphs and imitate model passages. They put scrambled sentences into paragraph order. They identify general and specific statements and choose to invent an appropriate topic sentence or insert or delete sentences. This approach is based on the principle that in different cultures people construct and organize communication with each other in different ways.

d-The Grammar-Syntax-Organization Approach

This approach stresses on simultaneous work on more than one composition feature. Teachers who follow this approach maintain that writing can not be seen as composed of separate skills which are learned sequentially. Therefore, student should be trained to pay attention to organization while they also work on the necessary grammar and syntax. This approach links the purpose of writing to the forms that are needed to convey message.

e-The Communicative Approach

This approach stresses the purpose of writing and the audience for it. Student writers are encouraged to behave like writers in real life and ask themselves the crucial questions about purpose and audience:

Why am I writing this?

Who will read it?

Traditionally, the teacher alone has been the audience for student writing. But some feel that writers do their best when writing is truly a communicative act, with a writer writing for a real reader. As such, the readership may be extended to classmate and pen pals.

f-The Process Approach

Recently, the teaching of writing has moved away from a concentration on written product to an emphasis on the process of writing. Thus, writers ask themselves:

How do I write this?

How do I get started?

In this approach, students are trained to generate ideas for writing, think of the purpose and audience, write multiple drafts in order to present written products that communicate their own ideas. Teachers who use this approach give students time to tray ideas and feedback on the content of what they write in their drafts. As such, writing becomes a process of discovery for the students as they discover new ideas and new language forms to express them. Furthermore, learning to write is seen as a developmental process that helps students to write as professional authors do, choosing their own topics and genres, and writing from their own experiences or observations. A writing process approach requires that teachers give students greater responsibility for, and ownership of, their own learning. Students make decisions about genre and choice of topics, and collaborate as they write.

During the writing process, students engage in pre-writing, planning, drafting, and post-writing activities. However, as the writing process is recursive in nature, they do not necessarily engage in these activities in that order.

Task 2:

The production of a clear and communicative piece of writing requires attention to the elements of writing tabulated below. Put check mark in the appropriate columns to indicate whether the different approaches address the elements of writing based on what you have read.

Chapter II Practical side of developing writing process

2.1 Models of activities

Activity 1: Simple Description with Visuals.  (For cycles I & II only)

Have students examine a picture and ask them to name the objects in it. Then ask students to write a paragraph to describe the picture. The procedure for the activity may be as follows:

Provide the class with a picture of a room such as the one below. Ask students to label the objects in the picture and have them write a paragraph to describe the picture. Provide students with expressions and language structure if needed such as: “In the classroom there is “ and have students complete the paragraph.

Activity 2: Completing a Description Paragraph.  (For cycles I & II only)

Have students examine a picture and complete a description paragraph. The procedure for this activity may be as follows:

Examine the picture in Activity 1 and complete the following paragraph:
Paragraph:

Mary lives in a very nice room. In her room, there is a ———, ———, and a ———. There are also several———. There are no ———, but Mary does have some ———. She wants to get a ——— for her wall and a ——— for the desk this afternoon when she goes shopping.

Activity 3: Completing a Description Paragraph:  (For cycles I & II only) Function Words

Give students a picture and have them complete a description by supplying the prepositions and expressions required by the context. The procedure for this activity may be as follows: Have students examine the picture in Activity 1 and complete the following paragraph:

This is a picture of Mary’s room. Her bed is ——— the window. ——— the bed and the window is a small chest of drawers. There is a bookcase ——— her bed on the ———. She has a radio that is ——— the book case, and she puts her books ——— the book case ——— three shelves. ——— the room. She has a very nice desk where she prepares her work for school.

Activity 4: Writing a Description from Questions.  (For cycles I & II only)

Have students examine a picture and use a set of questions as a guide to write a short description of the picture.

The procedure for this activity may be as follows:

Examine the picture in Activity 1 and write a description of it, using the questions below as guide lines.

Questions:

1.Does Mary have a nice room?

2.What kind of things does she have in the room?

3.What do you like in Mary’s room?

4. Do you have a room like Mary’s room? Describe your room in a few sentences.

Activity 5: Slash Sentences (For cycles I & II only)[4]

Give students a set of sentence cues and have them write a short narrative paragraph.

The procedure for this activity may be as follows:

Make comlete sentences according to the model.

Model: The Smiths / Summer / in the country/ spend

The Smiths spend Summer in the country.

1. all / family / In the morning / to get up / arround / 8’oclock.

2. Mr. Smith / the kitchen / coffee / to prepare / to go down strairs.

3. his / wife / then / breakfast / to go outside / in / the garden.

