Fixing things up!

Dear students,

It's time to stop and review the quality of your writing. In today's lab sessión, you'll work on puctuation and types of sentences. To finish, you'll review some aspect of giving opinion.

Checking the punctuation

As well as spelling correctly, you are expected to use correct punctuation. You must use capital letters in the correct places and use punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and question marks correctly. It is also important to indent each paragraph.

Indent	This is done at the beginning of each paragraph.
Capital letters	These are used at the beginning of each sentence and for proper nouns.
Period, question mark, exclamation point	One of this is always used at the end of a sentence.
Commas	In a list of three or more things. i.e. Home-cooked food is nutritious, tasty, and inexpensive.
	To separate transition words from the rest of the sentence. i.e. Additionally, physical education teaches children important skills such as teamwork.
	Between two independent clauses. i.e. Art and music classes are important, but academic classes are even more important.
	To separate a non-restrictive clause i.e. Maple syrup, which is made from the sap of the sugar maple tree, is an expensive treat.
	After a subordinate clause at the beginning of a sentence. i.e. If I had been more careful, I wouldn’t have lost the watch.

Time for Practice!

(Check your Google Docs)

Sentence Types

Using variety in your sentences keeps your writing lively and interesting. It also shows the range of your writing ability. One way you can vary your sentences is by using a variety of sentence types. There are four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.

Simple sentence	A simple sentence has one subject and one verb. i.e. Television offers a variety of programs.
Compound sentence	A compound sentence has two or more simple sentences linked by the conjunctions and, or, and but. i.e. Some people are not bothered by violent TV programs, but others avoid them.
Complex sentence	A complex sentence is made up of a simple sentence (an independent clause) and one or more subordinate clauses. i.e. I we don’t like a particular TV program, we can easily change the channel.
Compound-complex sentence	A compound-complex sentence has two or more simple sentences and one or more subordinate clauses. i.e. While many people avoid watching violent TV programs, others don’t mind them and they watch them frequently.

Time for Practice!

(Check your Google Docs)

Stating your opinion

The introduction to your piece of writing should tell the reader what your opinion is. There Is no right or wrong opinion. Whatever your opinion is, the reader will look to see how you express it. You can use certain set phrases, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to express your opinion.

Set phrases	Verbs	Adjectives	Adverbs
In my opinion From my point of view In my view To my way of thinking To my mind It seems to me that To me It is my opinion that	Agree Believe Think Understand Suppose Guess Hope Imagine	Certain Positive Convinced Sure Persuaded Confident	Definitely Doubtless Certainly Probably Conceivably Maybe Perhaps Possibly Seemingly

Examples:

1. It seems to me that fathers can take care of children just as well as mothers can.
2. I suppose that some children could benefit from art and music education.
3. I am certain that over-reliance on cars has led to many problems in our society.
4. Parents should definitely put limits on their children’s television viewing.
5. People are probably less polite now than they used to be. 

Time for Practice!

(Check your Google Docs)

LabWork

Choose one of the topics from the section ‘Stating your opinion’ and write two solid paragraphs supporting your opinion and beliefs. Write the assignment using a wide variety of sentences and check your punctuation before submitting your file.

Mystery Story

Hello students,

Today's lab session will be about writing mystery stories. Please read the following information before getting started.

The unknown plays an important role in every mystery story. Who did it? What was that strange noise in the night? Will the detective find the scoundrel? Who (or what) has been pursuing our hero so relentlessly—and why?

As you might guess, mystery writers know the answers to such questions before they begin writing. As they write, they drop clues to the reader.

An observant reader can sometimes figure out the mystery before finishing the story.

In fact, if the ending is a complete surprise, the writer has not done a good job! After finishing a mystery, the reader should be able to go back through the story and find clues that hinted at the solution.

Read the following beginning of a mystery story.

Now think about how you would solve the mystery. Remember to give the reader a few hints along the way, so the ending isn’t a complete surprise.

Answer these questions before you actually write the rest of the story.

1. Who is the old woman?

2. What does she tell Sylvia about the origins of the ring?

3. Is she telling the truth about the ring?

4. Will Sylvia give the ring to her? 

If so, what happens next? 

If not, what happens next?

5. Will Sylvia’s friend Marcy have anything to do with the rest of the story?

If not, why not?

If so, what will Marcy do?

LabWork

Work in small groups of 2-4 and now write the rest of the story.

