Using Strategies to Empower Writing Skills

Colegio Trener
English Department
www.trener.edu.pe
Language is both a tool for learning and a
specific content area.
We cannot teach students to write by
looking only at what they have written.
We must also understand how that came
into being, and why it assumed the form
of itWe have to do the hard thing,
examine the intangible process, rather
than the easy thing, evaluate the
tangible product.

Hairston 1982
 What problems do our sts have when we do not
provide them with appropriate strategies?

Some students find writing difficult, boring, and

therefore have a negative attitude towards writing.
They tend to jump right into the writing task
without organizing their thoughts.
Their revision does not show many additions,
deletions, substitutions or reordering ideas.
They lack patience.
 Which strategies can they use?

Pre-writing (purpose, audience, topic,

etc.)
Brainstorming (make a list, outline
thoughts)
Drafts (cross out paragraphs,
sentences, words)
Revising (reorder ideas, paragraphs, etc)
Proofreading
Students must learn grade level strategies in order to
produce written texts
 Writer's Workshop
Descriptive Text

A descriptive text tells about one specific

topic. The topic should be narrow enough
to describe in a handful of sentences. It
includes details that let the reader see, feel,
hear, and sometimes taste and smell what is
being described.
Sample of an authentic descriptive text:

Title London, An Exceptional Place

Set in the heart of southern England, London is one of
Topic the biggest and busiest cities in Europe. A truly
Sentence international city, London attracts millions of visitors
every year from all over the world, yet never loses its
own unique charm.
London has many impressive sights to see, ranging
from the historical beauty of St. Pauls Cathedral and
Big Ben to Buckingham Palace and the Houses of
Parliament. In this city of contrasts, you can be
walking along one of the busiest streets, yet still be
less than a mile from one of the many huge, peaceful
parks. London is a great cultural center, too; the
National Gallery contains one of the finest collections
of classical paintings in the world.
Descriptive London is also well-known for other things apart from
its monuments and art galleries. Shoppers will enjoy
and sensory visiting the department stores on Oxford Street or they
details can could try Harrods, the most exclusive shop in London.
For evening entertainment, the choice of theaters is
appeal to all enormous. From the famous Southbank Theater
the senses: complex to the smaller theaters on Covent Garden,
there is no end of plays to see. Soho and its pavement
sight, cafs are also worth visiting.
hearing, London is an exceptional place, a truly modern city
smell, touch, that has managed to keep its traditional style and
sense of history. You may get exhausted in London,
and taste. but one thing is certain; you will never get bored, as
Dr. Johnson once said, When a man is tired of
London, he is tired of life.
Adapted from V. Evans, Successful Writing
(Express Publishing)
 Writing Process Checklist
"Descriptive Text"
1. Getting Started Pre-writing:

Identify

What am I writing?

To whom am I writing?
Why am I writing?

Which is the topic?

 Model Sensory Details Chart

Event - Visiting London

Visual Details- busiest street, huge parks,
finest collections of classical paintings
Sounds: noisiest streets
Smells: the perfume of the various flowers fill
the air
Tastes: the delicious flavor of the coffees and
pastries
Feelings/Textures: the damp, rainy weather
 Writing Process Checklist
"Descriptive Text"
2. Develop your topic by brainstorming:
Activities: Yes No
Outlining
Listing ideas
Writing freely
Using graphic organizers
 Graphic Organizer:Descriptive Text

Getting Started Prewriting :

 Writing Process Checklist
"Descriptive Text"
3. Drafting - Writing the First Draft

Form of text: Yes No

Have you provided a title?

Have you included a topic sentence?

Have you used colorful words that

appeal to the senses?
Have you used adverbs and
adjectives that bring your writing to
life?
DRAFT 1
Draft 1