Activity 6: Sentence Combining

Give students a set of propositions and have them combine them into complete sentences:

The procedure for this activity may be as follows:

Provide students with  set of propositions such as the ones below:

1. The man is tall.

2. The man has dark hair.

3. The man is standing by the door.

4. The man looks suspicious

Have students combine the propositions in one sentence.

Activity 7 : Composition based on oral interview.

Have students interview a partner and a composition telling what they learned about the person they interviewed.

The procedure for this activity may be as follows:

Have students interview a partner a certain topics and have then write a composition to tell what they had learned about this partner sample topics:

1. Talk about yourself and your family (i.e., where are you from, where your family lives, your hobbies, etc…).

2. Talk about what you like and dislike about your school.

3. Describe a memorable event.

4. Describe your goals and future plans.

5. Describe a recent vacation.

2.2 Process of Writing Activities

The following process writing activities can be used in cycle  I & II of Basic Education.

Pre-writing: A Place to Start

Pre-writing, the first stage in the writing process, begins long before the writer puts thoughts into writing. The experiences, observations, and interactions that students have prior to entering the classroom have an impact upon what they will write and how they will write it. Within the classroom, pre-writing prompts and activities can be integrated into the writing process as scaffolds by teachers to help students generate ideas for their writing and to practice the thinking skills inherent in the activity.

To initiate thinking and generate possible writing topics, it is important for students to explore ideas for writing topics using a variety of pre-writing strategies, such as the following:

- Brainstorming

- Constructing thought webs and graphic organizers

- Interviewing a person knowledgeable about the topic

- Engaging in peer or teacher-student discussions and conferences

- Listening to music

- Reading about and researching the topic

- Free writing or timed free writing about the topic

- Viewing media such as pictures, movies, and television

- Listing and categorizing information

- Reflecting upon personal experience

- Examining writing models

- Responding to literature

- Role playing and other drama techniques

- Asking the 5 Ws--who, what, where, when and why.

To explore topics about which to write, the teacher may post suggestions on the bulletin board for student reference.  He/she may invite students to add their own pre-writing strategies to ideas such as the following:

1. Brainstorming about people, places, and feelings

Write down or tell a partner the names of people you could describe, then quickly and briefly describe each one. Name several places you have visited and list descriptive words for each place. List and describe some memorable feelings you have had, and explain the situation in which they occurred.

2. Talking and listening in pairs or groups

Take turns telling about an interesting person, thing, incident, or object. Encourage the listeners to ask questions and add ideas. Record possible writing topics or ideas as they arise during the discussion.

3. Looking at art

Study paintings, photographs, drawings, or sculpture in magazines or art books. It may even be useful to take a trip to a local museum or art gallery. Jot down notes and questions about the artwork, the artist and the subject, and any topic ideas that come to mind during the observation. It may help to talk over your information and ideas with a partner or small group. Explain to a partner the stories in the art works.

4. Listening to music

Listen to music you like best or a variety of new and unfamiliar music. Listen to tape recordings or to the radio, closing your eyes and letting the music paint pictures in your mind. Record these images as you listen, or turn off the music and quickly record your ideas. It may be helpful to tell the story you have imagined to a partner or group.

5. Role playing

Pretend to be any character, ask peers to act as other characters, and dramatize an event or incident, and what happened as a result of that incident or event.

6. Observing with all senses

Be aware of all that is happening around you, in the classroom, at home, in restaurants, in malls, and wherever you go. Listen closely to conversations of the people you observe, and try to capture the details of their manners and dress. Observe for issues, problems, or achievements in your community. Jot down ideas and notes as you observe them or as soon as possible after your observations.

7. Listing ideas and information

List such things as the activities that interest you, the sports you play, the clubs that you belong to, and the community and world issues that you know about from the media.

8. Reading

Read such things as nonfiction books, novels, magazines, stories, newspapers, and poems. Jot down ideas that occur to you as you read and list questions you might investigate further. Keep track of interesting vocabulary, story plots, and characters.

9. Newspaper searches

Read the stories and captions that catch your interest. Jot down ideas for writing a newspaper article or ideas that can be developed into other kinds of writing.

10. Author visits

As the authors share their writing and discuss the craft of writing, students gain further understanding of the writing process and possibly get ideas for their own writing.

Pre-writing prompts or activities planned by the teacher can serve as writing scaffolds for inexperienced writers who have difficulty accessing their own feelings, ideas, experiences, and knowledge. Teacher-planned pre-writing activities, such as the samples that follow, give students a place to start and make them become aware of places from which to get ideas in the future. Students who have a place to start with will be more motivated to continue developing their ideas and their own writing voices.[5]

Sample Pre-writing Activity #1

Time allotment (5-10 minutes)

Give each student any book or magazine to use (e.g., Readers' Digest, anthologies). The teacher should have a selection also, in order to model the process.

