Florida ged plus college Preparation Program Curriculum and Resource Guide
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- Objective 3 – Diverse Writing Assignments
- Strategy – Summarization
- Strategy – GIST: 5 Ws and an H
- Strategy – Transitional Expressions
- Strategy – Writing with Clichés
- Strategy – Headline Mania!
- Strategy – Pick a Postcard
- Strategy – Ten Minutes Only
- Strategy – New Voices: New Choices
- Strategy – Music to Our Ears
- Strategy – Five Senses: A Descriptive Writing Exercise
Objective 2 – Conducts ResearchUnderstand the basics of research and is able to identify sources, use appropriate citations, understands consequences of plagiarism. Strategy – Choosing a Research TopicThe following strategies for conducting research and writing a paper were adapted from the article developed by the University Library at Golden Gate University. It contains a wide range of strategies that students can use when selecting a topic, identifying resources, and compiling a research paper. The full-length article is available at: http://internet.ggu.edu/university_library/pickatopic.html. Begin Early Your subsequent research and writing all depend upon the choice you make about a topic. Take this choice seriously and you will find that the research and writing that follows will likely be more successful and enjoyable. Understand your own research preferences and instructor's guidelines
Consider your personal interests – in what topics do you have the most direct personal or professional interest? Think about:
Consider your personal distastes – What leading arguments do you disagree with in your discipline? Are there major or minor theories in your field that perplex you? What subjects, events, organizations or individuals stir up your curiosity, either negatively or positively? Sometimes asking such questions can also be an excellent starting point for picking your own topic. Consider the time you have available – Some topics will require extra research time to cover them properly. You should also plan for more research time if your topic requires you to draw upon very narrow, specialized sources (e.g., items only available within one archive or subject to stringent access restrictions, etc.). Consider how much material is conveniently available to you – Have you thoroughly reviewed all relevant offerings from online databases, reference books, and the college or school library? Have you checked with a reference librarian? Skim and Scan - Review a selection of background information relevant to your topic
Try all of the above and more - not to acquire in-depth knowledge, but for a broad overview of key issues, events, and personalities, which will help you pick an interesting and researchable topic. Discuss a potential topic(s) with your instructor, especially when it comes to how to go about narrowing down a potential topic (or broadening it if necessary). Brainstorm – There are many potentially useful brainstorming techniques, some specific examples being "freewriting" or "clustering" exercises which encourage you to do some free-flowing composition of thoughts and questions (often created with little or no direct reference to your books, class notes or other reference materials--sometimes resulting in graphical clusters or flow-charts, with groupings of important words connected by lines and circles). Topic choice is the starting point. Keep in mind too that you are researching and writing for a specific audience, most especially your instructor, and you will want to carefully consider any detailed instructions, guidelines, expectations or feedback received from that audience. Objective 3 – Diverse Writing AssignmentsUnderstand diverse writing assignments assigned in a college-level program, including:
College students do all kinds of writing. They write essays. They research and write reports on a variety of topics. They write short and long answers for tests. For many students this is an incredible challenge because they have had little opportunity to write in a high school setting and for GED students who left high school in the 9th or 10th grade, their writing experience is even less. Teachers must provide opportunities for students to write in all types of situations and covering a variety of subject areas. But students also need to know how to think through what they want to write. Critical thinking is a key element in writing and students must be able to produce writing samples that show relationships such as compare and contrast, cause and effect, pros and cons, and persuasion. Strategy – SummarizationAn essential element in the writing process is being able to clearly convey your point. Many adult education students spend a lot of time and many, many words to say virtually nothing. Helping students gain summarization skills can make a difference in their being able to get their point across in a clear, concise, and fortunately easily readable manner. The GIST method which was discussed in the reading section of this guide is an excellent tool to help students focus on what is important. GIST combines reading and writing – something that students will be asked to do time and again as they proceed through college. They will have to write reports on books that they have read. They will need to synthesize information from a variety of sources. They will have to write up the results of a science experiment that they have conducted. Getting students in the habit of using a method such as GIST can help them learn how to control the language and thus control their writing. Strategy – GIST: 5 Ws and an HThe GIST Procedure (Generating Interactions between Schemata & Text) The GIST Procedure is a strategy that can be used to improve students’ abilities to comprehend the gist or main ideas of paragraphs by providing a prescription for answering the 5 Ws and H questions and then summarizing the passage or by reading and summarizing from sentences to paragraphs to the entire passage. This strategy incorporates reading and writing. At a higher level of comprehension, students may even wish to try to get the “gist” of an entire chapter or unit in a summary sentence. Getting the GIST– 5 Ws and H Name of Text ___________________________________________________________________ Complete the following: Who? ______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ What? _____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ When? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Where? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Why?_______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ How? ______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Write a GIST statement of 20 words or less that summarizes the text. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
Students need to be able to show relationships in their writing, whether they are comparing and contrasting or showing cause and effect. The following table can be used to help students use appropriate transitional words and/or expressions in their writing.
