First, stop that run-on!

Let´s Revise

   A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independent  clauses (i.e., complete sentences) are joined without appropriate punctuation or conjunction.

  An example of a run-on is a comma splice, in which two independent clauses are joined with a comma without an accompanying coordinating conjunction

          Take a look at these cases:

Ø  A run-on sentence, without any punctuation or conjunction between "gas" and "we":

                       My car is out of gas we cannot reach town before dark.

Ø  A comma splice, which is considered a run-on sentence in English by some usage experts:

It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.

           These are possible remedies:

• Use separate sentences. However, this may disconnect related independent clauses and cause some of the meaning to be lost:
• It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark.
• Use a semicolon. This maintains the connection between the clauses while ensuring a pause between the two ideas:
• It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.
• Use a coordinating conjunction.
• It is nearly half past five, so we cannot reach town before dark.

                     Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-on_sentence   

          
Now try this quiz to see if you can  repair  the  run-on

          sentences:

                                           

            http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/runons_quiz.htm

What's on the News Today?

Group Project

Today you are going to write a news report for your class newspaper, so it is important that you follow  these steps:

1. In groups, decide on a type of news (education,culture, politics, economy, entertainment, environment, health, national, international, etc) 

2. Once you have decided on a topic, browse the web to get information about it.  Below you will find some useful links.

3. Make an outline of  your  news report. Refer to the class guidelines on how to write a newspaper article. Bear in mind that it should  not be a mere  translation. The sources are referential and may be useful to remind you of the the parts of a piece of news.

http://www.emol.com/

                                                                           http://www.latercera.com/

                                                                                 http://elpais.com

4. Once you have revised your draft,  click on the link below to find the newspaper press tool in order  to create and publish your article: 

http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title=

    5. Cite the websites you have used to complete this assigment.

    6. Finally, share the document with your teacher.

           .

     

  

Stories in the News

Let’s review what needs to  be considered when writing a newspaper article.

A typical newspaper article contains five parts: the headline, the byline, the lead paragraph, the explanation, and additional information.

Read the article below, find the right sequence (1-5) and finally label its  parts.

(__)___________________ Daedalus, sobbing from the distant shore where he had landed safely, said, “My last words to Icarus before we left the island was to stay close and not fly too high! He just didn’t listen! Why didn’t he listen to me?” Daedalus and Icarus had been held prisoner by King Minos on the island of Crete, and had been forced to build a labyrinth at the palace of Knossos. It was known to be the most difficult maze in the world to navigate successfully.

(__)___________________ Icarus, son of the famous inventor Daedalus, plunged into the Aegean Sea and drowned while attempting to escape from the island of Crete early

yesterday afternoon. His body has yet to be recovered.   

                                                                                          

(__)___________________ High flying escape ends in death 

         

(__)___________________ Icarus and his father had made wings from wax and bird feathers they had collected over the years while imprisoned on the island of Crete. They attached the homemade wings to their arms and, using a flapping motion, lifted off from the island shortly before noon. While making their escape, Icarus flew too close to the sun. As a result, the heat melted the wax on his wings which caused the feathers to drop off. The wings collapsed and Icarus fell into the sea and drowned.

(__)___________________ By Robin Sloan

Your Turn: Group  Project                

If you notice, the news article you have just read was created from a Greek myth. 

Now you will do something similar, using a very well known children's  story.

1. Watch one of  the videos below and take down notes.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CkCpx3CE2Q&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbzMC6qAzVU 

2. Make a plan of your article keeping  in mind the 5 W’s + how 

(i.e. who, what, when, where, why) that you’ve revised in the story of Icarus  and Daedalus.

3. Based on your notes, write your article. Include the five parts .

  Click on the link below to find the newspaper  press tool to create and publish your article:

http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=110&title=

4.  Share the document with your teacher.                      

The World of News

Dear students,

Today in the lab, you will see the parts of a news article and practice how to write headlines and lead paragraphs.

Types of News


There are two types of news in a newspaper.

Hard news: they are stories which combine the concepts of seriousness and timeliness. i.e. politics, economy, war, disasters, accidents, law, science, crimes, protests, technology, etc.

Soft news: they are usually timeless. It could appear any day without affecting its newsworthiness. i.e. travel  destinations, beauty and health, recipes, etc.

Parts of a Newspaper Article

            Writing a piece of news is different from writing short stories. The language used is different and the way it is organized also differs from any other type of writing. Click on the link below to have an idea of what a newspaper article consists of.

http://www.nytimes.com/

Choose an article that calls your attention and try to identify the following parts:

- Headline

- By-line

- Lead

- Body

Healines

            The headline is the title of the news article. The headline should be short, does not include a lot of detail, and should catch the readers’ attentions. It is normally not a complete sentence, and tries to summarize the main idea or subject of the article. It is often printed in larger letters than the rest of the article, and the major words are capitalized. 

How to write a headline

Activity 1.

Write headlines for these news stories. Follow the rules presented above.