Have students open their books or magazines at any page and choose a word at random—the first word that jumps off the page at them--and record this as Word #1; close the book.

Continue this until each student has four words recorded.  Students then focus for about one minute on each word separately, and list all their thoughts, ideas and associations that the word generates. Students then begin to make connections among the four words and their lists of personal associations by writing phrases, sentences, and ideas that demonstrate a relationship among the words. Students now have had a writing warm-up and may continue developing the ideas generated or bank these ideas for another day's writing.

Sample Pre-writing Activity #2

Time allotment (5-12 minutes)

      Teachers may request that students bring pictures of people, or the teacher may supply them (photographs or pictures clipped from magazines). Each picture should show several people in sufficient detail to reveal size, facial expression, dress, and other facets of character.

Quickly walk the students through this activity, question by question, so they record the first thoughts and reactions that the pictures generate, rather than dwelling too long on one question. The teacher should ask students to examine their pictures closely, and explain that they will need to use their imagination for the activity. Some questions the teacher might ask are:

- Who is the main character in the picture?

- What is an appropriate name for this character?

-How old is this character?

- What emotions is this character showing in the picture? Describe the evidence that you have for this (e.g., facial expression, gestures).

- What kind of work might the character do for a living? Give reasons to support your decision.

- What might the person be thinking or saying? What makes you imagine this?

- What other characteristics are revealed by the character's dress and stance?

- What might have happened before the picture was taken? What might happen next?

- How are the other characters in the picture related to the main character? What evidence makes you think so?

- What is the attitude of the main character to the other characters? What is the attitude of the other characters to the main character? What are some possible reasons for these attitudes?

- What might it be like to be the main character or one of the other characters?

Instruct students to record ideas briefly, using phrases and words rather than sentences. Students then may take the opportunity to develop their ideas further, or save their notes and ideas for use at a later date.

Sample Pre-writing Activity #3

Time allotment (5-8 minutes)

- Prepare the students for free writing by explaining that they should write whatever thoughts enter their head from the moment that the teacher says "go" to the moment he/she says "stop", even if it means writing and rewriting, I don't know what to write. I don't know what to write. When the pen or pencil hits the paper it does not stop for pauses, erasures, or    corrections. Eventually, most students begin to focus and the writing flows.    Students then have the opportunity to develop these pre-writing ideas further or save them for another day.

Planning: Organizing for Drafting

After students have generated some ideas, they must decide what they will say about their chosen topic. Students develop an initial plan for the product they will compose. As they do so, they must consider the purpose, audience, point of view, and format because these elements have implications for both the planning and the drafting of the written product.

To develop an initial plan for drafting, students organize the information they have generated during pre-writing by using such structures as outlines, story frames, maps, diagrams, charts, and concept webs.

To consider purpose, students write to express ideas, feelings, emotions, and opinions, and they must ask themselves, "What is my purpose for writing this piece?" Some purposes for students’ writings are:

1. to express personal feelings or viewpoints

2. to imagine "What if ...?"

3. to narrate

4. to entertain and/or amuse

5. to describe

6. to inform or explain

7. to persuade or convince

8. to request

9. to inquire or question

10. to explore and experiment with ideas and formats

11. to clarify thinking.

To consider audience, students must consider who they are writing for and students must ask themselves, "Who is my intended audience?" Some possible audiences are:

1. familiar, known audiences: self, friends, peers, family, teachers

2. extended, known audiences: community, student body, local media

3. extended, unknown audiences: wider range of media and other publications

To consider point of view, students must determine from which point of view their ideas or information will be expressed, so they need to ask themselves, "Who is telling this story/describing the events?" Some points of view for students’ consideration are:

1. physical point of view: where is the narrator in relation to the action?

2. objective and subjective point of view: what emotional involvement does the narrator have in relation to the situation?

3. personal point of view: who is the narrator of the story? (The narrator may take a first person, third person, or an all-knowing omniscient point of view.)

To decide what information will be gathered and how it will most effectively be gathered, students who decide that they need to conduct interviews or go on field trips to gather information will need to brainstorm and construct a list of questions.  Students who require library research will need to decide the types of resources and references to consult.

To consider format, students will use audience and purpose to determine format and genre. They will have the opportunity to write in a variety of narrative, descriptive, expository, and poetic formats.  Their writings may include formats and genres such as: advertisement, advice column, autobiography/biography, comic strip, letter of complaint/request/inquiry, diary/journal, readers theater/role play/monologue, book review, report, fable/fairy tale, greeting card, game rules, directions, interview, news story, poem/song, anecdote/personal experience story, sports column, short story, etc.