Transitional Expressions – Writing Example Take a look at the paragraph below. Notice how the transitional words or expressions have been highlighted using bold text. Have students write their own paragraph and highlight or underline the transitional words or expressions they use. Juggling the demands of a job with the demands of being a full-time student makes good academic performance difficult. Many students are forced to choose between good work on the job and good work in the classroom. Often, good work in the classroom is compromised for good work on the job because the job pays the rent. In addition, those students who do manage to perform well in both areas usually do so at the expense of their health. For example, several students complain of the inability to handle the stress of both a job and school. In fact, the stress of both can often cause headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and other ailments which slow the body down and prevent adequate performance in either area. To eliminate the threat of being in the middle between job and school, students have to form a balance between the demands of work and the demands of the classroom. Ultimately, managing your time more effectively, working the same number of hours in smaller chunks, and planning ahead can all help in alleviating some of the stress to the body and to the mind. Strategy – Writing with ClichésA cliché is a phrase, often metaphorical, that has been used so often it becomes commonplace. How often have you heard that something is "white as snow"? "She was a flower among women" is another example. Even "I'll be back in a jiffy" is cliché. The following clichés are listed by categories. Have students write paragraphs and incorporate clichés to make their writing more descriptive Actions ate like a pig avoid it like the plague busy as a bee called his/her bluff came out of thin air caught my eye cleaned me out crossed my mind cry me a river disappeared in a puff of smoke disappeared into thin air dropped like a stone fly like an eagle grab the bull by the horns hit me like a ton of bricks hit the hay I feel it in my bones jiggles like Jello/jelly left out in the cold lies like a rug looking for a needle in a haystack my blood froze nipped in the bud pull a fast one sat bolt upright scream bloody murder sing like a bird sleep like a log slipped my mind stopped in his/her tracks throw caution to the wind turn over a new leaf Color black as coal black as night black as soot bone-white coal black fiery red green with envy icy blue jet black milk-white pitch black red as blood ruby red snowy white white as a ghost white as a sheet white as snow Consistency, Texture and Touch rough as sandpaper smooth as glass smooth as silk stiff as a board thick as glue/paste thick as mud thick as pea soup thicker than blood thin as water tough as leather Description of People eyes like stars fair as day fiery eyes green with envy hair like silk healthy as a horse mind like a sieve mind like a steel trap sick as a dog so hungry I could eat a horse you look as if you've seen a ghost Difficulty easy as pie like taking candy from a baby piece of cake Emotion burning with desire fiery temper happy as a clam heavy heart mad as a wet hen my heart sings so mad/angry it made his blood boil Light bright as day bright as the sun clear as crystal clear as day clear as mud clear as water dark as night Size and Shape big as a house big as a mountain built like a tank flat as a board flat as a pancake reed-thin slender as a reed tall as a tree wide as the sea Speed a mile a minute fast as lightning faster than a speeding bullet in a jiffy like a bat out of hell quick as a bunny slower than a snail slower than molasses Strength strong as a bull strong as a truck weak as a baby Temperature burning up cold as ice fiery hot ice cold Weather blowing up a storm brewing up a storm pouring rain raining buckets raining cats and dogs Weight heavy as lead light as a feather Other Descriptive Phrases as [fill in the blank] as the day is long behind closed doors can't put my finger on it cut to the chase I can dream, can't I? like a bolt from the blue like a cat on a hot tin roof like a fish out of water like a kid in a candy store like two peas in a pod on solid ground on the edge of my seat on the other hand out of the blue quiet as a mouse sparkled like diamonds sharp as a knife so quiet you could hear a pin drop sour as lemons stood/stuck out like a sore thumb the big picture the living daylights used to death with an iron fist Miscellaneous beauty is in the eye of the beholder a bitter pill a chill in my bones a new lease on life in any way, shape or form in one ear and out the other the ball is in your court the hands of time the light at the end of the tunnel time on my hands tough act to follow makes my skin crawl money doesn't grow on trees my nerves are shot so far, so good tastes like battery acid that rings a bell wishful thinking Strategy – Word TastingHave students describe food that they will be eating by using adjectives. This helps students see how adjectives play a role in the real world, not necessarily just in the classroom for writing. Materials:
Have students describe the sensory experience of the food. Have students brainstorm what their senses tell them about food before they ever taste it. Support the use of catchy adjectives. Hand out the snacks. Explain that students should sample the food and then write sentences about each snack using appropriate adjectives that the sensory experience. Have them try to think of adjectives that are not always heard or that really describe the snack. Have students share their sentences with the class. Have students write a compare/contrast essay about the two different foods or a persuasive essay about why one food taste is better than another.