LEAD	YOUR HEADLINE
1.         A large wolf blew down two houses today, forcing the inhabitants of each house, two pig brothers, to take shelter with their elder brother, who fortunately lived in a brick house.
2.        Today Bonnie Walker became the first Canadian woman to hike to the North Pole.  She made the trip from her home in Reed Lake, Manitoba, in forty seven days.
3.         The last dinosaur died today of an overdose of peanuts in the zoo at a little stone-age town called Plains in the centre of North America.

Leads 

            The lead paragraph is found at the beginning of the news article. The lead briefly answers the questions “who”, “what”, “when”, “why”, “where”, and “how”. The ‘skeleton’ of the story can be found here.it also grabs the reader's attention with the news immediately (the hook).

Activity 2.

            Look at the following headlines and write their corresponding leads. You can organize your ideas using the table below

Headline:
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?

Trick or Treat...

Hello students!

In today's lab you will be free to express your most devilish thoughts to write a Halloween story.


But, before starting,

Did you know that...?

The word Halloween dates to about 1745 and is of Christian origin. The word "Halloween" means "hallowed evening" or "holy evening". It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows' Eve (the evening before All Hallows' Day). According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots.

Have you ever gone trick-or-treating?

Have you ever worn a halloween costume?

Activity 1

Read the ending below:

But that is not the worst. The worst is that sometimes I am  convinced she is still out there, and I will see her again: the little girl in the bunny costume,  Amelie. I cannot get rid of the idea that some Halloween night when  I look out past the little witches and princesses and firemen on our porch, she will  be there too: standing halfway down the path in her  greyish-black raincoat under a pale old umbrella, waiting for me.

THE END

Activity 2

Based on the given ending and the pictures, brainstorm ideas for :

• Setting
• Characters
• Plot --> Go over the chart below to help you

Do not change the given ending!

LabWork

Using all your notes taken previously, write the beginning of the story together with 4 or 5 other classmates.

- Write this horror story following the next structure:

• Beginning of your story: 1 paragraph
• Raising action and conflict: 1 paragraph
• Climax: 1 paragraph
• Falling action: 1 paragraph
• End: 1 paragraph

Group Project: Writing Opinion Paragraphs

Dear students,

You are about to finish unit 2 and as a final task you are going to work with some of your classmates to write a set of opinion paragraphs.

Discussion

Before you get started, have a look at the following picture.

• What do you think about what Malala declares?
• Do you agree or disagree with her?
• What are your main reasons of why you agree or disagree with her?
• What would be your final thought regarding this topic?

Project

Education has always been a controversial topic to write about, but it is not the only one. Below, there is a list of questions. Choose the one that most calls your attention.

• Should students have part-time jobs?
• Should education be free?
• Should marihuana be legalized?
• Should homosexuals have the right to adopt children?
• Should books be tax free?
• Should fast-food restaurants be banned from operating in Chile?
• Should parents teach children about sexuality?
• Should the show biz be banned from Chilean TV?
• Should people be banned from smoking in public areas?

For this project you will need to work in groups of 3-4. Then, follow the next steps to write your opinion paragraphs. You'll find some useful expression to write your paragraphs at the end of this entry.

1. Read the title of the composition and think about what your opinion is.
2. Brainstorm: think about what you want to say and write down all your ideas.
3. Choose the most interesting or relevant ideas to support your opinion.
4. Organize the ideas into paragraphs and put the paragraphs in order: 
• Opening paragraph: state the topic and give your opinion. Introduce 3 ideas that support your opinion.
• Body paragraphs (3 paragraphs): each paragraph develops one idea that supports your opinion
• Conclusion paragraph: summarize your opinion and give a final recommendation
5. Write a draft.
6. Edit your draft: check spelling, grammar and punctuation.
7. Have your draft edited by the whole group.
8. Share your final composition with your teacher.

Useful expressions you can use in your text to…

Introduce your opinion:

In my opinion…                                                     

I(personally) think/I believe/                               

I feel/I don’t feel that…                                         

In my view/ In my point of view ….                     

As I see it…                                                            

As far as I’m concerned …                                    

It’s clear to me that…                                           

I agree/I don’t agree that…

Sequence ideas:

To begin with…                                                      

The first point is…                                                

First of all …/First/Firstly,...                               

Secondly/ Thirdly…                                               

Finally…/Lastly…                                                 

Add information

Furthermore,  …                                                    

Moreover,  ….                                                         

In addition, …                                                        

Besides, …                                                              

What is more, …                                                    

Also…/...too                                                            

As well as…                                                            

Apart from (that)…            

Give a reason

Due to(+noun)/Due to the fact that(+sentence)     

Owing to(+noun)/Owing to the fact that(+sentence)   

Because……(+sentence)                                       

Because of………(+noun e.g.: the rain)               

Since…/As……(+sentence e.g.: he is the boss)  

That’s why ...                                                          

For this/that reason                                                          

                                  

Express a consequence

Cosequently…                                                        

Therefore…                                                            

So…                                                                         

As a result of…                                                      

This means that…                                                             

Introduce the conclusion

In short…                                                                

In brief…                                                                 

In summary…                                                        

To sum up                                                                           

In conclusion…                                                      

To conclude…