Introduction

These Teaching Notes for Social Club Activities exploit many of the ideas used in the
Reading & Writing series. The aims of these notes are:
• To offer Social Club teachers helpful ideas and procedures for planning extensive
reading and writing activities.

• To give learners an opportunity to try out in a teacher-led group the sort of

activities for self-study included in the Reading & Writing series.

• To familiarize students with the learning benefits of extensive reading and writing

• To promote the use of the Reading & Writing series.

Three main sections of these notes support these aims. The first is a short account of the
approaches used in the activities presented here. Following that, the principal section
contains ideas for activities, presented in a convenient and easy-to-use format. Finally,
a section at the end includes brief descriptions of some the most common writing
process activities that are used throughout these Notes.
Reading and writing activities get equal attention in the Reading & Writing series.
However, writing activities are emphasized in these Teaching Notes because students
need more teacher and group support to get involved in writing activities. A number
of reading activities are also included, and particular attention is paid to activities that
make use of group interaction.

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Writing activities in the Reading & Writing series

Most of the activities in these Notes let students work on a particular aspect of the
writing process, such as gathering ideas or correcting texts. This is because learners
often fail to pay attention to certain elements of writing when they try to write in a
foreign language. Exactly which facet of writing students need to work on depends
very much on the student. Some learners transfer their native language skills to writing
in English while others need guided practice, and learners who have not already
developed the necessary skills in their own language will need to do more work. Also,
there are great differences among students in their goals for developing writing skills
and their motivation to do so. The approach followed in this guide and the R & W
series takes into account the needs of all of these learners.
Gathering ideas, drafting text and correcting are all important phases of writing that
receive specific attention in the Reading & Writing series. But another important stage
is “publishing”, by which we mean letting someone else read a piece of writing after it
has been corrected. Publishing may consist in students posting their work on a bulletin
board or swapping finished texts to read and possibly comment on. In any case, this is
where Social Center activities can go beyond what students can do on their own with
the R & W series, and we hope that Social Center teachers will take the opportunity to
help learners take this step beyond what can be done using self-study books.

Correcting Student Writing

Language learners can be confused by doubts about the need to correct their writing.
When teachers are obliged to read and correct everything that students write, learners
sometimes get the idea that the object of writing is to avoid making mistakes. It is more
difficult for anyone to write anything with such a mindset. Wallstreet students don’t
generally have this problem as the schools’ study method encourages them to be more
self-reliant.
Still, it’s important to emphasize that there is a time for everything – a time to think
about what to say, a time to focus on how to say it. We don’t forget about correction
either, we focus on this aspect of writing at the appropriate time in the writing process.
This allows learners to postpone correction until the later phases of writing, after
gathering ideas and writing a draft. Because we do not overlook correcting texts–we
have a time and place for it–students don’t have to worry about this when they are
trying to concentrate on gathering, organizing and expressing ideas.

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 The problem of writer’s block in a foreign language

When language learners sit down to write extensively, they often find that they have
nothing to say. Looking at a blank sheet of paper can be frightening to anyone. This is
the problem of having to think of what to say and how to say it at the same time. Ideas
often seem to vanish as writers face their doubts about how to put their thoughts into
words. Evidently, this difficulty is much greater when writers have to search for
appropriate words and expressions in a foreign language.
The problem of having nothing to say comes up in another important way in language
classes: students say too little when they write. Instead of writing ideas they want to
express, they often settle for writing something they know how to express correctly.
Students often get the idea that the object of writing in the target language is to write
correct sentences rather than to gain practice expressing their ideas. This attitude will
probably not help students learn to use English in writing and speaking. On the other
hand, any efforts to express their ideas in writing are likely to help learners discover
correct ways using English regardless of how many mistakes they may have to make
along the way.
On of the strongest points of the R&W series is preparing students to write. Whether
they have been studying for years or only weeks, students can develop fluency in
writing by using pre-writing techniques such as speedwriting brainstorming and
visualization. Students who practice preparing for writing by gathering ideas often
make a breakthrough. Suddenly they are able to write longer texts more quickly. Often
they begin to express more complex ideas and write ideas they really want to put on
paper instead of sterile sentences written merely to complete an assignment. When this
happens, these learners have suddenly become better writers in English, regardless of
their overall level. They are on their way to becoming more fluent writers. This is the
sort of breakthrough we are looking for when we work on fluency and on pre-writing strategies,
and it can often be achieved in a single session.

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Pre-writing activities

Pre-writing activities promote fluency in writing by making learners focus on coming

up with ideas to write about. Many language learners need this sort of practice to get
beyond writer's block. Just as important, as learners attempt to communicate their
ideas in writing, they deal the problems of combining words correctly, learning skills
that will help them speak as well as write English.
Here are some of the pre-writing activities used in the R&W series and in these
Teaching Notes:
• speedwriting
• brainstorming
• choosing a topic
• focusing on the topic
• writing down a few words or sentences related to the topic
• visualization

Who is the audience for student writing?

The question of audience is a confusing one for language learners, and that is why it is
important. Students must write in an attempt to communicate ideas, not merely to
produce a sample of language, a series of correct sentences. But this problem can be
still more confusing for self-study learners because, as in diary writing, the writer is
actually the reader. Even so, a satisfactory piece of writing must be one that someone
else would read with interest, so it is most helpful to have a real audience at times An
important advantage of
Social Club activities is that writers have a reader for their text.
Likewise if the Social Club has a "writer’s corner", where learners can post their
writing efforts, this can help bring the products of self study work using the Reading
and Writing series to a sympathetic audience.

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Reading activities in the Reading & Writing series
Quite a few of the activities included in the R&W series allow learners to see whether
they already have appropriate reading skills in their native language and whether they
are using these skills when they read in English. Confidence in reading is the aim of
activities that let students see that they already have many skills and a considerable
passive knowledge of English vocabulary that they can put to use. Some activities give
students a chance to analyze and change their reading habits when necessary so that
they can effectively use extensive reading an a tool for learning language. Other
activities build specific skills such as guessing meaning from context, asking questions
about a text, or skimming to identify main ideas. All of these aims are supported by
the reading activities included in these Notes.
Another sort of activity used in the series mainly provides learners with opportunities
to read more, which is the best way to improve reading. Reading texts included in the
books are complemented with activities that support comprehension rather than
merely testing it, and a few activities included in these notes make use of the texts and
comprehension activities found in the R&W series.

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Features of the activities presented in the Teaching Notes

Stage: The activities included in the following section are identified by stages for the
convenience of teacher looking for ideas for Social Club activities. Although many of
the activities can be done by students at most levels, they are labeled according to the
stage at which they are likely to be most useful to teachers looking for planning ideas,
or according to the stage of the R&W books containing related material.

Reading or Writing:. Activities are identified as reading or writing, although some

involve both skills.

Level: The suggested target level indicates more precisely than the stage identification
for which groups of students the activity is most appropriate, although teacher can
generally adapt the activities for a still wider range of levels.
Several actives are aimed at Levels 1 and 2 because students at these levels have
particular needs. We have also included a few activities aimed to challenge students at
the highest levels covered by the R&W series, Levels 10-12. These usually require
fairly good writing skills. The greatest number of activities can be used for level 3 or 4
and above, so that these may be used for Social Club activities for the widest range of
students.

R&W book references: In a few cases the R&W books referenced include procedural
information, diagrams, words lists or other information needed to carry out an activity,
and sometimes using a photocopy of this is recommended, but frequently any text or
information needed from the book can just be written on the board. The activity
descriptions included here make it clear when it is necessary to refer to the book to
plan activities. In other cases, the book references merely indicate material in the books
in which the same skills are practiced.
Related activities: This indication is used point to point out language work or
activities that might be usefully done either before or after the activity described.

