2010년 11월 26일 금요일

Assignment #6 Chapter 12 Persuasive Writing

Reading through this chapter, I realized that persuasion is happening in everyday life. This chapter explores the three ways to persuade, types of persuasive writing, and how to teach them. Three ways to persuade are about reason, emotion, character. The argument should not be distorted or concealed. Graphic organizers seem to be an effective mean to organize the idea. Diaz-Rico (2008) mentioned that “ graphic organizers present ideas visually” and “graphic organizers can also be used to help students focus their thoughts and reactions” (p.118). The types of persuasive writing contain persuasive posters, persuasive letters, persuasive essays.

In the stage of introducing persuasive writing, the students can talk their everyday life, and brainstorm, and collect the information from newspaper or posters (Tompkins. 2008. p.276). I like the procedures of persuasive essays (Tompkins. 2008. p. 278) which are introducing the topic, sharing examples, providing information, guiding practice, assessing learning. The author insisted that the process and the quality are the things to be assessed.

Reference:Tompkins, G. E. (2008). Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Diaz-Rico, L. (2008). Strategies for Teaching English Learners. California: Pearson Education, Inc.

Here are some interesting articles about this chapter.
http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/persuasive_writing.htm

Response to Kyoung-Chun Kim:
He said Persuasive writing is the writing for the purpose of arguing logically, giving other points of view, and persuading others to change opinions or to do something. And instructor need to consider about students have different writing types and level. Thus, he suggest persuasive poster is for the low level, persuasive letter is for the middle level, and persuasive essay is for the high level.

Assignment #6 Chapter 10 Descriptive Writing

“Descriptive writing is painting pictures with words” (p.221). This chapter explores the descriptive writing, its techniques, and how to teach them. The techniques are adding specific information, choosing words carefully, creating sensory images, making comparisons, and writing dialogue. I found that the students can develop their writing in an attempt to write more specifically and to add more information with sensory words, metaphors, dialogues. Reading the section of the word choice (p.224), I thought that it is valuable to teach alternative and vivid words of English to the students.

“Children learn about descriptive techniques through minilessons” (p.227). In the minilesson, there are six activities available according to this chapter: Creating five-senses clusters, Listening attributes, Building sentences, Crafting comparisons, Creating dialogue, and Adding words to wordless picture books. I found interesting to the cluster, character map, dialogue picture. Plus, it is quite adaptable to the group to follow the writing process: Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, and final copy.

Reference:Tompkins, G. E. (2008). Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Here are some interesting articles about this chapter.
http://www.montanalife.com/writing/descriptive_writing_techniques.html

Response to Ja Eun Kim:
Creating sensory images are not easy to children, but Students need to learn some techniques for descriptive writing from their teachers. They have to be careful with word choices, provide specific information, create sensory images and dialogues, and use comparisons in their descriptive writings. She also understand this method is not easy. But she defines this activity will one of the most helpful activity.

Assignment #6 Chapter 9 Narrative writing

In the early part of this chapter, Prof. Tompkins mentions that “Children use narrative writing to create both fictitious and true stories that entertain readers (Tompkins, 2008, p.194)”. I think that this definition is interesting because the author said the narratives are written to “entertain” readers. It is important for the readers being entertained by reading the narratives, and that exciting experience from reading would make the readers feel the importance of making enjoyable written works. That is, only the person who knows delightful feeling of interesting narratives can produce interesting narratives: you should be able to understand the nature of reading to write a good piece of work. And this is especially important for the children readers because they are prospective readers and writers for more developed written works in the future when they are grown up.

This point is related to another point which the author talks about the children’s ability of comprehending the stories. She says that even young children have basic sense of what story is. Thus, it can be said that giving the children joyful experience of reading the stories is very important because we cannot ignore unconscious power of the children in perceiving certain stories, even when they do not have ability with literacy yet.Also, to make the children learners to get the sense of what story is more precisely, she insists necessity of teaching them basic elements of stories. Prof. Tompkins introduces plot, setting, characters, theme, point of view as the basic elements of stories. I think that by learning these concepts the children would be able to expand their ability to understand the world more because literature is a device for reflecting the human world. By analyzing the stories according to those elements, the children might be able to have more critical way of looking at the world.

