Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm THPT: Helping gifted students overcome their difficulties in essay writing

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Research aims: How to teach gifted students some basic academic writing skills; How to help them write well and effectively; How to help them find essay writing easy; How to help them develop more confidence in their ability to write; How to help them show their skills in organising their ideas systematically.

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1 SỞ GIÁO DỤC & ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI Trường THPT Chuyên LƯƠNG THẾ VINH SỞ GIÁO DỤC & ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI Trường THPT Chuyên LƯƠNG THẾ VINH Mã số: ................................ (Do HĐCNSK cấp trên ghi) Mã số: ................................ (Do HĐCNSK cấp trên ghi) SÁNG KIẾN SÁNG KIẾN HELPING GIFTED STUDENTS OVERCOME THEIR DIFFICULTIES HELPING IN ESSAY GIFTED STUDENTS WRITING THEIR OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES IN ESSAY WRITING Người thực hiện: Bùi Ngọc Xinh Lĩnh vựcthực Người nghiên Bùi Ngọc Xinh hiện:cứu: - Quản Lĩnh vực lý giáo dục nghiên cứu:  - -Phương Quản lýpháp giáogiáo dục dục  - -Phương Phươngpháp phápdạy giáohọc dụcbộ môn:  Tiếng Anh  - Lĩnh vực khác: ....................................................... - Phương pháp dạy học bộ môn: Tiếng Anh  - Lĩnh vực khác: ....................................................... Có đính kèm: Các sản phẩm không thể hiện trong bản in sáng kiến  Mô hình  Đĩa CD (DVD)  Phim ảnh  Hiện vật khác (các phim, ảnh, sản phẩm phần mềm) Có đính kèm: Các sản phẩm không thể hiện trong bản in sáng kiến  Mô hình  Đĩa CD (DVD)  Phim ảnh  Hiện vật khác (các phim, ảnh, sản phẩm phần mềm) Năm học: 2019-2020 Năm học: 2019-2020
2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION …………………………………………..............…2 1. Context ......................................................................................2 2. Reasons for choosing the topic ................................................2 3.The scope of the research ..........................................................3 4. Research aims............................................................................3 I./ RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH......................................3 II./ RESEARCH CONTENTS …………………………..................4 1./ Reality of teaching writing at the school..............................4 2./ Procedures...............................................................................4 FINDINGS ………………………………………............……....……40 CONCLUSION ……………………………………...........….………41 REFERENCES ………………………………………............…….....42
3 DANH MỤC CHỮ CÁI VIẾT TẮT 1. …………………………………………………………………... 2. ………………………………………………………………... 3. …………………………………………………………………... THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ SÁNG KIẾN
4 1. Tên sáng kiến: Helping gifted students overcome their difficulties in essay writing 2. Lĩnh vực áp dụng sáng kiến: Phương pháp giảng dạy 3. Tác giả: - Họ và tên: BÙI NGỌC XINH Nam (nữ): Nữ - Trình độ chuyên môn: Thạc sĩ - Chức vụ, đơn vị công tác: Tổ phó CM _ Trường THPT Chuyên Lương Thế vinh - Điện thoại: 0918155005 Email: buingocxinhltv@gmail.com - Tỷ lệ đóng góp tạo ra sáng kiến (%): 100% 4. Đồng tác giả (nếu có) - Họ và tên: ……………........................…….. Nam (nữ): ........................ - Trình độ chuyên môn: …........................................................................ - Chức vụ, đơn vị công tác: ….................................................................... - Điện thoại: ……........……….. Email: ................................................... - Tỷ lệ đóng góp tạo ra sáng kiến (%): ........................................................ (Ghi số lượng % đồng tác giả đóng góp vào sáng kiến) Title: HELPING GIFTED STUDENTS OVERCOME THEIR DIFFICULTIES IN ESSAY WRITING
5 INTRODUCTION 1. Context Writing is often considered as the last skill to be developed after listening, speaking, and reading. Essay writing allows students to practise and develop transferable skills that are valuable to them not only while they are students but also after they graduate and have to write in a professional role. An essay is defined as a short piece of writing that expresses information as well as the writer's opinion. Essays are popular at high schools and colleges. People may even need to write essays in the business world (although they are usually called "reports" at that point). Students nowadays, especially those who study at high school for the gifted have an insatiable hunger for how to write an effective essay. 2. Reasons for choosing the topic English-majored students of Luong The Vinh High school especially students of the elected English team (grade 12) who take National English Examination are in need of having a perfect writing skill, but the national curriculum set by the government cannot satisfy their need. In the past few years, I have been responsible for helping gifted students practice their writing skill, and I have found that a lot of gifted students at this school show interest in writing especially academic writing. However, their essays still contained mistakes. These mistakes ranged from minor ones such as spellings to major ones such as sentence structures and the organization in an essay. Thus, it is imperative that I should do something to help them overcome their difficulties in writing so that they can improve their writing skill and write coherently, effectively, and academically. 2. The scope of the research
6 The research focuses on how to help gifted students find essay writing easy, how to improve high school students’ writing skill and how to help them write more effectively. The participants of the study The English-majored students of the two English classes (grade 12) of Luong The Vinh High school were chosen to take part in the innovation. The innovation was carried out in writing periods of the two semesters of the school year. The reason why the students of the two English classes (grade12) were chosen as the participants of the study were that: - They are gifted students. They usually have to write essays. - They are interested in writing. - They often have to sit exams of English around the year. 3. Research aims The innovation focuses on - How to teach gifted students some basic academic writing skills - How to help them write well and effectively - How to help them find essay writing easy - How to help them develop more confidence in their ability to write - How to help them show their skills in organising their ideas systematically. I./ RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH It is significant that high school students / gifted students / college students acquire good writing skills because the most important aspect of a college education is to learn to communicate clearly and efficiently. That is why general college education prerequisites include a number of compositions and reading courses that students must complete before they graduate.