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 Activity Ideas

1. Confidence in Reading Survival Reading

Level: 1-2
Skills: Confidence in extracting specific information from texts. This is intended for
learners at very low levels of English.
Time: 15 min.
Preparation: Make photocopies from Book 1 or find similar texts in magazines or
catalogs.
R&W book references: Book 1 (p. 28-29).
Materials: Photocopies of the text

Procedure:
1. Give a photocopy of the text to each pair of students. The text shows brief
descriptions of several consumer products suggested as gift ideas.
2. Before asking students to do the task, ask someone in the class to find a specific
piece of information in the text (for example the price of an MP3 player).
3. Tell students that they need to look at the text to do the task, but they do not need to
read the whole text in detail. Students working in pairs look at the text to find a gift that
each of them would like to receive.
4. Students tell the class which gift their partner would like to get and some of the
details about the item their partner has chosen.

Rationale: This task helps beginning learners see that they can understand essential
details of a real informative text. This gives them confidence to attempt more difficult
reading and demonstrates that it is not always necessary for learners to read all of a
text—or even understand all of it—to be able to extract the information they want.
Alternative: Similar activities can be based on real texts that can be found in
magazines and product catalogs. Newspaper and magazine advertisements can also be
used.
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2. True and False stories Survival Reading

Level: 1-2
Skills: Reading for general understanding
Time: 10 minutes
Preparation: Make photocopies of the reading text found in Book 1.
R&W book references: Book 1 (p. 44)
Materials: Photocopy of p. 44.

Procedure:
Explain that students are going to read three stories dealing with the same topic. Only
one story is true. Ask students to guess which story is true after reading all three.
1. Give students copies of the stories Students then read the text. This can be done in
pairs.
2. Each pair decides which story is true.
3. Pairs compare their answers with others in the class and say why they think their
choice is correct.
4. Tell the class which story is true.

Related activities: Writing true and false stories instead of reading them is a quite
motivating activity. But the writing task usually requires a considerably higher level
than what is suggested for the above activity. At appropriate levels, the writing task
can be done after using the reading activity as a model and an introduction. The
writing task would normally require level 6 or higher unless it were particularly
adapted for a lower level.

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3. Confidence in reading quickly Survival Reading

Level: 3-up
Skills: Reading fluency
Time: 10 min.
Preparation: Find a suitable text, about one page in length, and make photocopies for
the class. The text should be of an appropriate level, so that students could at least
understand most of it, not necessarily all.
Materials: Photocopies of selected text

Procedure:
1. Give students photocopies of the text.
2. Students read the text for a timed 30 seconds. Then collect the copies.
3. Elicit a few points of the text from the class. Use these points to begin drawing a
spider map of the text on the board.
4. Elicit as much further information about the text as possible from the class to
further complete the spider map.
5. Without looking at the text, again students ask questions about any information in
the text that they did not understand. If possible, let other students answer the
questions, but supply the answers when necessary.
6. Hand out the texts again. Students read the text again at their own pace.

Rationale: Students sometimes read too slowly when they are beginning a foreign
language, thinking that they must look at and think about every word. In extreme
cases, this results in tunnel vision: having too narrow a context to understand the text.
By seeing how much information they can take in quickly, students can gain the
confidence they need to attempt to read longer texts, to read more quickly, and to read
more difficult texts without needing to understand every word.

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4. Writing a Postcard Survival Writing

Level: 1-2
Skills: Describing places and experiences
Time: 10-20 min.
R&W book references: Book 1 (p. 20)
Materials: No materials are needed, but photocopies from the book could be used.

Procedure:
1. Write on the board a template for creating a postcard message, similar to the one
shown on p. 20. (The template lets students create a postcard message by filling in
blank spaces and by choosing multiple-choice options.)
2. Ask the class to suggest choices to complete the message on the board. Erase
choices that are not needed so that a short but complete text is the result. Then ask if
anyone can add a sentence or two to the message, and write in the added sentences.
3. Students imagine that they are visiting a place that they know something about.
They also need to think of someone to write a postcard to.
4. Students write their postcard messages.
5. If there is time, students who want to may quickly sketch a crude picture on the
front of their postcard and pass the cards around for the others to read.

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5. Writing descriptions of people Survival Writing

Level: 1
Skills: Writing about people; using a spider map
Time: 15-20 min.
Preparation: Have a brief look at the spider map on p. 10.
R&W book references: Book 1 (p. 10)

Procedure:
1. Draw a spider map on the board similar to the one on page 10. Use some of the
following categories as main points written in circles: job, home, family, interests,
personal details.
2. Ask one student in the class to volunteer some information about himself or herself.
Use some of this information to partially complete the spider map as an example
and model. Ask the class if they can suggest any more categories of personal
information. (Examples could be hobbies, personality, schools attended or
education, etc.)
3. Students working in pairs or small groups ask their partners questions about
themselves and note some of the key points using a spider map.
4. Students then write a description of their partner based on the spider map they
have created.
5. Descriptions are read to the class.

Related activities: If students need help asking questions, offer some examples and
practice the questions that might be needed before doing the writing activity.

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6. Words you know Survival Writing

Level: 1-2
Skills: Passive vocabulary
Time: 10-15 min.
Preparation: Make photocopies of p. 38.
R&W book references: Book 1 (p. 38)
Materials: Photocopies of p. 38 from book

Procedure:
1. Give students photocopies of the list of words on p. 38.
2. Students working in pairs or small groups identify the few words in the list that
they don’t know. (They should know most of the words in the list as they are
English words familiar to most non-English speakers, except for three "ringers":
aardvark, mandrill and mandible.)
3. Students group some of the words in the list into categories (as shown on p. 39) by
writing down words that they consider related to or associated with the words
"music", "food" and "computer". Note that there is no "correct" answer for this.
While most of the words on the list have some evident association with one of the
words shown in the circles on page 39, a few, such as "love", have no obvious
association with one of the words.
4. Working in the same small groups, students write down any generally familiar
English words they can think of to add to the list of familiar words.
5. The groups share with the class the new words they have added to the list by
reading them out as a student writes them on the board.

Rationale: Beginning students can usually recognize many more English words than
they realize. Awareness of their passive vocabulary can help give beginning students
greater confidence in reading.
Related activities: See the activities in Book 1 ( p. 30) using words written on
refrigerator magnets. Note that unlike the words used in the activity above, the words
on the magnets are all vocabulary introduced in Level 1 of the EOL course.

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7. Refrigerator Magnets Game Survival Writing

Level: 1-3
Skills: Writing sentences
Time: 15-20 min.
Preparation: Make photocopies from book.
R&W book references: Photocopies of Book 1 (p. 30-31)
Materials: Photocopies of page 30

Procedure:
1. Give a photocopy to each pair of students.
2. Ask students to look at the refrigerator magnets and suggest three words from
among those on the magnets. Write a sentence or two on the board using the three
words suggested. (That is, it's OK to use two sentences instead of just one if that
seems easier than using all three words in one sentence .) Repeat this example once
or twice.
3. Students work in pairs. Each pair chooses three words and writes them on a small
scrap of paper. Then they copy the same words onto more scraps of paper so that
they have a copy for each pair in the class.
4. Each pair now writes a sentence or two for each group of three words given them
by the other pairs.
5. The pairs read their sentences to the class.

Rationale: This activity encourages students to think of a large number of original

sentences that they are already able to produce, even with a limited vocabulary.

