SKKN the experiences of teaching the grare 8 students in quang ngoc secondary school how to write a para graph

PHONG GIAO DUC VA DAO TAO QUANG XUONG TRUONG THCS QUANG NGOC SANG KIEN KINH NGHIEM TEN DE TAI “THE EXPERIENCES OF TEACHING THE GRADE STUDENTS IN QUANG NGOC SECONDARY SCHOOL HOW TO WRITE A PARAGRAPH” Người thực hiện: Hoang Thi Thao Chức vụ : Giao vien Đơn vị công tác : Truong THCS Quang Ngoc SKKN thuộc lĩnh vực (môn): Tieng Anh Quang Xuong, nam 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationales: Aims of the study - Improving the students’ writing skill and understanding through practical writing .3 - Reducing the difficulties for the average and under average students in practicing writings by creating a combination in the paragraphs and using simple words and structure .3 Scope of the study: - Practising writing the paragraphs basing on English and other paragraphs Foundation of the study: The participants: .3 - The grade students in Quang Ngoc secondary school 2.While - writing stage 10 3.Post - writing stage 10 Conclusion 19 Suggestion 19 PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationales: With the changes of Ministry of Education and training about the national examination this year, There will be Part Wrtiting in exam paper that makes students worry a lot because it is a new point they always concern which form is it, How is its structure and organization in a writing paragraph to have effect It is an anxious problem of students this year Writing is considered as one of the four important skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) stressed in each of unit in textbook It is a difficult skill and most of the students are not good at it and not to practice perfectly during learning it due to years ago they had to only take part in a test not have part writing but this year it is compulsory in the exam paper However, during teaching some of the teachers still ignore teaching writing skill, especially, difficult writing lessons and they often focus on grammar excercises for the test exams Therefore, to reduce students’ pressure and worrying I would like to present “The experiences of teaching the grade students in Quang Ngoc secondary school how to write a paragraph” to help my students to write a paragraph easily Besides, writing skill is one of important skills of communication A good writing skill will help students to communicate their message with clarity Therefore, the teachers who are directly teaching, always think what they should to make students’ motivation in writing lessons I hope that these experiences could help students to have a good writing and help develop their writing skill, motivate them in writing a paragraph Moreover, this theme would be shared with colleagues who have the same problem or anyone who is interested in this theme Aims of the study - Improving the students’ writing skill and understanding through practical writing - Reducing the difficulties for the average and under average students in practicing writings by creating a combination in the paragraphs and using simple words and structure Scope of the study: - Practising writing the paragraphs basing on English and other paragraphs Foundation of the study: - Basing on students’ result of writing is very low - Students’writing skills is very bad The participants: - The grade students in Quang Ngoc secondary school PART II: CONTENTS In the current education curriculum, writing skill is a combination of other skills to enrich students’ knowledge as well as help improve their writing skill and use writing activities to gain other specific purposes The stages of teaching writing skill are very important and they also have significant effectiveness on the students’ writing performance If students not prepare well enough, they can not write well, they can not even write anything in their notebooks.The key to successful writing lessons is that the teachers should carry out well the following stages: Pre-writing stage Pre - writing activities is considered to be the most important stages in teaching writing skill and they will help students to get ready to perform the tasks of a writing Additionally, students’ writing performance can be affected by teachers’ teaching methods and instructions in this stage If the teacher conducts this stage successfully, the students’ result of performance will be much better Firstly, I have helped students to understand these proplems well: “How is a paragraph” and “how is its organization and structure”, “how to to have a good writing paragraph” 1.1: Writing a paragraph A paragraph is a range of sentences which support, explain, define, clarify and illustrate to the topic sentence of the paragraph Its length is about from 100 to 150 words and is written unceasingly not to begin a new line There are three main parts in a paragraph ( introduction, body, conclusion) - Introduction is the topic sentence It is an opening sentence of paragraph which can be put in different positions in the paragraph But to be safe, students should be put it the first position - Body is the supporting sentences which support, explain, define, clarify and illustrate to topic sentence of the paragraph - Conclusion is the sentence affirming the topic sentence and summary the main ideas of the paragraph again Depending on each of topic, students can organize supporting sentences in a paragraph as follows: - From the least important details to the most important ones - From the most important details to the least ones - Arrange the actions or events in chronological order In order to have ideas for a paragraph, students should make questions such as: “what, where, when, why, how…” answer and connect them to complete a paragraph On the other hand, in the textbook English Suggestions,vocabulary and content of writing inherent the topic of unit and before writing a paragraph, students should apply the outline below * Topic sentence • Introduces the topic in the paragraph • It is the most general sentence in the paragraph • Contains controlling ideas that the following sentences in the paragraph will explain, define, clarify, illustrate * Supporting sentences • - develop the topic sentence by giving: reasons examples facts statistics quotations * Concluding sentence • Summarizes the main points of the paragraph, restates the topic sentence without copying exactly • Gives a final comment on the topic There fore, before writing a paragraph, besides depending on outline, students should notice the following stages - Reading and understand the topic well - Writing the topic sentence - Listing all of ideas relating to the topic, connecting ideas in order, writing out all of explainations and reasons - Writing the concluding sentence reasonablely and clearly In order to have a associative paragraph, students should use the connectors which can’t be lack of in a paragraph and they makes the paragraph much more interesting if students know how to use them Sequencing/ Listing Adding to what you have said Contrasting Useful expressions First of all, First(ly), Initially, To begin with; Second(ly); Third(ly); Next; Then; After that (this); Following this (that); Finally; The first reason is…/ The second is…; Last but not least… Also, Furthermore, In addition, Additionally, Moreover, Besides, As well as, Similarly, not only…but also…, even beside this/ that In contrast to this, On the contrary, In contrast, Conversely, On the other hand, While, Whereas, However, Despite/ In Expressing similarity Showing results Giving examples Restating Inferring Summarizing spite of, Although, Even though, Otherwise, Nonetheless Similarly; Likewise, In the same way As a result, As a consequence, Consequently, Hence, Thus, Therefore, So For example, For instance, In particular, Particularly, Especially, Namely, Such as In other words, That is to say, To put it simply In other words, In that case, or else, Otherwise In summary, To sum up, To conclude, In conclusion, In short, In brief, In a nutshell, Lastly, Finally Basing on units in Enghlish 8, I have composed many of the topics to students to practice such as: Unit Write a similar email to tell your friend about your freetime Unit Write a paragraph giving your opinion about life in the countryside Unit Imagine that you are joining a writing contest about customs and traditions and have chosen to write about the Obon dance Unit Write an article about this festival for the school website Unit Write a passage describing the schedule for your visit Unit Write a news report about a natural disaster you experienced or you have read about Unit 11 Writing to express agreement or disagreement Topic 1: Suppose you were offered a job with one of international organizations, which one would you like to choose? Write a paragraph of about 120 to 150 words expressing the reasons why you choose the organization Everyone has his (her) own choice For me, supposed I were offered a job to work for one of the international organizations, I’d like to work for the WHO for a number of reasons Firstly, I really like biology and I’m very good at it If I work for this organization, I will have a chance to much medical reseach and help improve international health care, especially in poor countries Secondly, I will have an opportunity to live and work abroad.Thirdly, I can use English at work easily, travel all over the world, meet a lot of people from different countries Futhermore, I can know a lot of famous landscapes, customs as well as cultures Therefore, my experiences and knowledge can be widened and impoved Last but not least, I can have high salary, as a result my life will be more comfortable and happier Finally, working for the WHO is an ideal dream which a lot of people desire After students read the sample writing, Apart from taking notice of connectors, I asked students to show the topic sentence, supporting sentences, concluding sentence, and give remarks about the writing lesson * The topic sentence: I’d like to work for the WHO * Supporting sentences: Firstly, I really like biology and I’m very good at it If I work for this organization, I will have a chance to much medical reseach and help improve international health care, especially in poor countries Secondly, I will have an opportunity to live and work abroad.Thirdly, I can use English at work easily, travel all over the world, meet a lot of people from different countries