Writing PTA - Lessons

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vmbo k
• Leerjaar 3

Writing - Lesson 1

• This week's learning goals

• You will know what to expect in the writing test;
• You know how to use a dictionary;
• You will know the important words in a text;
• You can check someone else's text;
• You can create a story using pictures;

What do you need?

Laptop - LessonUp (so you can watch it on your screen)

Pen

Notebook

Dictionary (Dutch-English preferably) 

Forgotten any of these? ----> Material forgotten

Exercise 1: What not to forget.

Hi John,

Where are you? What time do you arrive?

Do you want to meet me at my house or the bus station?

See you soon,

Sean

Write a reply in your notebook. Use the following points.

• Start the email to Sean- Use 2 words
• Tell him where you are - BUS
• Tell him what time you arrive - 8.30
• Tell him where you want to meet Sean. - BUS STATION
• Finish the email - 3 words
• Don't forget the name

Exercise 2: Past - Present - Future

Write three short stories.

20-50 words per story. 

Use your dictionary.

1. What you did yesterday.

2. What you are doing right now.

3. What you are going to do tomorrow. 

What is important in a text?

Underline the important word/sentences in a text.

This you can use when you write a reply.

See example:

Create a story using these pictures. 20-40 words

• Correct the grammar.
• Correct the spelling.

• Rewrite the story. What would you phrase differently?

Exchange your story with your classmate. 

Dear Jane,

I was delighted to read you're letter last week. Its always a pleasure to recieve the latest news and to here that you and your family had a great summer.

We spent last week at the beach and had so much fun on the sand and in the water exploring the coast we weren't prepared for the rains that came at the end of the vacation. The best parts of the trip was the opportunities to sightsee and relax.

My kids are back in school to. I find their are less things to worry about now that the kids are at school all day. There is plenty of fun things to do in the summer, but by August, I've running out of ideas. I've excepted the fact that we'll have to think up brand-new activities next summer; hoping to round up some creative ideas soon.

Thanks again for your letter!

Sincerely,

Karen

Spot the 13 mistakes

Answers to spot the mistake

1. "You're" – The contraction "you're" means "you are." The word "your" should be used with a noun to indicate possession, as in "your letter."

2. "Its" – "Its" is a word indicating possession, as in "its wheels." "It's" is a contraction meaning "it is."

3. "Recieve" – You'll need to use the "I before E except after C" rule to find the correct spelling of "receive" here.

4. "Here" – "Here" indicates location. The writer should have used the homonym "hear," which indicates listening.

5. The third sentence is a run-on sentence – A period or a comma and conjunction would make a big difference in the readability of the phrase.

6. Subject-verb agreement – The subject of the sentence is "parts" (which is plural) and the verb is "was" (which is singular). The sentence should read, "The best parts of the vacation were…"

7. "To" – "To" is a preposition, as in "to the beach." Here, the writer should use "too," meaning also.

Answers to spot the mistake part 1

Answers to spot the mistake

8. "Their" – "Their" is possessive. "They're" means "they are." In this case, the writer should use the third homonym, "there."

9. "Less" – "Less" should be used with an amount that you can't count, as in "less money" or "less animosity." The word "fewer" should be used with amounts that you can count, as in "fewer things," "fewer items," or "fewer stores."

10. Subject-verb agreement – "Is" is a singular verb. In this sentence, the verb should be plural, as in: "There are plenty of fun things to do…"

11. "I've running" – This verb should be "I am running" or "I have run." With contractions, "I'm running" or "I've run."

12. Incorrect word usage – The writer should have used the word "accepted" instead of "excepted."

13. Incorrect semi-colon usage – A semi-colon should be used between two related complete sentences, i.e. two connected independent clauses.

Answers to spot the mistake part 1

How to use your dictionary

STEP 1 - Find the word you want to look up.

STEP 2 - Find the letter that the word begins with.

STEP 3 - Open the dictionary to the page with the relevant letter, in this case the letter C.

STEP 4 - Now look at the second letter in the word you are looking for.

Find these words:

1. wordboud = ?

2. zooarchaeology = ?

3. lallation = ?

4. ubiquarian = ?

5. whitherward = ? 

Write down your time. How fast are you with finding the words?

Answers dictionary words

wordbound = woordgebonden =unable to find expression in words

zooarchaeology = zoëarcheologie =  a branch of archaeology that studies remains of animals from archaeological sites.

lallation = lallatie = childish speech; mispronunciation of speech sounds

ubiquarian = ubiquarisch = one who seems to be everywhere at once

whitherward = waarheen = toward what or which place

What do you have to do when writing a text?

Write down what you have to do?

You have 2 minutes.

Talk about it with your classmate(s).

Talk to the class about it.

HOMEWORK

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing/elementary-a2-writing

Bring your dictionary + a working pen.