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8. Reading Strategies Waystage Reading

Level: 4-6
Skills: Awareness of reading strategies
Time: 15 min.
Preparation: Take a look at material on "Reading Strategies" and "How Reading
Works" in Book 4.
R&W book references: Book 4 (p.2-7)
Materials: photocopies of Book 4 (pp. 2 and 4)

Procedure:
1. Students do the quiz on their reading habits (p.2).
2. Students read description of reading styles (p. 4) and then say which description of
reading style in English best describes them, style A or B? This can be done by a
show of hands. Also ask them to indicate whether or not the style seems to work for
them.
3. Discuss reading strategies in the class. The quiz and descriptions should lead to
some questions and doubts. Ask students to say individually (or indicate by a
show of hands) whether they think they should try using a different approach to
reading extended texts in English, such as books and readers.

Follow-up: Ask students who want to experiment with changing their approach to
reading to think about when they will have opportunities to work on this in the future.
Suggest available reading materials they might use for practice.

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9. Predicting word meaning from context Waystage Reading

Level: 3-6
Skills: Predicting meaning of words from context while reading
Time: 15 min.
R&W book references: Book 4 (pp. 15-19)
Materials: photocopies of p. 16-17 and p.19

Procedure:
1. Write vocabulary words shown on pages 15 and 19 on the board. Tell students
simply that the words will appear in the text they are going to read.
2. Students read text (p. 16-17).
3. Students then read the excerpts from text on p. 19, which contain all the vocabulary
words in context, underlined. Students say what they think the vocabulary words
mean.
4. Discuss whether the students were familiar with any of the words before reading
the text. Did they correctly predict the meaning of the words from the context? Is
this a good way to increase reading vocabulary?

Follow-up: Discussion of when and how often it is useful for students to use a
dictionary when reading longer texts such as books and readers.
Related activities: Suggest available reading materials students might want to borrow
to read.. If they found the story interesting, they may be interested in buying and
working through Book 4, which focuses on strategies and techniques for better reading.
This activity also relates to Activity (8) in these Notes, entitled "Reading Strategies".

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10. Reading and writing Waystage Reading

Level: 5-9
Skills: Reading and writing
Time: 25-40 min.
Preparation: This activity works particularly well if students have already done some
work on pre-writing strategies or visualization.
R&W book references: Book 6 (p.14-18, p. 26-31)
Materials: photocopy of Book 6 (p.14-15)

Procedure:
1. Tell students to read the "Burning Man" text on p 16-17. Explain that later they will
be writing a couple of paragraphs on a related topic.
2. Assign the writing task described on p18. This gives students various suggestions
for writing real or imaginary descriptions based on what they have read.
3. Students revise their own text or check it with a partner.
4. Have students share their texts by reading them or posting on the board for others
to read. It should be interesting to compare the completely different versions which
are all inspired by the same original description.

Note: It is helpful to remind students of pre-writing strategies before they do the

writing task. Visualization is particularly appropriate for this task.
Rationale: While this activity provides writing practice, it also promotes accurate
reading as students must pay attention to the details of the text in order to write their
own text.

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11. Speedwriting Waystage Writing

Level: 3-18
Skills: Writing fluency
Time: 5-10 minutes
Preparation: It is useful to look at the presentation of the activity in Book 3.
R&W book references: This activity is used in Book 3 (Unit 9), Book 5 (Unit 17), and
Book 6 (Unit 22). The procedure for students is explained and samples are shown of
the sort of writing typically produced.

Procedure:
1. Explain the general idea of speedwriting to students: Speedwriting is an unusual
exercise. It is a “warm up” exercise, just as when we play tennis or football we usually
warm up first—do a few exercises before we start. We practice speedwriting before
writing to warm up our fingers, our brain and our imagination.
2. Explain the “rules” of the speedwriting activity:
• Write for three minutes. The teacher will time the activity using a watch.
• Keep writing … don’t stop writing. Don't worry about what you are writing. If
you get stuck, try just to write any word you can think about and keep going. (A
good presentation of this procedure can be found in the book references.)
• When the time is up, finish your sentence and stop.
3. Students practice speedwriting for three minutes.

Alternative: Speed writing race. Students write as fast as they can for three minutes.
At the end of three minutes, count how many words they were able to write.
Rationale: Some students need to practice just writing and letting ideas flow without
worrying about making mistakes. Many students have never done this. As a fluency
exercise, speedwriting lets learners concentrate on letting ideas flow without worrying
about the correct form to put them in. This is a valuable practice for many students.
Speedwriting also can help students develop an awareness of the different phases of
the writing process.
Related activities: It is logical to do some sort of extensive writing activity after
speedwriting since it is an excellent warm-up activity that gets students in the mood
for writing.
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12. Presentation of "phases of writing" Waystage Writing

Level: 3-up
Skills: Beginning awareness of different phases in the writing process
Time: 15 -20 min.
Preparation: Review some of the explanations in the R&W books, referenced below.
R&W book references: See graphic illustrations of "The Writing Stoplight" in Book 3
(p. 9) and Book 4 (p. 11). See also "The Writing Process" in Book 5 (p. 6-7) and "The
Critical Clock" in Book 5 (p. 10).
Materials: Materials are not necessary. But photocopies of some of the graphics printed
in the books along with their explanation can be used as handouts.

Procedure:
1. This is a presentation-discussion activity rather than a task for students. Ask
students if they write texts in English (apart from the sort of model sentences or
simple answers that may required by course material). How do they go about it or
how would they? (See note below.) A brief discussion of this point can be held in
the whole class or in groups.
2. Discuss some of the ideas developed in the R&W books, using a whiteboard or
photocopies for illustration. For example: different phases in the writing process or
the need to pay specific attention to particular aspects of writing, such as gathering
ideas or checking a text for errors.

Note: It does not matter whether students are currently doing any extensive writing or
have ever done. The question in step (1) aims to see if they are aware that writing
usually requires some planning, idea gathering or brainstorming phase. It is much
more difficult to write if students don't consciously or unconsciously have this habit.
Rationale: Many students are not aware of the different aspects or phases of the writing
process, or of some of the basic steps that successful writers usually follow, such as
gathering ideas before writing. When this is the case, learners facing an extensive
writing task often worry about how to begin, or they worry about what to say and how
to say it at the same time, which can lead to "writer's block".
Related activities: This discussion can be used before activities dealing with some
aspect of the writing process, such as pre-writing activities. It complements activities
such as speedwriting that focus students' attention on a particular aspect of writing.
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13. The writing process Waystage Writing

Level: 4-up
Skills: Awareness of the writing process
Time: 15-20 min.
Preparation: Take a look at the book activity referenced below.
R&W book references: Book 5 (p. 6-8)
Materials: No materials necessary. But photocopies from the book can be used.

Procedure:
1. Discuss different phases of the writing process with the group, based on the
material presented in Book 5. Sketches on a whiteboard or photocopies can be used
for visual support.
2. Students discuss in small groups (or in the whole class) which aspects of the writing
process they can best deal with and which present difficulties for them. (For
example, some students have trouble getting started on a text, or their good ideas
seem to shrink when the start to write. Others look at their finished text and never
seem to be able to spot the errors in it.)
3. Work on activities involving the phases of writing that students say they have
difficulty with. (There are several activities in this Guide dealing with specific
aspects of the writing process. (See below.) Also, in Book 5 (pp. 8-9) there is a
presentation of some steps in the writing process along with activities aimed at
working on particular phases of writing.