Futhermore, I can know a lot of famous landscapes, customs as well as cultures Therefore, my experiences and knowledge can be widened and impoved Last but not least, I can have high salary, as a result my life will be more comfortable and happier * Concluding sentence: Finally, working for the WHO is an ideal dream whicha lot of people desire * Connectors: Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly, Futhermore, as well as, Therefore, Last but not least, as a result, Finally - According to me, the good and excellent students are quick- witted to find out a topic sentence or have ideas for a paragraph after reading the topic while some of the average and under average students feel it difficult because their vocabulary and grammatical structure are limited Therefore, I helped them create a combination in some of the paragraphs and I suggested that they should use simple words, easy to remember, easy to find and avoid consuming time with difficult ones.They can copy ideas of the first topic for another paragraph, only change a bit the topic sentence * Combining ideas in the topics Example: Topic 1: Write a paragraph about an international organization you would like to work for (the sample example 1) Topic 2: Write a paragraph about a job you would like to after graduating - If students have already read or written the topic 1, they only change a bit about topic sentence to have topic without changing content They don’t have to consume a lot of time to think and look up vocabulary It is an easy way to remember and practice the writing lessons scientifically •Every has his (her) own dream Becoming a member of the WHO is my great dream for a number of reasons First……… … -Students can copy the whole the rest of part of topic to complete topic Topic 3:Write a paragraph about your favourite subject - I think most of the students will choose English to write because it is important, necessary for everyone nowadays and there are many reasons to mention - Students should base on the topic to make a simple topic sentence - The third topic, students can collect some of ideas from topic •There are many subjects I like but English is my favourite one Because of reasons Firstly, Nowaday English is important and popular Beside the mother tongue, It is considered as the second language and used widely in many parts in the word Secondly, It is a compulsory subject in the national examination so many students like to learn it Thirdly,learning English well, I can communicate with foreigners, read and understand any documents written in English easily Moreover, I will have an opportunity to live abroad,work for international organizations, use English at work, travel all over the world In addition, I can introduce vietnamese’ customs and cultures to international as well as know a lot customs and cultures of other countries Last but not least, I feel proud of my ability of English with my friends and relatives Lastly I can be easy to have a good job and life if I learn English well By:Hoang Mai Anh -Class 8C - Students can use the same ideas for four writings below, the topic sentences and concluding sentence should be changed a bit Topic 4: Write a paragraph about your favourite sport Topic 5: Write a paragraph about the things you would like to in the free time Topic 6: Write a paragraph about your hobby Topic 7: Write a paragraph about your leisure activity Topic 4: •Most people like sport, so I I like sport because sport is my favourite leisure activity in my free time Futhermore, sport is good for health and it also help way of me to get rid of the work stress My favourite sport is badminton Because of four reasons Firstly my health will be improved though playing it It makes me not only feel very excited, comfortable but also have a beautiful body, so I often play it every afternoon Secondly, it makes me more active and creative in my life.Thirdly, I can make a lot of friends We can improve our skills of playing badminton when we play with each other Finally, playing badminton isn’t as dangerous as voleyball, soccer…it is a safe sport, not being hurt Although the game make me very tired, but I always like and practise it I feel heathier and fitter than before I hope that many people admire it like me By: Nguyen Van Anh - Class 8A 1.2 Describing(reporting on) a film/ book a.What to write - Teacher should give some ideas about a report on the book, such as: • • • • • • Title and author Type of book/ film Characters Events in the film/ book Your opinion of the film/ book Personal recommendation b How to write • Title and author, characters should be written by capital letter • Giving the type of the film or book • Using the following adjectives to describe about a film or book such as: Type of book or film: a detective story/ film; a romantic novel; a love story film; an adventure story; a science fiction novel; a historical novel; a humorous story; a thriller Adjectives to describe film or book: funny = hilarious; horrifying = frightening; interesting; gripping; exciting; fascinating; entertaining; brilliant; realistic; sad; tragic; imaginative; touching = moving; action-packed; wellwritten; well-directed; well/beautifully-filmed; wonderfully-acted… Adjectives