Show students that writing can be fun! Provide them with the opportunity to write an eye-catching headline. Materials:
Discuss how newspapers and magazines often use catchy headlines in order to get people to read the article. You may wish to begin the discussion with something such as: “Suppose that you woke up one morning and heard on the radio the following headline: Cow Loses Umbrella Down Interstate Apple! You may wish to use actual headlines that are interestingly different from newspapers or magazines. Have students write their own headline. Give them time to be creative and have fun with this activity. Have students share their headlines with the class. After they have shared their headline, have them create a newspaper article to go along with their headline. Discuss how writing for the media is similar to and how it is different from the essay writing that they will do on the GED Tests.
Help students to describe the meaning and development of a message or paper through the following activity: Find a set of postcards related to a single topic such as dogs, beach scenes, or city buildings. Give each student a postcard. Ask the students to write a paragraph about the image that is so descriptive, readers will easily be able to identify the postcard in the set. Then display all of the postcards. Have students read their paragraphs aloud and see if classmates can guess the card. Explain that the more specific and colorful the details, the quicker the match will be.
Ask students to draft a story that takes place within a short time frame - ten minutes maximum. Keep an eye on the clock and every two minutes, tell students to move on to a new event. Have students identify the different segments in their writing, the transitional words that they used, and how “timing” affected the pace at which they wrote. Strategy – New Voices: New ChoicesThis activity assists students in identifying the way in which the writer brings the topic to life. Have students write the first sentence of a letter to five different audiences. If students are studying the effects of global warming, ask them to write to the local newspaper, their grandmother, an anti-environmentalist, a friend, and the president of a local consumer-rights group. Discuss how the voice will change and how this is important in both the reading and the writing process. Strategy – Music to Our EarsWhen students read aloud, we want them to read with fluency. Students must also write with fluency. Use music to assist students in developing sentence fluency skills. An example would be to play the classical work of Peter and the Wolf. Have the students listen to the song. Then play it a second time and ask them to pick a section and write a description of what they think is happening. Challenge the students to capture the fluidity of the music in their writing. An example in Peter and the Wolf would be when the wolf is chasing Peter. They may write something such as the following: “I could really tell that a scary chase scene was coming because the music kept getting faster and faster. I felt myself tensing up until all of a sudden – BAM – the wolf pounce!” Strategy – Five Senses: A Descriptive Writing ExerciseInstructions: Writers, especially those with less experience, often concentrate on visual detail when writing descriptions. The following exercise is cumulative, adding a new kind of sensory detail with each step.
Notes: The aim of this exercise is to remind you that you have five senses you can use in your descriptive passages. If you're not making use of them all (or at least most of them), then you're neglecting a potentially useful tool. Try this exercise every now and then as a reminder, and do it with different settings. The detail you decide to keep in step 7 will likely be different for different settings, or even for the same setting when you're trying to create a different mood. Play around in step 7 and see how changing the detail you keep or cut changes the whole feel of the piece. Adapted from Creative Writing from Teens. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on 03/08/06 at: http://teenwriting.about.com/cs/exercises/a/ExFiveSenses.htm. Directory: documents documents -> Concept stage documents -> Concept stage documents -> The great global switch-off documents -> Nonprofit grant application documents -> The Truth about the Rwandan Genocide documents -> Annual InStructional unit plan documents -> Chaos equipment included Download 1.65 Mb. Share with your friends:
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