Writing Tip # 3: Mystery Stories
by Linda Galloway
After students can write at least simple sentences in the past tense, this is a good activity to practice past tense, questions, and purpose.
It also helps students interact, whether it is in person or on-line.
Students are instructed to write between 4 and10 sentences about an experience they have had that might surprise others in the class. It could be a simple, funny, scary, surprising, educational, or emotional story. Childhood stories are especially effective here. Students should know that the stories will be shared with the class. You can also put one in as long as your writing sample is not so much better than the students that they will simply guess from the high vocabulary level, for instance.
Once they turn in the stories, you edit them to adjust too-obvious clues and to fix any grammar problems. Sometimes this involves several changes, so I usually show it to the specific writer to ensure that it is accurate or to help them expand with more details (See Writing Tips # 1 and
# 2).
When all stories are in and edited (or even before if some students are confused about what to write), one story is read each class. Make sure the story you have selected is from a student who is present that day. Students ask questions to narrow the possibilities. The writer should answer along with all of the other students but should not reveal too much. You can either answer them or have all students respond if this could be true for them (for example, ‘How many of you have dogs?’ ‘How many of you have been in a hospital?’) The responses should be available to all students. Eventually, the possibilities will be only a few, and students can then guess, even if they do not know the other students very well. I have always started out by reading the stories aloud and then sharing them on the white board so that students can read them, but that depends on the listening skills of students. After the student is correctly guessed, comments about good writing traits can be pointed out (like nice use of adjectives or adverbs – even if you added them).
This activity helps students understand the importance of details for more interesting writing and how thinking of the audience can be essential.
Words to Describe People
by Scott Miles
The vocabulary in this supplement is commonly used to describe people.
They are words that appear in the 2000 most commonly used vocabulary in the English language, so they are essential for students at the basic to intermediate levels.
- First, review the words and circle the words that you do not know. You can underline the words that you think you might know, but aren’t sure.
- Next, with a partner (or partners), ask about the words you do not know.
What does _______ mean?
To explain the words in English, the following sentences might be helpful:
- It’s the opposite of __________.
- It’s almost the same as ___________.
- This is the kind of person who always ________
- This is the kind of person who never __________.
After listening to the explanation, guess the translation of the word in your first language. Later, you can look up the words in a dictionary to see if your guess is correct.
|
Positive |
Neutral |
Negative |
|
Bright Friendly Funny Gentle Helpful Honest Kind Loving Lucky Warm |
Busy Careful Childlike Cold Fearless Interesting Perfectionist Quiet Realistic Serious |
Boring Childish Controlling Forgetful Judgmental Lazy Loud Mean Selfish Silly |
Talk about the vocabulary. Which words describe you? Which words do not? Use the following sentence patterns.
|
|
Now We’re Talking Textbook Activity Supplement
Book 1-Unit 1-Vocabulary: Describing People
This is a lesson plan that can complement the vocabulary activities on page 7 of Now We’re Talking Book 1, Unit 1.
Lesson Plan
- Distribute the handout (see above). Have the students look at the list of words and circle the ones they do not know. They can underline words they are not sure about, but have an idea of what they might mean. Tell the students to refrain from looking up words they do not know yet.
- In pairs or small groups, students then ask their partners about the words they circled and underlined. If another student knows the word, the student should try to explain the meaning. This is not an easy task for basic and even intermediate level students, but the given structures in the handout can be helpful. Do a few of the examples as a class before having the students try on their own.
If students have trouble finding a meaning (for example, they get stuck on a word that none of them know), they should call over the instructor to help with an explanation.
Once the word is explained, the student can write down their best guess of the translation of the word. Finally, after this part of the activity is over (or for homework), students can look up the words in a bilingual dictionary to see if their understanding was correct.
- In pairs or small groups, the students can discuss the vocabulary as it relates to themselves. If needed, review the sentence structures for this part of the exercise.
Texting Expressions and Acronyms in English: What did you say?
by Carol Cutler
Just when you are starting to feel confident about your English-speaking skills, you come across a new challenge:
texting acronyms from native-speaker friends. Even when you have deciphered the usual letters (like LOL), some texting expressions can still be confusing. You asked, “Can I bring a friend to the party?”, and your roommate replied “Bet”. What does he mean? Was that a yes or no? As it turns out, “bet” means “yes”, or “you bet” (For sure! It’s so certain that you can “bet” on it). These expressions and acronyms are mostly found in text messages, but sometimes they find their way into emails, too. Please be aware that they are INFORMAL and should only be used with close friends and people you know very well. They are most commonly used by teenagers or young adults and also may vary by geographic location in the US. Here is a list of 25 common texting expressions and acronyms with short explanations:
- WDYM – What do you mean? (Please explain yourself)
- OMW – On my way (I’m coming)
- WTM – What’s the matter? (What’s wrong? What is the problem?)
- Ight (or aight) – Alright (Ok or I agree)
- Bet – You bet (It sounds good to me, or for sure)
- ALR – Alright (Okay, or it sounds good to me)
- CU – See you (I will see you later)
- LMK – Let me know (Please give me an answer soon)
- IDK – I don’t know
- IG – I guess (I’m not sure, but I think so)
- RN – Right now
- OMG – Oh my God (Or oh my “gosh”. Some native speakers are sensitive to using the word “God”)
- IMO – In my opinion
- IMHO – In my humble opinion (Or in my honest opinion)
- BTW – By the way (Incidentally)
- TBH – To be honest
- LOL – Laughing “out” loud (That was very funny)
- ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing (That was very funny)
- BRB – (I will) Be right back
- BBL – (I will) Be back later
- TTYL – (I will) Talk to you later
- GR8 – Great (Wonderful)
- NVM – Never mind (Forget it, ignore it)
Writing Tip # 2:
by Linda Galloway
Too few details can make a writing uninteresting or even ineffective.