to describe author or director: great; skilled; observant; gifted = talented; perceptive; entertaining… c structure: •Describing: It’s called…; It was (written/ directed/ produced/ published/ designed) by/ in…; It’s by the same (writer/ director) as…; It’s his/ her first/ second (book/ film); It’s about/ tells the story of…; It’s set in…; It’s based on…; It’s adapted from…; It lasts about…hour(s); The story is very simple/ complicated •Expressing personal ideas: The (acting/ story/ graphics) is/ are brilliant/ terrible.; The best/ worst thing(s) about it is/ are…; … is really boring/ annoying/ exciting.; Another thing I really liked/ hated was…; One weak point was…; It’s well worth seeing.; I’d recommend it to anyone who likes…; I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone… •Tenses: Using simple present to describe or report a book or film even although events happened in the past Example 1: UNIT6 : FOLK TALES- SKILLS 4a Use your notes in to write the fairy tale Use The Princess and the Dragon as a model - Teacher asks students to Task - In group, ask students to put the questions jumbled under the correct headings * General introduction 7.What is the title of the book? 4.who is the author? 9.What type of book is it? * Summary of the book’s content 2.where is the book set? 5.What is the main theme of the book? 6.who are the main characters? 8.what is the plot of the story? * Conclusion: 1.What was your opinion of the book? 3.would you recommend the book? - After explaining some ideas clearly and suggesting a story to guide students how to write it For example: The story “The old man and the sea” - Teacher can help students some of the suggestions such as: vocabulary, theme, title, plot and characters of story by Vietnamese and help them to convert into English to organize them reasonablely -Teacher asks students to work in groups and make a sample outline before writing Sample outline I- General introduction - The title of the book: The old man and the sea - The author: Hemingway - Type of the book: Short story II- Summary of the book’s content: - The main theme: The struggle between man and nature for survival - The main character: An old Cuban fisherman - The plot of the story: After 80 days not catching a fish, the old man ventures far out into the Gulf to fish and a giant marlin takes his bait But because the fish is too great, he must struggle days and three nights with it Finally, he is able to catch it III- Conclusion: - In my opinion, the story …….….… - I think we should ………………… With above suggestions Students have to complete their perfect writing and share it in pairs The story “The old man and the sea” is a short story written in English by Heming way, an American writer The story is about the struggle between man and nature for survival The main character is an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago, an unlucky fisherman After 80 days not catching a fish, the old man ventures far out into the Gulf to fish and a giant marlin takes his bait But because the fish is too great, he must struggle days and three nights with it Finally, he is able to catch it.This story teaches us not only one’s impatient but also braveness In my opinion, the story “The old man and the sea” is a good one about the struggle for survival, and I think all of us should read it whenever we have time to understand more about the rules of life - Teacher helps students some vocabulary ( giant marlin, bait, struggle ) - Teacher gives feedback While - writing stage This stage is for developing writing skill, students can write individually, but teacher should encourage collaborative writing( work in pairs or in a small group to write the first draft).While writing, teacher goes round the class to see how well students work and whether they need some help.Especially, teacher should pay more attention to less - active or quiet students and encourage them to focus on their work Now students can feel confident to write any required topic easily Post - writing stage The activities in this stage will help students to gain confidence while writing and also help them become more and more interested in their writing lessons Therefore,after students finish their writings, there are many ways of responding to students’writing work - Correction - Sharing and comparing - Presenting by projector * These are students’ writings taken photograph by the phone and connected to computer, projector The whole class correct them Example : UNIT 8: ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES- SKILLS2 Write a passage describing the schedule for your visit You can start with I Objectives: Educational aim: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to describe a Sporting event (a football match) General knowledge: Students learn how to write describing a football match - Language: - New words: Words related to football Skills: Describing a sporting event (a football match) II Method: Intergrated, mainly communicative III Teaching aids: Student’s book, notebook, computer, projector IV Procedure: Teacher’s activities Students’ activities • Warm up: (5 minutes) - Listen carefully and guess the name of each picture Teacher