She goes on to introduce literary device which are used in writing process, but I think this could be a little difficult for the children to use naturally because they are novice writers. Also, Prof. Tompkins talks about exploration activities for teaching the element of story structure, and there are ten of them: Class collaboration retelling of stories, retelling and telling stories, retelling stories in writing, dramatizing stories, drawing story diagrams, comparing versions of stories, creating open-mind portraits, writing dialogue, retelling stories from different point of view. I think that these strategies would be especially helpful for the young children to think creative because these could provide opportunities to twist preexisting ideas from the works for the children. And I think this training could provide the basis for the children to become creative writers.

Reference:Tompkins, G. E. (2008). Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Here are some interesting articles about this chapter.
http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/narrative.asp

Response to Sun-Mi Kim:
She said children make progress, they will write a more complex story plot that includes a conflict between characters describing their mental states, increase story cohesion using conjunctions, and present more vivid pictures of a story by skillfully using a literary device such as metaphors, similes, and symbols, etc. Thus, in teaching teachers need to provide developmentally appropriate scaffolding strategies to meet different levels and needs of the students. I think this paragraph is good response to chapter 9 Narrative Writing, and my opinions also same with her.

Assignment #6 Chapter 8 Expository writing

People use expository writing to learn and to share information. So it is for a wide, unknown audience.
Exposition is a type of oral or written discourse that is used to explain, describe, give information or inform. The creator of an expository text can not assume that the reader or listener has prior knowledge or prior understanding of the topic that is being discussed. Since clarity requires strong organization, one of the most important mechanisms that can be used to improve our skills in exposition is to provide directions to improve the organization of the text. It is interesting to know vague information is clearly described by graphic organizer and paragraphs illustrating the five expository text structures which are description, sequence, comparison, cause & effect and problem & solution.

Through our education classes, we learn that scaffolding isn't just a term used on construction sites. In the classroom, scaffolding is actually a key instructional technique that helps develop our students' understanding gradually and with specifically design support. There are many different ways to scaffold instruction for your students. The most important thing is that you do it on a regular basis. I think that graphic organizers are one of the most important techniques for supporting student learning. Since I am a very visual learner myself, it makes natural sense to me that I should always try to present my students with a visual way to understand the material that I am presenting to them.
An effective Journal Writing program doesn't mean you just sit back and relax while your student write about whatever they want. Teacher can use well-chosen journal topics, classical music, and checklists to make the most of our students' daily writing time.

Reference:Tompkins, G. E. (2008). Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Here are some interesting articles about this chapter.
http://www.stanford.edu/~arnetha/expowrite/info.html

Response to Woo-Je Joe: He wrote, author should have clear organization in his essay. If author has clear purpose and organization, reader will be easy to understand his story. And he mention about graphic data. I think that is great tool to reader and if author has some Graphic organizers, essay can be ideal Expository writing.

Assignment #6 Chapter 7 Biographical writing

Biographical writing is considered to be a very interesting and favored genre to children, because children can write about what they know the most –themselves, and also present audience their unique experiences, personal traits and talents. It means that children have a lot to express in their compositions. Teachers can support their students to do biographical writing by offering exemplary biographies of well-known authors, autobiographical books and model compositions that their previous students have made. On assessment of children’s biographical writing, I think it’s recommendatory to specifically measure the coherence of the story, the detail and evidences of given experiences and events of children’s life.