Related activities: Activity (13) in these Notes (Presentation of "phases of writing") has
to do with presenting the idea of phases in the writing process in a much more general
way, and it could be used to precede this activity.

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14. Focusing on a writing topic Waystage Writing

Level: 3-up
Skills: Pre-writing skills
Time: 10-20 min.
R&W book references: Book 6 (pp. 44, 47)

Procedure:
1. List some writing topic ideas on the whiteboard (A few useful ideas on how to
suggest possible writing topics can be seen in Book 6 (pp. 44 and 47).
2. Ask a couple of volunteers to suggest two or three topics that could be used as an
example, and ask the class to decide which of these to use now as the sample topic.
3. Ask the class to think of some words related to the topic chosen, and write these on
the board.
4. Now ask students to volunteer a few individual sentences related to the topic, and
write these on the board too.
5. Each student now chooses his or her own writing topic.
6. Students working individually now follow the example procedure, first writing
down a few words related to their topic, then a couple of sentences.
7. Then students go on to write a paragraph or two on their topic.
8. Students can share their writing by reading their paragraphs to the class.

Variation: This activity can be also used when students already have a writing topic,
leaving out the first two steps.

Rationale: Students often fail to use pre-writing strategies that can help them get
started writing. On the other hand, when they use pre-writing strategies students will
write longer, more expressive and meaningful texts. They will also gain practice using
more language to express what they mean to say.

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15. Journal writing 1 Waystage Writing

Level: 4-up
Skills: Writing about the present, journal writing
Time: 20 min.
R&W book references: Book 4 (p. 38-39). Also getting journal ideas: Book 3 (p. 39-40).
Materials: Not needed, but photocopies of the book materials can be used.

Procedure:
1. Ask a few members of the class to say something they have done today, and write a
few of their answers on the whiteboard.
2. Write a couple of prompts from step (3) on the board and ask a few students to
volunteer sentences based on the prompts. For example, "Today is like a dream." or
"This morning I wanted to stay in bed."
3. Students complete several sentences about themselves in relation to the current
day. Give prompts for the sentences (similar to those in Book 4 (p. 38-39)) by
writing them on the board or using photocopies. Examples are: "I'm happy about
...", "Today is like ...", "This morning ...", "I saw ...", I went...".
4. Each student writes a "journal entry" about his or her day. This should be in the
form of a paragraph or two, with a dateline at the top of the entry for added realism.

Follow-up: Ask students to try writing a journal entry at home for a few minutes each
day during the rest of the week. Since this can be quite a personal activity, it is may not
be advisable to ask students to share their journal entries with others; they should be
able to feel free to write for themselves alone. However, if there is a follow-up session,
it may be helpful for students to exchange opinions about the usefulness to them of the
journal writing. Students may on occasion want to copy some material from their
journal to use as a basis for some other writing project. Examples of this can be seen in
Book 3 (p. 48-49).

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16. Journal Writing 2 - Using Metaphors Waystage Writing

Level: 3-up
Skills: Journal writing
Time: 15-20 min.
Preparation: Take a look at the book activity referenced below.
R&W book references: Book 3 (p. 39-40).
Materials: No materials needed, but photocopies could be used.

Procedure:
1. Write some metaphors about "today" on the board, as shown on p. 39. (For
example: Today is like a cat -- black and sleepy.)
2. Students write their own metaphors about "today", as on p. 39.
3. Students complete a few sentences about "today", as on p 40.
4. Students write a journal entry about "today", as shown in the book. Some words
that might be useful are shown on page 40. Some of these could be put on the
board, unless photocopies are used,

Follow-up: This activity can lead to a discussion about the usefulness of journal
writing for learners. Ask students to try writing a journal entry at home for a few
minutes each day for the rest of the week. Students who are interested in writing
extensively may get ideas for writing from their journal entries. Examples of this can be
seen in Book 3 (p. 48-49).

22
17. Writing about the past Waystage Writing

Level: 4-6
Skills: Describing events and past experience
Time: 15 min.
Preparation: Take a look at the book activity referenced below.
R&W book references: Book 4 (p. 26) Book 5 (p. 52-53)

Procedure:
1. Present on the board or using photocopies prompt sentences about the previous
day, such as those in book 4 (p.26). For example: "I saw _____", "I talked to _____",
"In the evening I _____".
2. Students working in pairs tell their partners about several things they did the
previous day. The partner takes notes, and both partners change roles.
3. Each student writes several sentences about what his or her partner did, saw or felt
the previous day.
4. Students read each other's sentences to make sure that they have got the
information right. They also check to see that the sentences appear to be correctly
written and error free.

Variation:
Instead of using prompts about the previous day, write prompt sentences about the
past in general, such as those in Book 5 (p. 52 and 53). For example: "Yesterday I
_____", "Last week I _____", "When I was young I _____".

23
18. Free writing Waystage Writing

Level: 4-up
Skills: Extensive writing
Time: 30 min.
Preparation: If students are not already familiar with pre-writing strategies, such as
brainstorming or focusing on a topic, look over some of these strategies before the
class session. They are presented in the final part of these Notes and in books 3-6.
R&W book references: Various sections of Books 3-6, also Book 5 (p. 12).

Procedure:
1. Introduce the idea of "free writing". We use this term here to mean simply
extensive writing, not following a model, in which student have a free choice of
what to express or write about, although the teacher may offer suggestions on
choosing a topic.
2. Students choose their topics or brainstorm a topic as shown in book 5 (p. 12). (Some
topic suggestions are shown in Book 6 (pp. 44, 46)).
3. Students use appropriate pre-writing strategies, if they choose to do so, and then
write their texts.
4. Students exchange papers with another student and revise each other's text,
correcting any errors they discover by mutual agreement.
5. Students either read their writing to the class or post it on the board for others to
read.

Related Activities: It may be helpful to do one of the pre-writing activities suggested

in these Notes before asking students to write their texts.

Rationale: Students are not often enough asked to write extensively about whatever
they want, which gives them very useful practice in finding the words they need to
express themselves. Note that to be able do this, students may need help in selecting a
topic and some advice about using pre-writing strategies to gather ideas.

24
19. Every sentence tells a story Waystage Writing

Level: 4-up
Skills: Writing sentences; very simple story writing
Time: 20 min.
Preparation: Make photocopies of page 48 showing refrigerator magnets.
R&W book references: Book 4 ( p.48-51)
Materials: Photocopies of page from Book 4

Procedure:
1. Give one photocopy to each pair of students.
2. Ask students to create a few sentences using the words written on the refrigerator
magnets. The procedure is shown in Book 4 (p. 49).
3. Give the class an example of how "every sentence tells a story". There is an example
of this shown on p. 50.
4. Ask students to choose one of the sentences they made in Step (1). They must think
about their sentence and try to visualize a scenario for it, as illustrated on p. 50.
When students can visualize the scenario for their sentences, ask them if they can
imagine they can hear a dialogue or narrative relating to it. If they can't hear a
dialogue or narrative, ask them to pretend they do hear one.
5. Students write the story that their sentence tells.

Note: At lower levels this activity can be done using only the present tense, as shown
in the book. The vocabulary used in the refrigerator magnets is taken from EOL Level
4. (See also refrigerator magnets in Book 1 (pp. 30 and 40) based on vocabulary from
EOL Level 1.)