When you are finished, make up a catchy title for your story.

Remember to share your work with your teacher. Please share it by the end of this class.

“That is a very unusual ring,” the woman went on. “Why, that ring came from…”

(Activities taken from Hutchinson, E. (2005). Narrative Writing. Saddleback Educational Publishing)

Writing Stories

Hello students,

It is good to see you again!

Today’s lab session will be devoted to study the parts of a story.

What do you think are the important elements of a story?

Did you know...?

Aesop was a writer from Ancient Greece, who is thought to have lived around 600 years BC, and is credited with having written a number of well-known fables. Accounts of his life often refer to him having been a slave, who gains his freedom through the strength of the advice he gives to his masters. Here you will see one of Aesop’s famous fables.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf 

1. Watch the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcL4zybdHbc&feature=related

2. Take notes regarding the following aspects:

• Place
• Earlier events
• Climax
• The final outcome

The Narrative Writing Diamond

This diamond represents the different parts of a story. This is only one way to see the different parts of a story. Why do you think the widest part of this diamond is the main event?

Now let's see each part separately. 

Entertaining Beginning

The beginning must “hook” the reader and make them feel compelled to read on. The author might use an interesting action, dialogue or exclamation, the main character’s thoughts, or feelings, raise story questions or even use a sound to grab the reader’s attention. Stories should begin as close to the main event as possible.

Starting Off on the right foot!

One way to make your writing more interesting and entertaining is by starting off with a great, attention grabbing beginning! Here are some techniques authors use to begin their stories:

Elaborative Detail

A descriptive segment (3-4 sentences long) which describes a story critical setting, character, or object will help draw the reader in and help the reader experience the fictional world through the five senses of the main character.

Detail generating questions

What feelings look like?

Another aspect of elaborative detail is “showing rather than telling”. This helps revealing a character’s feelings.

Ex. Jack was really mad. That would be telling.

Jack stamped his feet. His face turned a deep shade of red. He slammed his fist on the table. This would be showing.

Look at the examples below and add two descriptions for each feeling. 

Suspense

The ability to leave the reader hanging or wondering what will happen next is a powerful writing technique. To convey a sense of urgency or anticipation you can use red flag words such as suddenly, just then, or before I knew it signal a transition in the story.

Another technique is to use Word Referents.

Tease the reader by not immediately revealing what “it” is. Describe a story critical character or object without naming it. Use word referents instead.

Ex. Instead of writing: I saw a dragon in the cave.

Use word referents. The creature was huge and dark as night. It made a soft rumbling sound. I could feel the mythical beast’s hot breath on my face. (What is it? The reader is dying to know!)

Main Events

The main event is the problem, adventure, or experience that the story is all about. The important thing here is not to summarize but make a scene!

Question to elaborate a fully elaborated main event.

Extended Endings

The extended ending comes after the conclusion of the event. It should leave the reader satisfied that the story is over. You can use the following hints to write your extended ending:

LabWork

Using all your notes taken previously and the narrative writing diamond tips, write the story for the video you’ve watched. 

- Work in groups of 3 or 4
- Write this fable following the next structure:

• Beginning: 1 paragraph
• Elaborated detail: 1 paragraph
• Suspense: 1 paragraph
• Main events: 2 paragraphs
• Extended ending: 1 paragraph

EACH PARAGRAPH SHOULD CONSIST OF AT LEAST 4 SENTENCES. 

Remember to share the document with your teacher.
Deadline: Friday 4th of October.

Review!

Dear students,

In today's lab session we'll review some concepts related to email and letter writing.

One of the key features studied in class was language register. The following video will probably freshen up your previous knowledge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdDBY2-Wmis

Activity 1: Writing Formal and Informal Emails

Instructions:

1. Make groups of 4.

2. Two students will work on Task A and the other two on Task B.

3. Each pair will create a Google Doc to do the task.

4. Once you have finished writing your task, share the file with the other pair.

5. After you have received the file from the other pair, proofread it and make the necessary changes to finally share the file with your teacher (descriptivewriting2013@gmail.com).

Task A

Your boss left this post-it note on your desk while you were at lunch. follow the instructions she gave you.

Task B

You received this memo at work. You worked with Carol for many years before changing departments. Send her an email. 

Activity 2: Editing Letters

Answer the following questions:

Do you always check what you have written to look for mistakes?

Is the content of what you write just as important as not making mistakes?

