Korean Job Discussion Forums

[antoniothegreat]

i am doing a writing class during vacation. i was told it lasted one week, then repeated with new students for another week. it included saturdays, so 6 days. we are learning how to write essays.
today we started, i showed the basic format of a body paragraph. we wrote simple body paragraphs (topic, detail, example, detail, example, conclusion) we will do that a bit more, then add intro and conclusion paragraphs.

why is my school retarded? this would be a simple class with a good point, but they opened it up so students can take my class twice. wtf? i asked, and HALF of the students will change, so what the heck am i supposed to do the second week? either i continue and the new kids are left in the dust with no clue what to do, or we repeat the basics and bore everyone.

any advice? i asked them what to do and havent gotten much feedback. this just doesnt make any sense at all.

[ilovebdt]

[ajuma]

Keep the format the same

[maddog]

Toss a coin. This is standard stuff IMO.

BUT, lovin' the avatar

[Hyeon Een]

I thought this would be some witty joke post because of the title. (the geniouses at my school)

But it wasn't.

I was disappointed.

Anyway take Ajumma's advice and do the same thing with different topics.

[OiGirl]

I'm in the exact same situation, only it's a two-week course. I am using different topics, with genres and graphic organizers repeating a few times during each course. I did notice that the students who were in the first session are awesome writers compared to the newcomers.

What is your writing curriculum that it is limited to one week? I'm asking seriously, so that maybe someone can offer some advice.

[formerflautist]

In defense of the OP, he's been in Korea for awhile. I find the longer I've been here the more I forget how to spell.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

So bloody typical. Why not just try to discourage the kids in the first group from taking it again?

[antoniothegreat]

ok... i think that was good advice, same curriculum, different topics.

formerflautist, thanks... my english has gotten so bad since i have been here. i am not very edumacated anymore.

yubumsuk, the students have already paid and reserved the slots, no can do... good idea though.

oigirl, i am planning it as i go. that way i can change it as the students learn, i dont know how fast or slow they can go yet. the first day i explained the basic lay out of an essay (intro, body, con) the showed them the saying "tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you've told them." emphasizing the idea of clarity in topic/thesis.

next we broke down the body paragraph into this
topic sentence (just answer the question i give)
detail one (answer "why" to the topic sentence)
evidence (used this instead of example because they understood it well, also explained as answers why to the detail)
detail two
evidence
conlcusion (restatest the topic)

we made a paragraph together, i think it was answering "what is your favorite subject?"
then i gave them five topics to write about:
who is your favorite teacher?
what is your favorite class?
are you a good student?
and are you pretty/handsome?

i wanted them simple and with vocab they know.

today we corrected a few paragraphs in class, i wrote them on the board and explained why each part was good or bad. (does the detail support the topic? does the conclusion add anything it shouldnt?)

today we did two more paragraphs, what is the most important class? and who is your best friend, again correcting a few on the board. i also started adding details like dont add anything new to your conclusion, dont start sentences with and, because, or those words, for some reason they love to do that.
i am thinking tomorrow of either making the questions harder, like they must give me 4 details and have a total of 6 parts of evidence, or adding the intro paragraph.

ok.. this is long, sorry

(and i changed my avatar a few times since it was big, but i think they are all good. 이효리 is my future wife, she just hasnt met me yet...)

[Pak Yu Man]

Perhaps you can make sure they know what/how to write a sentence.

Teach them the basics (subject/verb/complement). There's a whole class there. Then work them up to the direct object of an action verb. Another day finished. Then on the third day you can teach simple subjects vs. complete subjects.

4th day you could throw some pronouns and prepostions(or both) at them.
5th day you can teach that crazy non-action verb be then tell them about prepositions of time, they'll never know what hit them.
On the 6th day slap it all together into a paragraph.
On the 7th day teacher rested.

[OiGirl]

Antonio, sounds like you have a good plan. Just keep mixing up the topics. I'm not sure how old your students are, but I think it's a good idea to work on expository writing or narrative story grammar, rather than just sentences. They need to see how it all fits together and how to use Western rhetorical style when they are writing in English.

[EFLtrainer]

Ladies and gents, I believe the solution is simple. For any returning students: 1. Those who really didn't get it the first time, simply repeat. 2. Those returning and who got it, treat them as a separate group (yes, group work - gasp! ) and give them more advanced assignments going into the different types of essays, etc. Get further into the writing process overall. You also didn't mention choosing topics (Too narrow? Too broad?), brainstorming techniques, editing (including self- peer- and teacher editing), editing marks, etc.

Good luck.

[Boodleheimer]

[OiGirl]

One way I handle such a mixed-level class in a writing class is "hidden" different expectations. I expect a well-constructed paragraph from the lower students, and a five-paragraph essay from the higher students. All the important elelments like an introduction and conclusion, elaborating details, and transitions are still necessary, so the graphic organizers and explanations apply across the board.

I don't even have to spell this out. It's just the way it works out (i.e., that's what the kids turn in to me.)

[EFLtrainer]

Yeah, but OI, he's dealing with more than just the issue of mixed classes. You're points are useful, however, and might be another way to handle this class: let the returnees know they will be graded accordingly.