Continuation Writing —— A writing contest

常州市正行中学  曹碧涵

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1)     sum up the criteria of writing a good continuation article together;

2)     understand the importance of handwriting;

3)     master the method of designing a reasonable plot;

4)     learn about different ways to write good language and try to polish up some examples;

5)     appreciate the examples from three aspects (handwriting, plot, and language).

Learning Activities:

Step 1 Lead in

Q: What makes a good article in the continuation writing?

Step 2 Handwriting

Compare two examples, sum up the criteria (标准) of a good handwriting

Step 3 Plot

1.     Read the material and answer the following questions:

Q1: Who is the main character?

Q2: How did “I” feel about writing?

Q3: What is the main idea of the story?

Q4: What is the possible theme?

2.     Design the plot

1)     Read the first sentence of each paragraph and find out the keywords.

2)     Answer the related questions:

a.      What news is it?

b.     Where is the award presentation held?

c.      Why did “I” want to go to the teacher’s office?

3)     Design the plot with the help of these keywords

4)     What is the exact theme?

A few weeks later, when I almost forgot the contest, there came the news.

I went to my teacher’s office after the award presentation.

3.     Analyze the example and sum up the criteria of a good plot

Example 1

Step 4 Language

1.     Read five expressions and choose the good ones (at most three)

2.     Explain your reasons

3.     Try to polish them up

A.    With excitment, when the president added the award to me, my hands was slipped rapidly.

B.     No! The reason you win the prize is your keep going, your hard work and your patient.

4.     Sum up the criteria of good language

Step 5 Appreciate the example

Based on the criteria, appreciate the example.

Example 2

Step 5 Make a summary

Review: What makes a good article in the continuation writing?

Step 6 Assignments

1.     Analyze and polish your own writing

2.     Appreciate the model sample based on what we’ve learned.

Appendix

When I was in middle school, my social studies teacher asked me to enter a writing contest. I said no without thinking. I did not love writing. My family came from Brazil, so English was only my second language. Writing was so difficult and painful for me that my teacher had allowed me to present my paper on the sinking of the Titanic by acting out a play, where I played all the parts. No one laughed harder than he did.

So, why did he suddenly force me to do something at which I was sure to fail? His reply: “Because I love your stories. If you’re willing to apply yourself, I think you have a good shot at this.” Encouraged by his words, I agreed to give it a try.

I chose Paul Revere’s horse as my subject. Paul Revere was a silversmith (银匠) in Boston who rode a horse at night on April 18, 1775 to Lexington to warn people that British soldiers were coming. My story would come straight from the horse’s mouth. Not a brilliant idea, but funny; and unlikely to be anyone else’s choice.

What did the horse think, as he sped through the night? Did he get tired? Have doubts? Did he want to quit? I sympathized immediately. I got tired. I had doubts. I wanted to quit. But, like Revere’s horse, I kept going. I worked hard. I checked my spelling. I asked my older sister to correct my grammar. I checked out a half-dozen books on Paul Revere from the library. I even read a few of them.

When I handed in the essay to my teacher, he read it, laughed out loud and said “Great. Now, write it again.” I wrote it again, and again and again. When I finally finished it, the thought of winning had given way to the enjoyment of writing. If I didn’t win, I wouldn’t care.