Last month, we looked at asking reporters’ or detectives’ questions (Who? What? Where? Why? and How?) This time we will use sensory questions. Ask students to imagine a special room from memories of childhood. Very often it will be a room where their family gathered. They should write this place at the top of the page where they will do pre-writing. Ask them to close their eyes except when they are writing notes.
Now they should add three or more items they can ‘ see’ in this memory. That is the usual place where students might end the description.
Next, ask them to add two details about what they remember hearing. This might include the voices of special people, laughter, an argument, a chair rocking, the wind or traffic outside, or the sounds of pans clattering in the kitchen.
Third, ask them to think about what they might have felt. It could be an emotion or a physical sensation, like the soft hug of their grandmother, the bristly face of their father, or the hardness of the folding chair children were given to sit on. One touch memory is probably enough, but one physical and one emotional detail would make the writing especially vivid.
The fourth sense is that of smell. This is actually our first sense when we are born, and it remains an important sense, but we do not often use it in description. Again, for this it helps if students close their eyes, or you can ask them what helps them think of this place. It is often the smell of a familiar perfume or food, but it might be an unpleasant smell, too, of a dog just in from a bad adventure or an overcooked dinner, for example.
The hardest one might be the last one: taste. Family gatherings often involve food, making this easier. However, even without food, we can have a taste of fear, dryness or illness in our mouths. If students push themselves, they can often produce a detail about taste. This should be a bonus detail.
Describing this room or an event in a creative paragraph should be easier with these details, even if not all of them are used. It may lead to developing second language vocabulary, as well. This paragraph would make a welcome gift for those who were also there.
Writing Tip # 1:
by Linda Galloway
Many writing papers are too simple and maybe can be a little boring. One easy way to help avoid this is to ask the same questions as a detective: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Here is an example of how this can help:
First sentence: I went to the store.
Who? I went with my little sister to the store.
What? I went with my little sister to the store for a present.
Where? I went with my little sister to the Dollar store for a present.
When? On December 23rd, I went with my little sister to the Dollar store for a present.
Why? On December 23rd, I went with my little sister to the Dollar store for a
Christmas present for our mother.
How? On December 23rd, with three dollars in my pocket, I walked with my little sister to the
Dollar store for a Christmas present for our mother.
Usually, you will not want all of the questions’ answers for your sentences, but if you can add the answers to two or three of the questions some of the time, your sentences will be more interesting and complete.
For Example, Such As, and Like
by Scott Miles
There are several options for introducing an example. These include for example, such as, and like.
Generally, here are the main points of using these phrases correctly:
- Use for example at the beginning of the sentence.
- Use such as and like in the middle of a sentence.
As you might guess, the above is an over-simplification that isn’t always true. However, it is a good guideline to help writers stay out of trouble most of the time.
Here are the details.
For example
This works as a transition (a conjunctive adverbial) to introduce an example to support a previous sentence. It is most common to use for example at the beginning of a sentence, and it should be followed by a comma.
There are many interesting things to do in my hometown. For example, you can go to one of our many parks.
Like other transitions, it can also go within a sentence, but it will always be marked by commas.
There are many interesting things to do in my hometown. You can go to one of our many parks, for example.
There are many interesting things to do in my hometown. You can, for example, go to one of our many parks.
Such as
Such as is a prepositional phrase, so it can’t be used the same way grammatically as for example. It is always followed by a noun phrase (or phrases). It is best used when introducing an example mid-sentence.
There are many interesting things to do in my hometown, such as going to one of our many parks.
We need to get several things from the store, such as hamburger, buns, and ketchup.
Use a comma before such as for sentences that can be complete without the examples.
Utah has many national parks, such as Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon.
In this case, the sentence would be okay without the examples (a non-restrictive clause).
However, in the following sentence, the examples are crucial for the meaning of the sentence, so a comma is not used.
When going to parks such as Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon, be prepared to pay an entrance fee.
Like
Using like for examples is common in spoken and informal English.
She enjoys outdoor activities like bicycling and hiking.
For academic and formal writing, use such as for this kind of sentence.
She enjoys outdoor activities, such as bicycling and hiking.
Using the Word “Success”
by Scott Miles
Image by mirsasha via Flickr
Students often make mistakes using the word ‘success.’ Here are the proper ways to use this word.
Noun: Success
Serena Williams was a great success in professional tennis.
Verb: Succeed
Serena Williams succeeded in winning seven major tennis tournaments.
Adjective: Successful
Serena Williams was one of the most successful tennis players in history.
Common mistakes
I will succeed my plans.
‘Succeed’ is a non-transitive word, which means it cannot have an object. You cannot say that you ‘succeed something.’
In this case, you can put ‘plan’ in a prepositional phrase:
→ I will succeed in my plans.
Or even better, you can change the sentence using the adjective or noun forms.
→ My plans will be successful. → My plans will be a success.