25
20. Descriptions Waystage Writing

Level: 4-up
Skills: Writing descriptions
Time: 15-20 min.
R&W book references: Book 5 p. 29-30

Procedure:
1. Students work in pairs. Students tell their partners a few details about a coin they
have in their pocket or purse: what type it, what condition, old or new, etc. They
also give any further details that their partners ask for. Partners switch roles so they
have both given and received a description.
2. Students try to picture in their mind the coin that was described to them. Then they
write a description of it without ever having actually seen it.
3. After writing, students take a good look at the coin that they just described, and
then they re-write their text, aiming for a more complete description.
4. If time permits, share some of the texts with the class by having students read them
or post them on a board.

Rationale: This is a good excuse to get students to rewrite a text, a useful activity
which is seldom done often enough. It also gives students a chance to try visualization,
which can be a useful pre-writing strategy
Alternative: Instead of coins, students can describe other small objects, such as a
wallet, pencil etc.
Extension activities: Brainstorm words that might be used for describing coins. Try to
use some of the words in sentences. This could be done before the activity if the
students need vocabulary to do the task.

26
21. Descriptions of persons Waystage Writing

Level: 4-up
Skills: Writing descriptions of persons
Time: 15 min.
R&W book references: Book 5 (p. 30)

Procedure:
1. Tell students they are going to write a description of a person have seen during the
day. Ask them to now think about such a person. (A similar activity is presented on
p. 30.) Students think about where and when they saw the person they have in
mind. Then they imagine they can see the person in their mind and observe a few
details of the person's appearance.
2. Before writing their description, students make a few notes about the person they
have seen. They can either note a few words and phrases on paper or else use a
spider map to gather and organize some ideas.
3. Students write their descriptions, using the notes or spider map they have made,
4. Students read the description aloud in the class or post them on a board so that
classmates can read them.

Variation: Instead of describing a person they have seen that day, students could
describe a famous person or someone known to them.
Extension activities: Brainstorm vocabulary for describing persons, and try to use the
words in sentences. This can be done before the activity if the students need
vocabulary to do the task. It can also be done after the writing activity as a vocabulary
extension activity.

27
23. Accurate writing: discussion and practice Waystage Writing

Level: 6-up
Skills: Writing accurately
Time: 20 min.
Preparation: For background read pages referred to in Book 6.
R&W book references: Book 6 (p.2-4, 38-41)

Procedure:
1. This is partly a discussion activity. Ask the class for some ideas about how
successful writers achieve precision and accuracy in writing. What do they do and
how do they do it?
2. Present some of the ideas explained in the book on page 2-4 about clarity and
organization of a text. Give students examples of "fluent writing" and "accurate
writing", and discuss the concepts of writing fluency and accuracy with the class.
3. Ask students to create a paragraph by volunteering sentences about a specified
topic, such as describing a person or place. (A city or town, for example, or a well
known person.) One student volunteers a first sentence, and then the next student
adds another until at least part of description is built up. Write the sentences on the
board until part of a paragraph is created.
4. Use the suggestions given in the book (p. 38-41) to change or re-write the sentences,
making them more descriptive, more precise.

Related activities: This activity can be used as a warm up or introduction before other
writing activities.

28
24. Re-writing texts Waystage Writing

Level: 6-up
Skills: Writing accurately
Time: 15-40 min.
Preparation: A quick look at referenced book material could be useful.
R&W book references: Book 6 ( p. 20-23)

Procedure:
1. Ask learners if they can suggest any ideas about how they could write better in
English, in particular more precisely and accurately. Note some of the suggestions
on the board.
2. Offer to explain how learners can improving their writing by adding personal
viewpoint, colorful language and specific information or reasoning . (Examples are
show on p 20.)
3. As an example, take one of the sentences given on p. 20-21 (or any similar sentence)
and work on re-writing it on the board. Students suggest words or phrases that can
be added to the example, and the teacher writes out the amended version, making
changes in wording needed to correctly accommodate the students' suggestions.
4. Give students several base sentences to work, similar to those on p. 20-21. If more
sentences are needed, the class can suggest other short sentences to work with.
5. Each student, working on paper, expands 4 or 5 of the sentences given, adding
personal viewpoint, colorful language and specific information or reasoning. Some
useful words or phrases can be given on the board, such as those on p. 21.
6. The class compares their results by having each student read a couple of their final
sentences aloud. A few sentences could be put on the board for further study.

Alternative: Step (2) of this procedure can be made into a sort of game in which a
group of students creates base sentences to be expanded, and another group amends
and expands the original sentences. This can be done on the board in front of the whole
class, somewhat like a TV game show. Alternatively, the task can be done on paper,
and the results then reported to the class.
Related activities: This activity can be used as a warm up and introduction before
other writing accuracy activities.

29
25. Revision and correction of text Waystage Writing

Level: 4-up
Skills: Revision and correction
Time: 10-15 min.
R&W book references: Book 6 (p. 33). Also covered in Book 3 (p.50).

Procedure:
1. Write "a frequent errors list" on the board, as shown in the books referenced above.
At a minimum, the list should show some of the errors students make and a brief
example of the form used correctly in context.
2. Ask students to work in pairs or small groups to think of several examples of errors
that they sometimes make when writing. They write these on the list, including
columns for the type of error as well as for correct and incorrect examples. (It is also
possible include a column for the grammatical rule to be applied, as in Book 3
(p.50).
3. Get several useful examples from the pairs or groups and add these to the "frequent
errors list" in the board.
4. Ask all students to now create their own personal "frequent errors list" on a whole
piece of paper, leaving plenty of room at the bottom to add new errors to watch out
for when they become aware of them in the future.

Related activities: After students have written a text as part of a writing activity, they
can make use of their "frequent errors list", checking to see if any of the errors on their
personal list have occurred in their text.

30
26. True and false stories Waystage Writing

Level: 6-up
Skills: Free writing
Time: 45 min.
R&W book references: Book 1 (p. 44)

Procedure:
1. Explain that you are going to read the class the three stories about the origin of the
hamburger, and that only one of them is true. They will have to guess which it is
after hearing all three stories.
2. Read the stories (found in Book 1), and then ask the students for their guesses. Say
which was the true story.
3. Explain that now the class will do the activity in a different way: they will write
their own stories, working in groups.
4. Students work together in groups of three to create their own stories. One story
must be true and two false. (If it is necessary for some to work in groups of only 2
students, they can make one true and one false.) The stories of each group should
have some similar theme. (Normally each person in a group will write one story
after the group decides the theme of their stories and who will write the true one
and the false ones. It is a good idea for the group to discuss the storyline of all three
stories before each person starts writing.
5. Students read their stories to class, and the class decides which are true

Follow-up: Students may want to post their stories on the bulletin board for the
students to read again or for others to read.

31
27. The scanning game Upper Waystage Reading

Level: 3-up
Skills: Scanning text
Time: 5-10 min.
Preparation: Find suitable texts and make photocopies.
R&W book references: Several activities involving scanning are found in Books 7 and
8.
Materials: Photocopies of suitable reading texts. These could be almost any sort of
text, from brochures or newspapers to stories or novels.

Procedure:
1. Each student skims their text to find a word that another student will have to
search for. This should be a word that is not too easy to find, and that does not
occur frequently in the text. Students write the chosen word on a scrap of paper,
and mentally note where it is found in the text.
2. Students exchange scraps of paper.
3. Students read the text very quickly, scanning as quickly for the target word written
on the piece of paper they received from another student. When they find their
target word, each student makes a note of how long it took them and how many
pages they had to scan to find the target word. (Students can ask the teacher for the
elapsed time if they do not have a watch.) This information is finally reported to the
class.

Rationale: This activity gives students confidence in their ability to scan text in
English.

Related activities: This activity can be useful as part of any session on reading skills or
on skimming and scanning techniques.