7 According to Oshima and Huge, “Writing is a form of communication that encourages students to put their feelings and ideas on paper, to organize their knowledge and beliefs into convincing arguments, and convey meaning through well-constructed text. In its most advanced form, written expression can be as vivid as a work of art. Therefore, writing is never a one-step action: it is a process that has several steps.” (Oshima and Huge 1997: 2) II./ RESEARCH CONTENTS a./ Reality of teaching writing at the school As far as I am concerned, tasks designed in English textbooks for students are not in a systematical way, which causes difficulties for students who want to enhance their ability to write a good essay. Tasks for writing in the textbooks also lack skills necessary for writing an effective essay. b./ PROCEDURES In order to write an academic essay effectively, it is a good idea to follow a number of important steps in the essay writing process. Here are some important rules /skills that I have collected and given to students so that they can show their ability in presenting a logical argument, their skills in organising their ideas systematically, their ability to select relevant ideas and information to the topic and last but not least their ability to use correct English grammar and vocabulary. A. RULES 1. Title Rules 2. Capitalization Rules 3. Punctuation Rules The teacher gave students handouts which contain these rules.
8 B. BASIC WRITING SKILLS I./ The Basics of Sentence Construction 1. PHRASES a./ Noun phrases e.g. : The bright blue dress was Helen’s favourite dress. b./ Prepositional phrases (phrases that start with a preposition. Prepositional phrases work to modify nouns or verbs) e.g.: The man near the door is talking with Nathan. (in this sense, they work very much like adjectives and adverbs) c./ Verbal phrases (phrases that start with either : a gerund , an infinitive , or a participle. Verbal phrases can work as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.) e.g.: Working in a factory had left him broken in body and spirit. d./ Appositive phrases e.g. : My uncle Jack, a diligent and serious man, taught me the value of hard work. Exercise 1: Read the following sentences. Underline all the noun phrases and circle the prepositional phrases. Then draw an arrow to the word that each prepositional phrase modifies. 1. The leopard’s spots help it to hide from its prey. 2. When the right foot of the player touched the foul line, the referee blew the whistle. 3. Average winner temperatures in the Arctic Circle drop below zero. 4. The vast majority of start-up companies fail their first three years. Exercise 2 Read the following sentences.Underline any verbal phrases that act as nouns. Circle any verbal phrases that act as modifier. Then draw an arrow to the word that each phrase modifies.
9 1. Maintaining a high grade point average is essential to any student hoping to go to college. 2. Crying and upset, the witness admitted she had lied to protect her boyfriend. 3. Ned came home to find his door forced open and his belongings scattered on the floor. 4. Planning the trip scheduled for next week is Helen’s responsibility. Exercise 3 Read the following sentences. Underline any appositive phrases in them and put a comma at the beginning and at the end of each appositive phrase. Then draw an arrow to the noun modified by the appositive. 1. The Tigers the only team to go undefeated are the favorites to win the championship. 2. The film about King Kong a giant ape who destroys the city was entertaining. 3. The dancer a girl of both beauty and grace was the star of the show. 4. The climbers decided to attempt their ascent of the mountain during the spring traditionally the safest time of year in terms of weather. 2. CLAUSES a./ Independent clauses (Independent clauses can stand alone as complete sentences. Independent clauses can function as sentences because they express complete thought. e.g.: He got out of his car. b./ Dependent clauses Dependent clauses cannot function as complete sentences because they do not express complete thoughts. Dependent clauses come in three forms: coordinate clauses, subordinate clauses, and noun clauses. - Coordinate clauses are essentially independent clauses. However, they cannot function as complete sentences because they begin with coordinating conjunctions, and this makes the thoughts they express incomplete.