There are three organized categories in biographical writing; personal narratives, autobiographies, and biographies. In writing these biographical essays, it’s also needed to develop the writing according to the writing process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. Children can use cluster, graphic organizer and drawing to get episodes and ideas in the stage of drafting, and polish the writing in their writing groups getting feedback and having open sharing and talk to classmates. Especially children create new ideas while listening and reading others’ drafts. When writing about the late historical figures and respected personalities still living alive, children can accumulate know-how to gather and organize valuable information, and also can attain wide span of knowledge in the process of reading extra materials. At a viewpoint of that teachers and students utilize various types of biographical writing, like a life box, poster, advertisement, map and simulated journal and so on, not with only type of conventional formal writing, there is fertile potential for achievements in children’s journey.

Reference:Tompkins, G. E. (2008). Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Here are some interesting articles about this chapter.
http://www.suite101.com/content/writing-a-biography-part-one-a125245

Response to Achimisul Park:
She spread three categories of biographical writing. Personal narratives, autobiographies, and biographies. And she said, personal narratives are used to increase the interests in writing by choosing a topic by themselves, biographies and autobiographies can be grafted onto social studies or science thematic units to make self-awareness high through gathering and organizing information. I also agree with this paragraph. I think that is clear purpose and organization.

Assignment #6 Chapter 4 Assessing Children's Writing

Not always assessment is an easy task. Sometimes teachers reflect their subjective and personal sentiment in assessment and evaluating is laborious and time-consuming responsibility. Hence, there are needs for an adequate systematic approach to assess writing products of children and informing children of the criteria on which their compositions will be scored so that children can understand better about the purpose of each project and the proper process as well. We should not forget that we have to lead children to become more trained and self-motivated enough to discover the weak and strong points of their writings, right direction to be more capable writer and consequently fulfill their roles in assignments. With an appropriate checklist, you can help children do reflection on their writing products and procedures they use in composition.

The most important consideration is that you need to monitor and keep track of children’s progress and the process they use in writing stages including from prewriting to publishing, as well as assess their products of compositions. The former is called ‘process assessment’ and the latter ‘product assessment’. In doing product assessment, it is more easier when you use rubrics and have children follow the instructions of the rubrics, actualizing the well-planned class fit to achieve the writing project. And there are several useful ways to do process assessment, like observing children’s growth as writers taking anecdotal notes, having children document their own portfolios with their best pieces of writings, and giving consultation to children and listening to their individual needs. Portfolio is also considered to contain a collection of writings that provide evidence of both the products children create and the process they use (De Fina, 1992; Farr & Tone, 1998). It’s needless to say that children develop their capability for writing and self-assessment while carrying out portfolio works.

Reference:Tompkins, G. E. (2008). Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Here are some interesting articles about this chapter.
http://www.li.suu.edu/Library/Circulation/Angell/eled3250vaAssessingChildren

Response to Soo-Hyun Kim:
She said if students want to better writing skills, teacher need to use the writing process and writing assessment such as observing, conferencing, collecting, and scoring. That is right opinion and I also agree with her. And she wrote some citation like
“Assessment provides information about what writers know and what they can do. It’s something that teachers do every day, in one form or another. (Anderson,2005)
“Because proficiency in written expression requires the intergration of multiple skills, the assessment of writing is a complex endeavor.”(Tindal& Marston,1990)

But unfortunately, I could not find reference.