32
28. The skimming game Upper Waystage Reading

Level: 3-up
Skills: Skimming texts
Time: 5-10 minutes
Preparation: Find several suitable texts and make copies if necessary.
R&W book references: Several activities with similar aims are found in Book 7 and
Book 8.
Materials: Magazines and newspapers or similar to cut out or copy texts from.
Procedure:
1. Each student receives a copy of a different article from a newspaper magazine, report
or similar text. All should be around the same length, around 2-3 pages.
2. Students are given just one minute to skim the text, looking for main ideas.
3. The texts are then collected and the students report to the class from memory the
general contents of their text.
4. After this, give students a few minutes to take another look at their text, or at
someone else's text that they may be interested in.

Rationale: This activity can help students build confidence in their ability to quickly
extract information from even difficult texts by skimming.

Related activities: This activity can be used to introduce longer activities on reading
skills, for example: looking for main ideas in reading texts, or forming and answering
questions about a text.

33
29. Skimming for main ideas Upper Waystage Reading

Level: 3-up
Skills: Skimming texts
Time: 5-20 min.
Preparation: Find a newspaper or magazine article and make copies.
R&W book references: Several activities with similar aims are found in Book 7 and
Book 8.
Materials: Photocopies of newspaper or magazine articles.
Procedure:
1. All students receive copies of the same article from a magazine or newspaper.
2. Give students a short time to skim the article, reading only for the main ideas.
Typically this could be about one minute for 3 pages.
3. Collect all photocopies. From memory, students report the main ideas.
4. The teacher draws a spider map on the board (or writes a list) of the main ideas
agreed on by the class.
5. Pass out article again, and students read it more carefully to confirm the ideas
suggested in the discussion.

Rationale: This activity can help students build confidence in their ability to quickly
extract information from even difficult texts by skimming.

Related activities: This activity can be used to introduce longer activities on reading
skills, for example, activities involving looking for main ideas in reading texts or
forming and answering questions about a text.

34
30. Guided Journal writing Upper Waystage Writing

Level: 6-up
Skills: Journal writing
Time: 20-25 min.
R&W book references: Book 4 (p. 38-39), Book 11 (p. 10-12)

Procedure:
1. Tell students that they are going to write a sort of "diary entry" about their day. To begin with, the
teacher is going to ask a series of questions, described below.
2. Students are to listen to the questions, mentally answering them for themselves. At the same time
students note on paper some words related to their day based on ideas provoked by the questions.
3. Use questions similar to the following: How did you feel when you woke up today? What kind of
day was it? Any special expectations for the day? Something you looked forward to or dreaded
facing? Any particular feelings about the day? Did anything unusual happen? What was on your
mind? Anything coming up later in the day? What did you do in the morning , at lunch time, in the
afternoon or evening?
4. Students note a few words that come to mind, as a result of the mental answers raised by the
questions.
5. Students organize some of the brief notes they made by converting them into a spider map that can
be used as a plan for writing.
6. Students write a couple of paragraphs as their journal entry.
7. It may not necessarily be appropriate for students to share what they have written as people usually
write journals for themselves. As a conclusion, ask for comments on the usefulness of writing a
journal as language practice.

Rationale: Not all students can be encouraged to keep a journal, but some learners pick up the habit
of writing a paragraph or two a few times a week. This is a rewarding habit for those who practice it.

Related activities: For more journal writing activities, see Activities (15), (16) and (17) in these
Notes.

35
31. Writing letters to the editor Upper Waystage Writing

Level: 7-up
Skills: Rhetorical writing
Time: 30-40 min.
R&W book references: Book 7 (p.7-9)

Procedure:
1. In class, brainstorm a list of topics for letters to the editor of a newspaper. The topic
ideas may be serious or facetious. Get a lot of ideas, and encourage humor.
Students should get ideas from the suggestions of others, and some of the
suggestions are likely get funnier a students continue making suggestions. At the
same time, serious topics can also emerge that some students want to write about.
These might include local concerns, social issues etc. Write some of the suggestions
on the board.
2. Each student writes his or her letter to the editor.
3. After writing a first draft, students consult another student in the class to make a
few corrections.
4. Students read their finished letters to the class.

Rationale: The possibility of doing the activity in a humorous way can protect some
students from any embarrassment they may feel in exposing their true opinions or
feelings at a moment when they may not be in the mood to do this. The game-like
atmosphere of the activity can also avoid the uneasiness that sometimes results when a
"realistic" activity for whatever reason does not feel very real to the students. At the
same time, students who prefer to seriously address a real issue are free to do this.

Related activities: If necessary, before doing this activity present some of material
covered in Book 7 on the elements of a letter to the editor and its logical organization.
These points could be illustrated on the board if necessary. If students need
suggestions on the use of the rhetorical language needed to write such a letter, a model
letter (or part of one) can be composed on the board using suggestions elicited from
the class before students go on to write their own letters.

36
32. Writing Directions Upper Waystage Writing

Level: 6-9
Skills: Giving directions; writing instructions
Time: 15-30 min.
R&W book references: Book 7 (p. 29-30)

Procedure:
1. Work in groups of two or three persons if possible. Each group thinks of a place to
write directions to get to, starting from the school (or from the room the Social Club
is meeting in if the directions are to a place in the same building). This could be a
place in the school or near the school, or in the same city or town. The groups write
their directions on paper, and may ask the teacher for help if they are not sure about
the language they need to use.
2. Each group reads their directions to the class. Students try to say the place that the
directions are intended to lead to.
3. Some of the directions can be studied afterwards in the class as a whole. With the
help of the teacher and class, students should look for alternative ways of
expressing the same directions and for language that may need to be corrected.

Related activities: Before doing the activity, it may be helpful to review the language
needed to give directions, depending on the level of the group.

37
33. Writing FAQ Upper Waystage Writing

(Frequently Asked Questions)

Level: 7-up
Skills: Writing informative texts
Time: 20 min.
R&W book references: Book 7 (p. 37)

Procedure:
1. Discuss and explain what FAQ are. Are students familiar with these? Can anyone
give an example? (They can often be found on web pages.)
2. The class works in groups of two or three persons. Each group chooses a business,
public facility or organization to write about. This also could be a government
department, a club, or a tourist office of a town or city, or even a country. The group
writes the 5 or 10 (depending on time) most frequent questions and the answers to
the questions.
3. The FAQ and the answers are read to the class. Students try to guess what
organization the FAQ refer to.

Note: Often the most frequent questions are simple. At a National Park in America the
following appear on a blackboard along with the answers: Where is the bathroom?
What time do you open and close? What is the weather today? What time are guided
tours available? How can I sign up for guided tours?

Rationale: Students who may eventually have to work with some aspect of business
communications should find this to be particularly useful preparation.

Related activities: Ask students to think some web pages where they may find FAQ.
The students can then look for these at the school or later at home.

38
34. Writing a restaurant review Upper Waystage Writing

Level: 8-up
Skills: Descriptive writing
Time: 20 min.
R&W book references: Book 8 (pp. 4-15)

Procedure:
1. Students mention several restaurants or cafes in the area near the school or in the
same city. Write the names of some of these on the board.
2. Make sure that everyone in the class has been to at least one of the restaurants
mentioned.
3. Each student chooses a restaurant to describe. Students do not say which one they
choose, and more than one person may choose the same place. In writing their
description, students can comment on the appearance of the restaurant (without
mentioning the name), the atmosphere and the quality of the experience, as well as
the food and drink, or on any of these aspects they choose.
4. Students read their descriptions to the class without naming the restaurant they are
describing. Ask the rest of the class to try to guess or recognize the restaurant from
the description.