10 e.g.: He got out of the car, but he left the car running. - Subordinate clauses always start with a subordinating conjunction. Subordinate clauses can be joined to independent clauses, coordinate clauses, or other subordinate clauses. e.g.: He got out the car, but he left the car running because he was planning to return quickly. - Noun clauses: Within a sentence, noun clauses serve the same functions as nouns. They can work as subjects, objects, or complement. Noun clauses are introduced by one of the following words: that, which, whichever, who, whoever, whomever, what, whatever, when, whenever, how, however, and whether. e.g.: Mike always buys whatever Mary wants. Whoever ate the last piece of cake is in big trouble. The big question is how we are going to fix the problem. Exercise 1 Read the following sentences and circle the independent clause in each sentence. Then underline any dependent clause in each sentence. Where it is appropriate, place comas between the independent clause and any dependent clause. 1. The city’s air pollution is the result of high number of cars on the road and of its outdated factories but little is being done to solve the problem. 2. Although the modifications to the ship’s design were thought to be minor they had a significant impact on its performance. 3. Most wild animals are afraid of humans but they can still be dangerous when they are threatened. 4. While Mark usually displays excellent sportsmanship he was thrown out of the last game because of his behaviour. Exercise 2: Read the following sentences below. Find the noun clause in each sentence and underline it. 1. Last semester our science teacher taught us how batteries work.
11 2. That he had committed the crime was understood to be a proven fact. 3. Although Nick is actually from New York, Miami is where his heart is. 4. When Jessica found what Mark had hidden under her book, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Exercise 3: Read the pairs of sentences below. Then combine them into one sentence using the type of conjunction indicated in parentheses ( ). 1. Most professional sports are seasonal in nature. Athletes need time to rest and recover between seasons. (subordinating conjunction) 2. The waves in Hawaii are better than in most of California. Hawaii is the surfing capital of the US. (coordinating conjunction ) 3. CD players were released for mass marketing in the late 1980s. CD players quickly replaced tape players. (subordinating conjunction ) 3. SENTENCE STRUCTURES a./ Simple sentences A simple sentence is made up of a single independent clause. However, simple sentences are not always short and easy. An almost unlimited number of phrases and modifiers can be built into a simple sentence structure, so sometimes these sentences can be quite advanced. e.g. : My dog loves to play fetch. My dog, a beautiful and playful Labrador puppy, loves to play fetch on sunny afternoon in the park near my house. b./ Compound sentences e.g.: My dog loves to play fetch, and I take him to the park almost every day. c. / Complex sentences e.g.: My dog loves to play fetch, even though he is very old now. d./ Compound- complex sentences e.g.: Even though he is very old now, my dog loves to play fetch, and I take him to the park almost every day.
12 Exercise 1 Read each of the following sentences and indicate whether it is a simple sentence, a compound sentence , a complex sentence , or a compound- complex sentence. 1. Justin apparently misplaced all his textbooks, or at least most of them, during the ride from the library to his house. 2. The hurricane caused severe hardship for working class members of society, but the rich, having access to far greater resources, viewed the storm as little more than an inconvenience. 3. Even though the Constitution guarantees all citizens the same essential rights, in practice, many groups have been denied the full rights and benefits of citizenship. 4. The government claimed that the recent restrictions on the press were in the interests of public safety, and it promised to ease the restrictions as soon as it is deemed to be safe to do so. Exercise 2: Combine the simple sentences below. Try to combine them into a single sentence using as many different sentence structures as possible. The team began to lose any hope of victory. The team realized it was thirteen points back with only minutes to go in the final quarter. 1. Combine the sentences into a compound sentence. The team realized it was thirteen points back with only minutes to go in the final quarter, and it began to lose any hope of victory. 2. Combine the sentences into a complex sentence. The team began to lose any hope of victory when it realized that it was thirteen points back with only minutes to go in the final quarter. 3. Combine the sentences into a single, simple sentence. Realizing it was thirteen points back with only minutes to go in the final quarter, the team began to lose any hope of victory. 4. / PRONOUN USAGE