shows some of the pictures and - Answer the teacher’s questions and asks some questions complete outline Where is it ? (p1) Who is he ? (p2,3) Who are they ? (p4,5)…… What the words relate to ? - They relate to a football match Pre-writing: (5 minutes) Task 1: - Teacher introduces, Today “You are going to write a description of a football match between your school’s team and one of your neighbouring schools’ teams The following are the questions you have to answer when describing the match, but they are jumbled - Suggests students order the sentences with parts: * Introduction * Details of the match * Conclusion - Walks round to help - Calls some students to give answers While-writing: (13 minutes) Task - Asks students to read all questions again and Match a question from part A with a suitable answer from part B -Listen teacher’s instruction attentively -Students should work with a partner and put the questions in the suitable sections” Suggestions: * Introduction: Why was the football match held? What teams took part in the match? When and where did the match take place? * Details of the match: What was the weather like on that day? How did each team play in the first half?/ second half? What was the spectators’ attitude? Which team played better? Who scored a goal? * Conclusion: What was the result? What did you think about the game? - Read the questions - Work in pairs A B Why was the football match held? a Vietnam and Thailand What was the result? b it was very sunny What teams took part in the match? c to celebrate AFF Championship What was the weather like on that day? d in Thailand in December, 2008 What did you think about the game? e Vietnam played well in the 1st half; Thailand played well in the 2nd half When and where did the match take f Vietnam (Vu Phong, Cong Vinh); place? Thailand (number 9) How did each team play in the first half/ second half? g It’s very interesting and attractive What was the spectators’ attitude? h.The result was Vietnam: Thailand: Which team played better? i They were excited 10 Who scored a goal? j Vietnam played better Answer: 1C, 2H, 3A, 4B, 5G, 6D, 7E, 8I, 9J,10F -Teacher check students’ answer and feedback Post-writing: (20 minutes) Task - Asks students to write a description of the football match mentioned above by using suggested above words - Has students read Useful Languge to improve their answers - Gives some suggestions to students: Nouns: players/ captain/ defender/ stricker/ goal keeper/ referee Verbs: infringe/ dribble/ pass the ball ect - Asks students to work individually - Goes round to provide help - Uses the telephone to photograph some students’ writing lessons to show by project - Asks the whole class to read and correct the mistakes - Gives feedback - Listen to the teacher and copy down - Look at the picture in the book - task and it - Do independently - Look at the sceen on the board, read friends’ lesson writing and correct mistakes - Remark Homework: (2 minutes) - Ask students to part writing of Unit in the student’s work book and preapare - Listen to the teacher and take notice * This is a students’ writing, the whole class read the paragraph and correct it PART III: PRACTICE EXCERCIES Exercise Complete the following paragraph, using the suitable words or phrases to fill in the gaps First of all, Moreover, Thirdly, Last but not least, Finaly, wars or conflicts, terrorism, fatal diseases, Secondly, harmony Describing the world in which you would like to live in the year 2020 Our world has been changing day by day What will it be like in the future? Nobody can predict anything For me, There are a lot of desire about my ideal world (1) _ My world would be a peaceful one without (2) _ between nations People won’t have to live under the threat of (3) _but all live in (4) _ (5) _, Everyone has a job to and better standard of living (6) _, all of people will receive good education and more understanding (7) _, I would also wish to live in clean healthy environment with less noise, less pollution and there are parks where children can play,wildlife can be protected (8) _, scientists can find cures for (9) _. (10) _, my main desire is to see people live happier and healthier more than they are now Answers: First of all wars or conflicts 3.terrorism Harmony Secondly Thirdly Moreover Last but not least fatal diseases 10.Finaly Exercise 2: Arrange the following sentences to have a perfect passage The advantages and disadvantages of the Internet A However, the Internet also has its disadvantages Some people take advantage of it to deceive others or to issue untrue or malicious information for their own bad purposes It is alo a source of depraved films and pictures, which may damage our younger generation B The internet is a wonderful source of information which enables the user to communicate with the whole world C In my opinion, to avoid negative side-effects, the usage of the Internet should be carefully controlled by the authorities D.Thirdly,we can also the Internet to watch films, listen to music or talk to a person living thousands of miles away E Secondly, using the Internet, we can quickly find the information we need in all fields such as science, literature, art, medicine