2010년 11월 12일 금요일

Assignment #3, 4 Problem solve












Problem of English In Korea Society
Today in the Korean society, there is a strict boundary between high and low economic status. The ability to speak English in Korea is equated with power and people who are the social and political elite. Nowadays, in Korea, English is a new global language and a powerful tool in every aspect of daily life, as well as professional life. As a result, individual desire for mastering English has reached new heights, particularly in Korea.
Living in a society where we cannot have frequent contact with native speakers of English, there has been a pressing need for English education that focuses on cultural aspects of English education as opposed to other language. When examining English tests in Korea, American and British English have usually been considered to be representative of English speaking countries all over the world. In this vein, it is taken for granted that mastering American English is considered equal to acquiring standard forms of English. However, students will know that many countries in Asia and Africa also use English as a means of communication.
While attending college in the Philippines, I often had courses with international students from India and South America. Until that time, I was only accustomed to hearing the American English. When Indian student spoke, I had difficulty understanding what they said, because of he used a different accent, but other foreign teacher and students could understand the Indian students without a problem. I assumed that if I would have been exposed to an Indian accent while studying English in Korea, I would not have been confused in the class.
Therefore, in the English learner in Korea, it should be realized that the English language is spoken with many different accents in various societies. Because Korean students need to communicate with people from various English-speaking countries, English education in Korea is confronted with a significant problem, in that people tend to consider American English pronunciation as ideal. However, in reality, since Korea has a broad relationship with such countries as Singapore, Canada, India and New Zealand, Korean students need to be exposed to various kinds of English pronunciation.
I have only emphasized the importance of being exposed to various pronunciations and different accents from various English speaking countries, but the multi-cultural nature of English speaking countries in terms of religion, art and customs should also be seriously considered in English texts. To realize this goal, the role of English teachers in Korea is of most importance. Korean English teachers should make every effort to expose Korean students to various multi-cultural aspects of a variety of English speaking countries.








2010년 11월 5일 금요일

Assignment #6 Chapter 11 Poetry writing

I think that adults are used to analyze poetry from academic perspective rather than purely enjoying reading it. We usually think that we should know a lot of rules when reading and evening writing poetry, but Prof. Tompkins introduces the purpose of poetry writing as “Children write poetry to create images, explore feelings, and entertain (Tompkins, 2008, p.240)”. I think that this definition of poetry’s purpose is perfect for the children because it is very hard for the adults to purely “create images, explore feelings, and entertain” but the children could do that because they are pure enough to feel the poetry as itself without biased image on poetry’s literal devices.
Unlike many of poetry books, she starts introducing forms of poetry mainly according to its content. She doesn’t talk about difficult terms firstly. Basically, she gives genuine examples of poetry which were written by the children, and this was very impressive for me. I’ve been thinking that writing poetry would be too difficult to learn for the children because they wouldn’t understand the nature of poetry well, but it was my prejudice. The examples of poetry of the children were full of colorful expressions, interesting and sometimes profound ideas of the children about the objects. The children are able to express their feelings and thoughts according to the formula forms provided, and I guess that it was possible because those forms seem quite simple and interesting. She suggests several forms of formula poems: “I wish…” Poems, Color Poems, Five-Senses Poems, “If I Were…” Poems, “I Used to…/But Now…” Poems, “…is…” Poems, Preposition Poems, etc. As we can see, the kinds of formula poems are various and it would make the children generate ideas with limited formulas efficiently because those formulas basically give the children the direction of what to write.
Following the formula poems, she introduces Free-Form Poems: Concrete poems, Found poems, Poems for Two Voices, etc. These free forms seem to be higher level for writing, because the children should be more tactical and manipulative when writing these.
Also, she introduces Syllable-and Word-Count Poems which include Haiku, Cinquains, Diamantes. There is Rhymed Verse Poems which include Limericks, Clerihews. She also shows Model Poems which include Apologies, Invitations, Prayers From the Ark, and “If I Were in Charge of the World”. And Poetic Devices are also given following those forms above. Comparison, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, Repetition and Rhyme are given as poetic devices.

Reference:Tompkins, G. E. (2008). Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product. NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Here are some interesting articles about this chapter.
http://www.poewar.com/poetry-writing-tips/

Response to Kyoung-Chun Kim:
He said get a two main fact from this chapter. That is many types of poems and poetic devices, and each type of them has its own advantages. And he has a lot of citations. Especially, he mention about Hart, B. (2010) states, “Poets that are able to make the best statements use techniques that are able to get points and philosophies across.” I think that is point and that can be a one way for humanity teaching strategy.