Everyone Knows that animals live in the Rainforest,

but...Did you know that people also live in rainforests?
Well, yes, they do.
People live in small groups called tribes. One
example of tribe is the yanomani tribe, this brilliant
people survive from hunting animals and collecting
fruit. There are many types of animals and plants in
the rainforest.
First, lets talk about the animals.
The animals that live in the amazing rainforest
are: the leopard, the jaguar, the sloth, the macaw
and the parrot. The leopard and the jaguar are
carnivors, big cats. And the other animals are
hervivors. The fruit that these animals eat come from
the trees.
Draft 1 (contd)
There are many types of trees, this leaves have a
shiny surface. The trunks are very tall and the roots
of the roots of the trees arent very deep under the
soil. Rainforests are found in the tropics around
the equator. Most of them are in South East, West
Africa, South and Central America. The weather is
hot and wet.
The rainforests are important, they proctect soil,
recycle nutrients, produce oxygen and store caRbon,
It also provides food, shelter and medicine to many
people. Most of the spices come from the rainforest,
for example: vainilla, cinamon, coconut, pepper, etc.
There are also medical uses for example the
cinchona tree to cure the symptoms of Malaria, the
indian snake root plant to reduce blood pressure.
 Writing Process Checklist

4. Second Draft: Responding and Revising

Check organization and coherence: Yes No
Does your descriptive text the title, topic
sentence, descriptive and sensory details?
Did you use powerful words?
Did you include connectors (sequence,
contrast, etc.)?
Did you check your spelling?
Did you use appropriate verb tenses?
Did you indent the paragraphs?
Did you use capital letters and end marks?
Draft 2
Draft 2
Rainforest are extraordinary places where we can
find different types of plants, tribes and animals. Do
you want to learn more about them?
People live in small groups called tribes. One
example is the Yanomani tribe, these brilliant people
survive from hunting animals and collecting fruit.
Lets talk about animals that live in the amazing
rainforest, for example the leopards, the jaguars, the
macaws, parrots, etc. The leopards and the jaguars
are carnivors, big cats. And the other animals are
hervivors. These animals eat fruit that come from the
trees.
There are many types of trees, the leaves have a
shiny surface. The trunks are very tall and the roots
of the trees arent very deep under the soil.
Draft 2

Rainforest are found in the tropics around the equator.

Most of them are in South East, West Africa, South and
Central America. The weather is hot and wet.
The rainforests are important for our environment,
they proctect our soil, recycle nutrients, produce oxygen
and store carbon, It also provides food, shelter and
medicine to many people. Most of the spices come from
the rainforest, for example: vainilla, cinamon, coconut,
pepper, etc.
There are also medical uses for example the
cinchona tree to cure the symptoms of Malaria and the
Indian snake root plant to reduce blood pressure.
 Writing Process Checklist
"Descriptive Text"

5. Proofreading - Editing:

Check: Yes No
Spelling mistakes
Grammar mistakes (subject-verb
agreement, past simple and past
participle forms, etc)
Integrate input from peers/ teacher
 Writing Process Checklist
"Descriptive Text"

5. Publishing: (Sharing with an authentic

audience)

Yes No
Oral
Written
Final product: Descriptive Text"
Final product:Descriptive Text
FINAL PRODUCT
Learning about Rainforests
Rainforests are extraordinary places where we can find
different types of plants, tribes and animals. Do you want to
learn more about them?
Rainforests are found in the tropics around the equator.
Most of them are in South East, West Africa, South and
Central America. The weather is hot and wet.
Rainforests are important for our environment, they
proctect the soil, recycle nutrients, produce oxygen and store
carbon. It also provides food, shelter and medicine to many
people. Most of the spices come from the rainforest, for
example: vanilla, cinnamon, coconut, pepper, etc.Chocolate
comes from the rainforest too! There are also medical uses for
example the Cinchona tree cures the symptoms of Malaria
and the Indian snake root plant reduces blood pressure.
 We can also find tribes, for example the Yanomami tribe,
who lives in the Amazon, collects fruit and hunts animals.
There are also animals such as parrots, they are colorful,
intelligent, friendly animals; Macaws, they are brightly
colored and noisy, they have sharp and powerful beaks; the
sloths that move slowly, hang from branch to branch and its
hair grows in the opposite direction.
Most rainforests are in danger because of farming, fires,
homes, timber, mining, roads, etc. But there are many things
that we can do to protect them, for example, through national
parks that proctect animals, ecotourisnm that provides money
to conserve these places, forest reserves, international
agreements and eduaction.