and techlonogy F First, to be use the Internet, we must have modern computer, which is connected to the telephone network by a special code Answers: 1B, 2F,3E,4D,5A,6C The Internet is a wonderful source of information which enables the user to communicate with the whole world First, to be use the Internet, we must have modern computer, which is connected to the telephone network by a special code Secondly, using the Internet, we can quickly find the information we need in all fields such as science, literature, art, medicine and techlonogy Thirdly,we can also the Internet to watch films, listen to music or talk to a person living thousands of miles away.However, the Internet also has its disadvantages Some people take advantage of it to deceive others or to issue untrue or malicious information for their own bad purposes It is alo a source of depraved films and pictures, which may damage our younger generation In my opinion, to avoid negative side-effects, the usage of the Internet should be carefully controlled by the authorities PART IV: EFFECTIVENESS OF STUDY After practicing above theory lessons The students have gained significant effectiveness such as: - Developing skill of writing - Improving the vocabulary and grammatical structure - Being confident in communication - Widening knowledge and understanding through reading the sample writings and gather ideas for the writing lessons - Using the vocabulary in each of different situation reasonablely - Achieving good results in the examinations ðReal numbers: The first term - Academic year 2019 - 2020 Total Excellent Good Average Under average Number % Number % Number % students Number % 8A 37 18,9 24,3 19 51,3 0.54 8B 36 0,83 19,4 21 58,3 13,8 8C 36 0,55 13,8 22 61,1 19,4 The second term - Academic year 2019 – 2020 Grade Grade 8A 8B 8C Total Excellent students Number % 37 11 29,7 36 19,4 36 16,6 Good Average Under average Number % Number % Number % 15 40,5 24,3 0,54 14 38,8 13 36,1 0,55 13 36,1 16 44,4 0,27 PART V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION Conclusion During the teaching process in Quang Ngoc Secondary school, I have made many efforts to study, investigate, share experiences from colleagues, draw the experiences from my own teaching I have also some of the experiences of teaching the students writing skill in Secondary shool Besides I often innovate teaching methods and have used some appropriate strategies to apply in my lessons I find that most of students have been interested in my lessons They were willing to take part in all of activities, work effectively in the lessons Moreover, I have stimulated my students’ interests in creative writing and develop their writing skills However,this theme still has some limitations, it is given out as a contribution to the knowledge of all teachers and students I hope that this theme would have effect to both teachers and students in teaching and learning process Suggestion a.Suggestion for teachers - Teachers must have creation, enthusiasm and love job and students, always try to investigate new methods, share experiences with colleagues, use appropriate techiniques, prepare the plan of teaching well before teaching Particularly paying attention to the students’ studying and encourage them to try their best - Reinforcing using information technology because it is one of the most productive tools in teaching b Suggestion for students - Must work hard, practice writing a lot paragraphs and share them with partners - Learning by heart the new words and knowing how to use them in situations - Should read a lot of the sample paragraphs to have more ideas, vocabulary and can copy the necessary things c Suggestion for leaders - Leaders should organize the workshops for teachers to share experiences to improve the quality of teaching, especially sharing the initiative gaining the prizes I would like to thank! The confirmation of the principle Quang Ngoc, April 9th 2021 I’m sure that this initiative is mine, not to copy anything from other persons Signature Hoàng Thị Thảo REFERENCES English Textbook 12 2 Byrne, D (1988) Teaching Writing Skills Longman Downs, M.(2000) Increasing student Motivation Teachers’ Edition 4: - 13 Harmer, J.(2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rded) Essex: Longman Leki,I.(1976).Academic Writing, Techniques and Tasks: ST.Martin Press, New York Raimes, A (1993) Teachniques in Teaching Writing OUP Amer, M (2013).The Effect of Explicit Instruction in Expository Text Structure on the Writing Performance of Arab EFL University Students Sources of knowledge on the Internet  ... students to understand these proplems well: ? ?How is a paragraph” and ? ?how is its organization and structure”, ? ?how to to have a good writing paragraph” 1.1: Writing a paragraph A paragraph is a range... clearly In order to have a associative paragraph, students should use the connectors which can’t be lack of in a paragraph and they makes the paragraph much more interesting if students know how. .. combination in the paragraphs and using simple words and structure Scope of the study: - Practising writing the paragraphs basing on English and other paragraphs Foundation of the study: - Basing on students? ??