13 Antecedents of pronouns: If a pronoun is used in a sentence, there must be a noun before it of the same person and number. There must be one, and only one, antecedent to which the pronoun refers. Examples of pronouns without antecedents: Incorrect: Henry was denied admission to graduate school because they did not believe that he could handle the work load. Correct: The members of the admissions committee denied Henry admission to graduate school because they did not . . . Exercise: Rewrite the following sentences so that each pronoun has a clear antecedent. If you have to supply a noun, use any noun that will make the sentence correct. 1. The dispute between the faculty and the administration was not resolved until they got better working conditions. 2. Ellen spotted her friend as her friend as she walked towards the student Union. 3. Foreigners are easily impressed by the bullfighters as they march into the arena. 4. In their spare time, many great books have been written about the famous Greek and Roman heroes. 5. Dr. Byrd’s book was accepted for publication because they thought it would be beneficial to students. 6. Bob and Helen hate flying because they make too much noise. 7. Casey was not admitted to the country club because they thought he was not socially acceptable. 8. Mary loves touring the country by train because it is so interesting 9. The colonel was decorated for bravery, having fought them off. 10. The children were frightened because they made eerie sounds. 5./ SUBJECT / VERB AGREEMENT Exercise
14 Read the following sentences. Then rewrite the sentence to correct the error. 1. The biggest problem facing many new companies are  is the dozens of regulations that are often unfamiliar to the company management. 2. Most of the talk, including the portions on political reform, financial stability , and future economic growth , are  is available on tape for anyone who is interested. 3. Seemingly minor breakdown in social etiquette, the failure to apologize after bumping into someone, for example, is  are Michael’s complaint about life in the city. 4. In the suspect’s house, underneath his mattress, was  were found the murder weapon and the stolen property, which was enough to convict him of the crime. 5. Not only the investors, but also the company itself are  is expected to suffer severe financial losses after the world of financial analysts learns of its improprieties 6. / PARALLELISM Definition: Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. is called parallel structure. By convention, items in a series appear in parallel grammatical form: a noun is listed with other nouns, an -ing form with other -ing forms, and so on. Failure to express such items in similar grammatical form is called faulty parallelism. Ordering of ideas: Generally, when making a list of ideas, the shortest and most grammatically simple ideas should be placed at the beginning of the list. Look at this example below: Under the judge’s ruling, the company must compensate its shareholders for their losses caused by the company’s
15 mismanagement, open its books to inspection every year, and pay a fine. In the example above, all the parts of the list are grammatically parallel; they begin with verbs. However, they are ordered in a manner which makes the sentence somewhat hard to read. The sentence would be simpler if the shortest and most grammatically simple ideas were at the beginning of the list. Look at the example below. Under the judge’s ruling, the company must pay a fine, open its books to inspection every year, and compensate its shareholders for their losses caused by the company’s mismanagement Exercise 1. Read each of the sentences below and underline the section that is not parallel in structure. Then revise each sentence. 1. He's quite a man with the girls. They say he's closed the eyes of many a man and opening the eyes of many a woman." 2. "They are laughing at me, not with me." 3. "Voltaire could both lick boots and put the boot in. He was at once opportunist and courage, cunning and sincerely. He managed, with disconcerting ease, to reconcile love of freedom with love of hours." 4. "Truth is not a diet but a condiment." 5."Our transportation crisis will be solved by a bigger plane or a wider road, mental illness with a pill, poverty with a law, urban conflict with a gas, racism with a goodwill gesture and we can use bulldozers to pull down slums." 6. "Buy a bucket of chicken and having a barrel of fun." 7. "The loss we felt was not the loss of ham but the loss of pig." 8. "Immature poets imitate; mature poets stealing." 9. "The value of parallel structure goes beyond aesthetics. . . . It points up the structure of the sentence, showing readers what goes with what and keep them on the right track."
16 10. Freedom of speech and being able to vote in election are the rights of every citizen. Exercise 2. Change the following sentences so that they are parallel. 1. The puppy stood up slowly, wagged its tail, blinking its eyes, and barked. 2. Ecologists are trying to preserve our environment for future generation by protecting the ozone layer, purifying the air, and have replanted the trees that have been cut down. 3. The chief of police demanded from his assistants an orderly investigation, a well- written report, and that they work hard. 4. Marcia is a scholar, an athlete, and artistic. 5. Slowly and with care, the museum director removed the Ming vase from the shelf and placed it on the display pedestal. 6. The farmer plows the fields, plants the seeds, and will harvest the crop. 7. Abraham Lincoln was a good president and was self-educated, hard- working, and always told the truth. 8. Children love playing in the mud, running through puddles, and they get very dirty. 9. Collecting stamps, playing chess, and to mount beautiful butterflies are Derrick’s hobbies. 10. Despite America’s affluence, many people are without jobs, on welfare, and have a lot of debts. Exercise 3. Read the sentences below. Each sentence contains proper parallel structure, but can be revised for clarity and simplicity. Revise each sentence by reordering the parallel structure. 1. The company manager set out three goals for the year: to increase productivity by streamlining the construction process, to increase sales, and to decrease accidents on the factory floor.
