TYL Week 4: Teaching Writing

Agenda Very Young Learners: Older Young Learners: Writing Videos Short writing activities Older Young Learners: Running Dictation Description Guessing Game Accordion Story Stories with Fun Prompts

How can you teach Very Young Learners (VYLs) to write? Letters Phonics: Put letters together into words Memorizing words (sight words and other common words) Sentence frames

Writing instruction: Elementary ESL in America

Annenberg Videos (Stretchy Activities)

Take notes as you watch.

Think, Pair, Share Which activities could you see yourself using in the future? Why would you want to use them? What’s their value?

“Stretchy” Activities Activities that you can recycle every day or week with different EFL themes Shared Reading Shared Writing Writer’s Workshop / Journal Writing

Poster session!

Poster Session Ideas for Very Young Learners: Write Around the Room Making Lists Labeling Sticker Stories

Older young learners

Running Dictation A “stretchy” activity

Directions 1) Partner A = Runner 2) Partner B = Writer 3) Runner = Read and tell writer 4) Writer = Write it! 5) Finished? Guess the answers together and write them!

Follow Up Have groups write the riddles on the board. Check for grammar and spelling Take away the texts and have students re-create the riddles from memory

Other Versions The students don’t read the riddles—you whisper them to them (listening, speaking, writing)

Let’s Talk! How can we adjust this activity . . . For different skills and subjects? (Grammar, pronunciation, etc.) For different ages? For different English levels? Use for grammar or pronunciation Minimal Pairs: Cheap chips made him really ill.

Accordion Add on Story

Directions Get in groups of 8 people. You’ll each write one part of a story on each flap of an accordion. You can’t look at what the others wrote. In the end, we’ll read your stories!

What to write

Guess the picture a “stretchy” activity

Directions Choose a picture. Write a 2 sentence description Shh! It’s a secret! Write a 2 sentence description of the picture. Don’t be too obvious. Read your description to a partner. Your partner will guess which picture you’re describing.

#1 #2 #3

Let’s Talk! How can we adjust this activity . . . For different skills, subjects, and topics? For different ages? For different English levels?

Differentiate For lower students For higher students Sentence frames (She is wearing ____, She has ____, She is _____) Pre-teach the necessary vocabulary; label the pictures Write fewer sentences For higher students Give advanced sentence frames (compound sentences) Pre-teach advanced vocabulary (floral, polka dots) Write more sentences

Story prompts

Write a story using prompts

Write a story using pictures as a prompt

What’s wrong with the photograph—describe it What’s wrong with the photograph—describe it. Write a story—how did this happen? What will happen next?

Homework Assignment Page = Back of Handout Mid-Term