Drafting: A Time to Indulge

At this point in the process, the emphasis is on content and meaning rather than on mechanics and conventions. This is the time for writers to get down their ideas and thoughts, composing rough drafts based upon pre-writing and planning activities and considerations. As they compose, writers begin to determine what to include and exclude, and make initial decisions about how these ideas will be organized. During the drafting stage of the writing process, meaning begins to evolve.

To produce a first, rough draft, students record their ideas rapidly in order to capture the essence of what they have to say.   They do not have to make any attempt to revise or edit at this point. They focus on talking to the reader and begin to develop a personal style as their voices emerge.

To write subsequent drafts, students often accomplish their work by crossing out, adding, and rearranging ideas directly on the page.  The students’ redrafting does not necessarily require an entire rewrite at this time.

To reflect upon their own writing, students can conference with self, peers and the teacher.  Through conferencing, students can get constructive feedback and support that may help them to shape their writings.  A set of questions or a checklist can be used to assist writers and conference partners as they strive to help the writer make meaning clear. [6]

Sample 1:  Self-Conference Checklist

As you write ... Ask yourself some of these questions:

- How do I feel about what I've written so far?

- What is good that I can enhance?

- Is there anything about it that concerns me, does not fit, or seems wrong?

- What am I discovering as I write this piece?

- What surprises me? Where is it leading?

- What is my purpose?

- What is the one most important thing that I am trying to convey?

- How can I build this idea? Are there places that I wander away from my key idea?

- Who is my audience?

Sample 2:  Teacher-Student Checklist

During the teacher-student conference the teacher may as questions such as

- What is the part that you like best?

- Does it say what you want it to say?

- What do you mean by...?

- Where/when does your story take place?

- Are you satisfied with the beginning/ending? Why or why not?

- Does this sentence/word/phrase make sense to you?

- What reaction do you want your reader to have?

- How do you see your ideas being rearranged or changed? Why?

Sample 3: Steps For A Peer Writing Conference

When peers are conferencing

 1.The writer decides how the written work will be shared. Will it be:

- read silently by the conference partner(s)?

- read aloud by the writer?

- read aloud by the conference partner(s)?

- a combination of the above?

 2. The writer identifies what aspects of the written work will be the focus of the conference (e.g., the beginning paragraph, figurative language).

 3.The conference partner states at least:

- one thing he/she considers that the writer has done well

- one thing he/she especially likes

- one suggestion which addresses the focus of the conference as identified by the writer. (It is useful to have students complete a written conference sheet to guide their responses, especially when the process is new to them.)

4. The writer retains the right to the written work and is responsible for making the final decision about any changes.

To revise the draft for content and clarity of meaning, students will reorganize and sequence relevant ideas, and add or delete details as they strive to make their meaning clear.  Revisions can take place to words, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole piece (e.g., the writer may decide that the ideas would have more impact as poetry instead of prose).

To edit the draft for mechanical and conventional concerns that detract from and obscure meaning, students will proofread for accuracy and correctness in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage.  Peer editing and editing partnerships or groups can be established to assist students who are at this stage in the process.  The use of self and peer-editing checklists can be useful tools.

To focus purpose, audience, and point of view, and confirm appropriateness of format, students have to reconsider and confirm the use of the variables, which were pondered during the planning stage.

Sample 4: Revising Checklist of a Descriptive Paragraph (Self- & Peer-Assessment, Primary Level)

          Writer's Checklist                                                                                Partner’s Checklist

Yes      No     Did I include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion?            Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I write a good topic sentence for each paragraph?              Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I include details that support each topic sentence?             Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I avoid repeating the same words over and over again?     Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I use my senses to describe my topic?                                 Yes      No

Yes      No     Did I use descriptive nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs?   Yes      No

Sample 5: Editing Checklist of a Descriptive Paragraph (Self- & Peer-Assessment, Primary Level)

Writer's Checklist                                                                              Partner’s Checklist

Yes      No          Did I spell all words correctly?                                       Yes      No Yes      No          Did I indent the first line of every paragraph?              Yes      No Yes      No          Did I capitalize the first word of every sentence?         Yes      No Yes      No          Did I punctuate the end of each sentence correctly?    Yes      No Yes      No          Did I avoid using run-on sentences?                              Yes      No Yes      No          Is my handwriting neat?                                                  Yes      No Yes      No          Is my title capitalized correctly?                                     Yes      No Yes      No          (Add your question here)                                                 Yes      No  

Some suggestions for scaffolds at the drafting stage include the following:

- Post the major stages of a writing process (pre-writing, planning, drafting, post-writing) and brief information about each so that students can determine where they are at any time in the process.