Related activities: There are many possibilities to work on vocabulary related to this
activity. Would the dishes in the restaurant be found in English speaking countries? If
so, would they be exactly the same, or different? If they were visiting an English
speaking country, what questions would student want to ask about the dishes before
ordering a meal? (For example: Is the sole fresh today?)

39
35. Writing a resume Upper Waystage Writing

Level: 9-up
Skills: Business writing
Time: 45 min.
Preparation: Have a look at the resume presented in Book 9.
R&W book references: Book 9 (p. 32-34)

Procedure:
1. Ask students what information is usually included in a resume. Mention some of
the categories usually included: objective, experience, etc.
2. Asks students to suggest a few good and bad examples of comments to include in
a resume, and write some these examples on the board.
3. Give an example on the board of the form of the resume. (See p. 33.)
4. Students working in pairs first write their own resumes, consulting each other. Then
they work together to revise and correct each other's work.
5. Post the finished work on a board if possible.

Note: It is a good idea to explain that there are quite a few acceptable forms of writing
resumes and that books of sample resumes are available in bookstores.

Rationale: Resumes in English are frequently needed in business and in all sorts of
professional activities, not only for job seekers but as part of funding proposals and
cooperative ventures of all sorts.

40
36. The description game Threshold Writing

Level: 6-up
Skills: Describing objects
Time: 15-20 min.
R&W book references: Book 11 (p. 25-29)

Procedure:
1. Tell class that they are going to be writing descriptions of objects that are near at hand. If
necessary, before going on to the task, practice language needed for describing objects. (See
related activities below.)
2. Students write a description of an object that they have in their possession or that can be found
near them. It must be something that other students can see or that could be easily found nearby if
not actually in sight.
3. Students read their descriptions to the class while the other students try to guess what the object is.

Note: Encourage students to develop a precise description of some aspect the object while leaving out
a few important details to make the object more difficult to guess..

Rationale: When doing this task students have a chance to outwit their classmates by paying attention
to some less obvious aspect of the object they describe or by writing their description from an unusual
viewpoint. In either case, they may be motivated to go beyond the more mundane description that is
often the result when students view the writing task as merely producing a correct sample of the target
language.
The activity also gives the class additional motivation for listening to the description, as they are given a
listening task. This adds an element of communication beyond doing an assignment just to practice using
specific language outside of any real communicative purpose.

Related activities: If students need language for description, first practice in class building up a
description of an object such as a waste basket, a white board or someone's shoe. Look for alternative
ways to describe objects.

41
37. The detective game Threshold Writing

Level: 9-up
Skills: Describing people
Time: 20 min.
R&W book references: Book 11 (p. 25-29)

Procedure:
1. Ask students stand up and walk around for about a minute while observing each other. They are to
look for details of clothing, physical appearance, bearing and manner that would be less than
obvious if one did not pay attention or observe closely.
2. Each student writes a description of someone in the class whom they observed, including a few
details they observed that may be less obvious or that may have gone unnoticed by others,
especially as everyone is now sitting down.

Note: Encourage students to pay attention to details and subtle observation while leaving out some
obvious details to make the task of guessing who is being described more difficult.

Rationale: In this activity students are asked to paying attention to less evident aspects of personal
description. This requires using more language, but also demands a greater level of skills than more
ordinary descriptive tasks as students are motivated to go beyond the most obvious descriptions.
The activity also includes a task for the listeners, which helps to make the activity more communicative
on the part of the writers as well as listeners.

Related activities: If students need language for describing people in greater detail, this can be
practiced first, taking into account the need to describe physical appearance, posture and manner.

42
38. Guided Visualization Threshold Writing

Level: 6-up
Skills: Describing places
Time: 20-30 min.
R&W book references: Book 10 (p. 6-11)

Procedure:
1. Ask students to have a piece of paper ready as they will need to note a few words.
2. Ask students to picture in their mind the street in front of the building where they live, and to
imagine they are looking at the front door. They need to imagine going through the building until they
see the door of their flat. (If most people live in separate houses in your country, start with the front
door of the house.)
3. Ask students to think about what they will expect to see when they open the door. Are there likely
to be other people inside? Will it be dark? Will they need to turn on the lights? Can they hear noises
from inside?
4. Ask students to imagine themselves opening the door and walking in. Ask them to take a good look
around the first room they come to (turning on the lights if necessary). What do they see around
them: light coming in, arrangement of furniture, layout decoration, objects laying about. Is it tidy,
etc. ?
5. Ask students to first write down a few words related to what they see.
6. Then students describe the room by writing a couple of paragraphs in any way they wish.

Rationale: Using visual imagination is an important part of most descriptive writing. This activity helps
students practice using visualization before and during writing. This usually leads to writing longer and
richer texts.
Alternative: By making appropriate changes in the script, this activity can be used to describe other
places such as a school or workplace, dance club, bar cafe or restaurant, vacation area or natural
setting.

43
39. Guided visualization of an experience Threshold Writing

Level: 6-up
Skills: Describing an experience
Time: 20-25 min.
R&W book references: Book 11 (p. 26 and p. 16-17)

Procedure:
1. Ask all students to think of a time in the recent past when they felt particularly comfortable, happy
and at ease. (In the country where I am living, adult students always think of their last vacation
when asked to do this.)
2. Ask students to imagine that they can now see in their imagination the place where they were on the
occasion they are thinking about. What do they see? What is the scene like: dark, light, daytime,
night -- what time of day? It is colorful, somber, gray, sunny -- what? Are there other people
around? It is a natural landscape, an urban setting?
3. Ask if perhaps they can recall other sensations, smells, as in the outdoors, at the seaside, or in a
smoky dance club; sounds; perhaps even feelings or physical sensations.
4. Now ask students to write a description of the time and place they have been thinking about.
5. Share the texts with the class by reading or posting.

Rationale: When asked to write, students often can't think of much to say. The problem of expressing
themselves correctly in a foreign language can block them, resulting in a poor text that looks too much
like a language exercise written for the sake of producing a few correct sentences. But when student's
minds are filled with lively images that have an emotional connection to them, it is natural that their
experience comes spilling out when they write. Doing an activity like this just once will usually lead
students to have greater writing fluency. The activity also lets students can see how visualization can be
a useful pre-writing technique.

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40. Bilingual Stories Threshold Writing

Level: 5-up
Skills: Writing narrative
Time: 1 hour
R&W book references: Book 12 (p. 43-44, 57-59)

Procedure:
1. Explain that students are to write a sort of "story". It could be a true story about an event that
happened to them, an anecdote that they know about, or a fictional story.
2. Students will begin writing in their native language. This makes it much easier to get started and to
finish on time.
3. Then students continue the story by writing a few paragraphs in English. Finally, they add an ending
in their native language. (They may finish in English if they have the time inclination, and language
skills to do so.)
4. Students read their stories to the class. The use of an introductory part in the native language will
help build the drama of the reading.
5. If space allows, the stories can be posted on a wall for other students to read.

Note: This activity can be used at most levels, but the way students do the task will vary with the level.
It can be used with mixed-level groups so long as learners are told how to individualize the task
according to their level.

Alternative: Another way to do the task is to begin by writing a narrative description in the native
language and then adding dialogue in English.
Rationale: This activity allows students to get around having to do two difficult things at once: figure
out how to begin a story and how to express the ideas in English. Once the story has begun and a
mood and setting are established, it will be easier to continue in English. This format also makes it easier
to complete the task in a single session.