By Camila Talavera
5C
Assessment

Goals (Competencies)
Goal 1 Listens and communicates
Goal 2 Reads and understands
Goal 3 Produces written texts
Goal 4 Uses the language
Goal 1: Listens and communicates orally
effectively in a variety of situations using
appropriate language
Listens for a purpose, restates and follows a variety
of directions accurately.
Asks and responds to questions related to oral
presentations and messages.
Participates in groups or individually in activities
and discussions.
Uses talk to integrate sentences about a theme,
personal experiences, ideas or interests and presents
oral reports using appropriate language and
vocabulary.
Speaks or reads orally using correct pronunciation
Goal 2: Reads and understands texts for
information or pleasure

Establishes purposes for reading, makes

predictions, links text to previous experiences
and knowledge and clarifies or extends ideas.
Checks and clarifies for understanding/
comprehension: general and specific
information.
Uses information for different purposes.
Reads and understands age-appropriate
material.
Goal 3: Produces written texts to communicate
for a variety of purposes and different audiences

Copies and writes information correctly.

Uses prewriting and writing strategies
focusing on topic and using appropriate
language to organize ideas and produce a
coherent and organized text.
Writes for a variety of purposes
demonstrating organization in written
compositions.
Goal 4: Reflects on the use of the language

Recognizes, spells and uses vocabulary

appropriately in context, using root words,
synonyms, antonyms and derivations.
Recognizes and uses grammar constructing
complete paragraphs which demonstrates
subject/ verb agreement, verb tense and a
variety of sentences types.
Uses correct punctuation and capitalization.
Level of Achievement

5
Has achieved the goals in an excellent
manner or has done work beyond
expectations. The student meets the standard
of excellence for the grade, demonstrates
exemplary performance or understanding.
Level of achievement

4
Has satisfactorily achieved the goals set. The
student meets the acceptable standard for
the grade by demonstrating solid
performance and understanding.
Level of achievement

3
Has reached general goals. The student just
meets the acceptable standard for the grade.
Performance and understanding are
emerging or developing.
Level of achievement

2
Has not yet reached goals to be achieved.
The student is not yet meeting the acceptable
standard for the grade; makes no attempt.
Has serious errors. There is some basis for
making improvement.
Level of achievement

1
Has not yet shown significant advancement,
has serious difficulties that should be worked
on through remedial work. There is
insufficient evidence of student performance
based on the requirements of the assessment
task.
 Rubric
Goal 4: Reflects on the use of the language -
Indicator: Uses present tense correctly

5 Always uses present tense correctly (and other tenses if

appropriate), connectors and adjectives.
4 Uses present tense correctly most of the time (and
other tenses if appropriate), and connectors and
adjectives.
3 Uses present tense and connectors, and makes some
mistakes when using other tenses, and adjectives.
2 Makes mistakes when using present tense (and other
tenses when appropriate), connectors and adjectives.
1 Fails to use present tense (and other tenses), and
connectors and adjectives.
 Rubric: Goal 3: Produces written texts -
Indicator: Writes a Descriptive Text

oWriting is well developed and has a topic

sentence, with descriptive and expressive
5 details and strong words about the topic.
The information is clearly presented with
lots of elaboration.
oThere is a clear organization.
oText is written for the intended audience.
 Rubric: Goal 3: Produces written texts -
Indicator: Writes a Descriptive Text

o Writing is well developed and has a topic

sentence with descriptive and expressive
details and strong words about the topic.
4 The information is clearly presented with
some elaboration.
oThere is an organization.
oText is written for the intended audience.
 Rubric: Goal 3: Produces written texts -
Indicator: Writes a Descriptive Text

oWriting is fairly well developed and has a

topic sentence with descriptive and
expressive details and strong words about
3 the topic. The information is clearly
presented with some elaboration.
oThere is an organization.
oText is written for the intended audience.
Rubric: Goal 3: Produces written texts -
Indicator: Writes a Descriptive Text

oWriting has little development and not

enough descriptive or expressive details or
strong words about the topic.
oThere are details but they may be the
2 wrong or they may not help to explain the
topic.
oText is written for the intended audience.
oDoes not really make any language choices
to help with style or tone.
 Rubric: Goal 3: Produces written texts -
Indicator: Writes a Descriptive Text

1 o Is not able to write a descriptive text.

 When we write a letter, proposal, article,
we go through a process of creating and
recreating this piece of writing until we
know the writing is what we want to say
and until we are able to express ourselves
in a clear way. We continue to write and
read and draft changes until we are
satisfied with the piece of writing.
THANK YOU
 Colegio Trener
Lic. Dsire Flores Molina dflores@trener.edu.pe
Mrs. Patricia Rhor de Migone prhor@trener.edu.pe