17 2. Strict regulation of the media, imprisonment of political enemies with little or no judicial process, and public intimidation are all characteristics of totalitarian governments. 7. SENTENCE FRAGMENT AND RUN-ON SENTENCES a. / Sentence Fragments Sentence fragments are parts of a sentence that do not express a complete thought. Look at the example below: When Jack grows up, he wants to be a police officer. Because his father is a police officer. Generally, sentence fragments are pretty easy to recognize and avoid, as in the example above. Many people unknowingly create sentence fragments, however, by starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. This makes the sentence a dependent clause, and therefore a sentence. Look at the example below: After the meeting had ended, Mitch and Katie got into a huge argument. But later they apologised to each other. In order to fix this sentence fragment, we can replace the coordinating conjunction “but” with an adverbial conjunction like “however.” Look at the example below: After the meeting had ended, Mitch and Katie got into a huge argument. Later, however, they apologised to each other. b./ Run-on Sentences In theory, there is no limit to the number of clauses that you can link together in a sentence. In practice, however, if you link too many clauses together in a sentence, your sentence will be long, disorganized, and confusing. Look at the example below: Bob and Jessica wanted to go to the beach, but their sister Diane didn’t, so they planned to go into the city instead, but the traffic was
18 terrible because there had been a huge accident, and they had to turn around and go home. Run-on sentences like the one above should be broken into two or more smaller sentences. Look at the example below: Bob and Jessica wanted to go to the beach, but their sister Diane didn’t. Consequently, they planned to go into the city instead. Traffic, however, was terrible due to a huge accident, and they had to turn around and go home. Exercise Read the following paragraphs. Each one contains a number of sentence fragments and run-on sentences. Revise each paragraph to correct these problems. 1. It is my belief that people rely on their cars too much. Most people use their cars even for short trips where they could just walk instead, like when they are going to a store that is just around the corner or things like that. In such situations it is not necessary to drive, but most people drive anyway. Even people who are unwilling to walk even these short distances could drive less if they would just plan ahead and try to run all of their daily errands at one time instead of making numerous short trips. 2. Air quality in many parts of the world has grown drastically worse in the last three decades. Because of a greater reliance on coal to generate power. Coal, which is full of impurities that make their way into the air, is utilized by many developing countries for power generation due to the simplicity of the technology. Coal-fired plants are easier to build than plants that run on natural gas or oil because it is easier to safely store coal than either natural gas or oil, and coal-fired plants are obviously simpler and safer than nuclear power plants. But they also cause far more pollution than other types of power plants.
19 C. ORGANIZATION OF AN ESSAY a. Introduction b. Body c. Conclusion a. The structure of the introduction: - General statements about the subject/ topic - Specific thesis statement Parts of a Thesis Statement The thesis statement is the most important sentence in your essay. It is the main idea for the whole essay, and it frequently shows (directly or indirectly) the number and content of the body paragraphs of the essay. “Clear thesis statements are essential for good essay writing in English. The thesis statement of an essay is made up of the same parts as the topic sentence in a paragraph. The thesis statement in an essay has the same function as the topic sentence in a paragraph. Topic and Controlling Idea - The thesis statement generally consists of two main parts: the topic (the subject of the essay, what the essay is about), and the controlling idea (analysis, explanation(s), or assertion(s) that you’re making about the topic). - The thesis statement is a very specific statement and generally it appears at the end of the first paragraph of an essay. Example: There are three main relationships that dogs have with people. ↓ ↓
20 controlling idea topic Since they were first domesticated, dogs have helped human beings a lot. ↓ controlling idea (In this essay, you would give examples of how dogs can be helpful to people) There are many types of dogs. ↓ controlling idea (In this essay, you would discuss the various types of dogs.) An English setter and a Gordon setter have a few obvious differences, but they are mostly similar. ↓ controlling idea (In this essay, you would describe the differences and similarities between two breeds of dogs: an English setter and a Gordon setter.) Predictor In addition, some thesis statements may also have a third component called predictor. The predictor of a thesis statement tells the reader how many body paragraphs there will be in the essay and what their content will be. For example: Wars in the twentieth century were fought for three main reasons: ethic, economic, and religious. In this thesis statement, the topic is wars in the twentieth century. The controlling idea is that they were fought for three reasons. The third part of this thesis statement lists the three reasons that the author believes were