Do you use a dictionary to check spelling?

Do you try to show what you write in English to someone else before you submit it?

Instructions:

Look at the advertisement and read the letter that somebody wrote in answer to it. 

Correct the mistakes highlighted in yellow in the letter.

The Year I Was Born

Hello Students!

In today's lab session, you'll write about what happened the year you were born. But first, watch the following video to get some inspiration. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bShq1Ry-6AU

An Autobiographical Research Project

What happened the year that you were born? What was going on in your town? Were there important events going on in your country? How about the rest of the world?

Today you are going to do online research to find details on what was going on internationally, nationally, locally, in sports, music, arts, commercial, TV, and publishing during the year that you were born.

Click on the links below to browse the websites. Use your notebook or a word document to record your findings.

www.google.com

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.inthe90s.com/

http://www.inthe80s.com/

http://www.calendarhome.com/clink/history.html

http://www.scopesys.com/anyday/

http://dmarie.com/timecap/

HOMEWORK!

1. You will conduct interviews of friends and family members to get more details.

Interview your family and other people about your birth and first year of life. If available, look through photo albums, baby books, and so forth. Before your interview, brainstorm a list of questions to ask. You can include questions about your parents’ occupation, other members of the family and community, pets, significant family and community events (in addition to your birth), activities family and friends were involved in, extended family members, favorite music, book, or sports team, and so on.

2. After you have done online research on the events that took place the year/date when you were born, and that you have also interviewed friends and family, go over your individual project notes and select the information you would like to put together into a two-page autobiographical text.

Here is a sample extract from an autobiographical account:

Once you finish writing the two-page autobiographical text, click on the link below to find the booklet press tool to create and publish your article.

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

When you finish your work, print a copy and hand it in to your teacher next class. This is an evaluated task.

People's Lives

Dear students,

In today's session, you'll work collaboratively to write about a person who does not exist, at least not yet.

Did you know...?

A biography or simply bio is a detailed description or account of a person's life. It entails more than basic facts (education, work, relationships, and death) - a biography also portrays a subject's experience of these events. Unlike a profile or résumé, a biography presents a subject's life story, highlighting various aspects of his or her life, including intimate details of experience, and may include an analysis of the subject's personality                                                                                           Taken from Wikipedia

Graphic Biographies 

How much do you know about these people?

Elvis Presley	The Beatles	Marie Curie
Walt Disney	Albert Einstein	Houdini

Activity 1

Graphic biographies are a very special way to explain somebody's life. Choose one of the characters and click on the corresponding link to read about that person.

While you're reading, take notes on the following:

• When/where did this person live?
• Why was she/he important?
• Choose one of his/her quotes, state it in the form of reported speech and explain why that quote called your attention.

Elvis Presley
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_nWnPNw5e2cQ1V3NDBLU0g4WkU/edit?usp=sharing

The Beatles
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_nWnPNw5e2cQmdwc0lHbnJjZG8/edit?usp=sharing

Marie Curie
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_nWnPNw5e2cZjFXenA4SUUwdmc/edit?usp=sharing

Walt Disney
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_nWnPNw5e2cYzFMQmkzNGg3bDg/edit?usp=sharing

Albert Einstein
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_nWnPNw5e2ccnQxVnNzcjVKXzA/edit?usp=sharing

Houdini 
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_nWnPNw5e2cSS1SWmZNcDZJV28/edit?usp=sharing

Activity 2

Using all the information from your notes, write a summary about his/her life.

LabWork

As a group, you’ve been given the power to create one person for this world. This person should have the ability to cause a great impact in mankind history.  This person could impact any area of your interest: education, music, film industry, politics, religion, arts, etc.

First of all, you need to create a Gmail account if you don’t have one yet since this assignment will be written and edited using Google Drive. Once you have created your account, send it to your teacher.

Instructions:

Work in groups of 3-4 and write a detailed biography for the person you’ve made up.

Your biography should include the next four elements:

1. a. When/where did this person live?

    b. What was she/he like?

    c. How and when did she/he die?

2. What were the major events in her/his life as a child, teenager and adult?

3. Why was she/he important?

4. What challenges did she/he overcome?

Each member of the group should be assigned and be responsible for writing one element. The final product should consist of at least 4 paragraphs, one for each element, and each paragraph should have a minimum of 5 sentences.

Finally, edit the final biography working collaboratively as a group.

The deadline for this assignment is Friday 30^th.