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41. Writing an account of an experience Threshold Writing

Level: 9-up
Skills: Describing events
Time: 45 min.-1 hr.
Preparation: Look through the local newspapers for suitable incidents that could be of purely local
interest or of wider importance.
R&W book references: Book 11 (p. 10-12)
Materials: Copies of local newspapers

Procedure:
1. Take one event widely reported in the local press to use as an example that students are familiar
with.
2. Ask students to relate some of the details that led up to the incident reported.
3. Note these details on the blackboard in chronological order.
4. Work with the class, writing up a beginning part of the example used on the board. Point out
language needed to introduce separate details and to connect the parts of the sequence of events,
for example: "The incident started when..." "At first, ..." " and then", "after that" "two days later",
etc.
5. Students working in small groups or pairs collaborate to write their account of the incident.
6. Groups read their account to the class.

Rationale: Describing a sequence of past events is a necessary language skill. Also, practice in such
written description is useful for learners who intend to eventually use written English for business or
professional purposes.

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 A Guide to Writing Process Activities

Activities for gathering and organizing ideas

Successful writers have either been taught pre-writing strategies or else have acquired
them as a habit somewhere along the way. It is important to these strategies because
learners who do not have the habit of gathering ideas before writing will usually have
difficulty getting started. Several pre-writing activities are included in these Teacher's
Notes, such as brainstorming, visualization and using spider maps. With practice
writers automatically make use of their preferred strategies, but usually in simplified
ways, that is these processes become streamlined. Writers with good habits may simply
note a few ideas, or even do the same thing mentally without writing at all. But this is a
result of having already learned the habit of gathering ideas before writing .

Brainstorming activities
We teach brainstorming to familiarize students with this useful activity for gathering
ideas before writing. Once gathering ideas has become a habit, writers often use
brainstorming in a less complete or simplified way. Here are the steps involved in
brainstorming:
• Think of as many ideas as possible, and keep writing them down, using a word or
phrase to represent each idea.
• Avoid judging ideas as good or bad while brainstorming, just keep writing them
down. (It's a good practice to include a few silly or obviously extreme ideas to
practice being creative and remaining open minded.)
• Finally, cross out the less useful ideas, selecting the ideas that seem to be the best
ones to use for a particular writing occasion.
A few activities included in these notes involve simplified forms of brainstorming: for
example simply writing down a few words that the writer thinks of that are related to
the topic. Another technique is writing down a couple of a sentences on the topic
before beginning to write a text. These strategies help get the ball rolling, allowing
writers to start writing something before worrying about how to begin drafting the
actual text. These procedures are a sort of streamlined form of brainstorming, and they
are also examples of another pre-writing strategy: focusing on the topic before writing.
These tactics simplify the problem of how to begin writing a text because once they
have been used, the student has already started writing.

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Using Spider maps
Spider maps (also called mind maps) can be used to brainstorm as well as to organize
information in the way that some writers do using an outline.
Here is how to create a spider map:
• Start by writing the main topic inside a circle in the center of a piece of paper. (You
can see example in Book 1 (pp. 10 and 47) as well as in many of the other books.)
• Then write down a few words that represent key ideas. Arrange these words in the
spaces around the central circle, and then circle each word.
• Draw lines from the central circle to the other circles around it. Lines can also be
draw to connect the circles representing points that are related.
• Finally add details related to the main points. Write these on horizontal lines
connected to the circles.

Activities for drafting text

Speedwritng
Speedwriting can be used as a pre-writing activity to “warm up” up the brain and
writing hand. It is also a drafting activity in which students practice letting ideas flow
as they write. It's fun because learners don't have to worry about making mistakes or
even what to write. It goes like this:
• Students keep writing for a timed three minutes.
• Tell students not to stop writing: Don't worry about what they are writing. If
they get stuck, they must try just to write any word they can think of and just
keep going.
• When the time is up, the finish the current sentence and stop writing.
• It is not a good idea to use such a text as a basis for correction: the whole
point is to practice letting ideas come without worrying about mistakes or
other distractions.

Free writing
We use free writing here to mean simply writing without using a specific model,
whether or not a topic has been suggested. Excluding texts that are personalized
versions of models, such as postcards or business letters, how often do learners have
an opportunity to do this sort of writing? Not often enough! This is why free writing is
important if learners are to have a chance to write texts in which they attempt to
express their own meaning. In these Notes we include several activities in which
students choose their own topics or a choice of general topics is suggested.

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Collaborative writing
Calling for student collaboration in writing is a good way to let learners make use of
their own resources rather than relying too much on the teacher. Several activities
included in these notes call for joint planning of texts that students will then write
individually. In other cases students work in pairs to provide input for a partner's
writing, and many activities allow students to work together to revise and correct their
texts.

Activities for Rewriting and Reorganizing Text

At higher levels, rewriting text is an essential way for learners to improve their writing
as a tool for language learning. But this is an activity that can benefit students at most
levels. As learners look for better ways to express their meaning when they rewrite
texts, they often find the answers within themselves. This gives students confidence in
making use of their own language resources and encourages the habit of revising and
reorganizing text, which leads to better expression, use of more language and better
recognition of errors. We include activities in these Notes that give students some
pretext or other for rewriting their text.

Activities for Revision and Correction of texts

It is important to work on correction as a separate phase of the writing process and as

an activity to be practiced in itself. Without this practice, students are likely to view the
process of finding errors as something mysterious.

Making and using a frequent errors list

Making a list of errors that they are likely to make helps students focus on their mental
processes. By using a list to check their writing, students develop the habit of making
use of revision and correction strategies. The lack of any such strategies is an important
cause of mistakes in student writing in a foreign language.

Student Correction
In many of the writing activities included in these Notes, we have suggested
exchanging papers for revision and correction. This is a very good alternative to
teacher correction that leads to discussion and helps students learn to take
responsibility for correction. Unless learners are encouraged to use their own resources
to find and correct errors, there is a serious danger that they will tend to look at this as
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a mysterious process in which mistakes are always invisible to them but obvious to the
teacher.

Publishing
We use this name to mean bringing a finished text to an audience of readers or
listeners. While learners sometimes write for themselves, it is also important to write
for an audience. This provides a reason to correct a text with greater care so as to make
it as easy as possible for the reader to understand it without the distraction of errors.
In the course of their studies, language learners are often required to write sentences
whose aim is to demonstrate and practice their grasp of grammatical points that they
are working to assimilate. In this sort of writing, the point is often to demonstrate to the
teacher (or to themselves) that they can use some elements of language in a sentence.
However, when students do extensive writing, it is important that they go beyond this
limited use of language. Having an audience that is not the teacher helps learners do
this while providing a good reason to carefully revise and correct their text. Having an
opportunity to write for a real audience can help students—on other occasions when
they write for themselves—to think of an imaginary audience that would want to see a
text that is interesting ,correct and well written.

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 Students and the Reading & Writing series.

The twelve books in the Reading & Writing series allow Wallstreet students to follow
their studies in an individualized manner. Students who take an interest in extensive
reading and writing will usually find their self-study work progressing faster and
more easily and their motivation higher.

There are two main reasons for students to want to do more work on reading and
writing:
• Some students are interested in mastering the written code because they want to
become proficient in reading and writing for professional or personal reasons.
• Other students are willing to pursue extensive reading and writing because they
can see this as an important aid to making progress in learning English.

The twelve books included in the Reading & Writing series are designed to further
both of these aims. The activities included in the books follow the principles explained
in these Teacher's Notes, and most of the activities included here are based on those
used in the Reading & Writing books.

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