Persuasive writing

Provide learners with a variety of catalogues.  Ask them to identify ways in which the catalogues set about persuading readers to make a purchase.

Following discussion provide learners with a grid identifying persuasive techniques.  Ask learners to cut and paste examples of the different techniques from their catalogues onto the grid.

Now provide learners with a range of adverts in small groups.  Ask the learners to identify the persuasive techniques and to feed them back to the rest of the group.

Adjective quest using catalogues

Provide learners with a range of catalogue.  Ask them to scan the text looking for adjectives.

Make a list of adjectives on the board.

Now ask learners what the primary purpose of the text might be - to inform or to describe.
The secondary purpose of a catalogue is to persuade. Discuss with learners how the adjectives that they have identified would help to persuade a would be buyer to select something from the catalogue.

News report . Speaking and listening

Record a news report. Ask learners to generate some questions that they might like to know the answers for, having given them the theme of the news article. This should elicit a discussion about what learners already know about the topic. You are activating prior knowledge.

You can then either give questions that you have created or use the ones that learners have generated.

Extend by comparing an audio report with a written report.

Problem solving - working out the rules.

Previously I've suggested giving students a selection of haiku along with a series of statements about the structure and form of the poetry.  Learners have to decide which statements are true and which are false. 

Similar activities can be created to help learners work out spelling patterns (adding s or es for example) or to see where syllable splits occur.  Provide learners with cards where words are split vc/cv (vowel consonant/ consonant vowel).  First learners complete the words by matching the syllable back together to form complete words then they look for the pattern where the split has occurred and formulate the rule for that particular group of cards.  The activity can then develop so that learners can see how syllable splitting occurs.  In a large group of learners different types of syllable split can be worked out by small groups and then they feedback to the rest of the class.  This gives room for differentiation.

Syllable and compound word pelmanism

Pelmanism is a memory game.  It is where cards are laird face down and players take turns turning two cards face up.  If the pair of cards matches then the play keeps that pair; if not the cards are returned, face down to their original position.

Pelmanism activities are useful to rehearse spelling knowledge.  In the case of compound words it is a straightforward case of each card containing an individual word which when joined to its pair makes a compound word e.g. one card with green and another card with house forms the compound greenhouse.

In terms of syllable pelmanism create your cards from two syllable words.  Each card contains one syllable, the players turns two cards face up and checks to see whether the two syllables form one word.  An additional cue can come in the form of a worksheet which contains a list of the two syllable words in a column - it is quite useful to provide a picture as well, or just the picture.  When the learner finds a pair then they should copy the complete word into a second column on their worksheet.  In theory syllable pelmanism could also extend to three or more syllable words with players picking up a card for each syllable in the word.

Cinquain

A cinquain is a five line poem with a specific structure requiring learners to identify or to use nouns, adjectives and verbs.  It may also require them to break words down into syllables.

http://www.nps.gov/akso/parkwise/Students/ReferenceLibrary/KEFJ/Living_in_Kenai/3_HO1.pdf

There's also some very useful stuff at this blog about diamante poems and other syllable counting forms.
http://sparkleteaching.blogspot.com/2011/05/syllable-and-word-count-poem-diamante.html#comment-form

Don't try to do too many types of syllable counting poetry - it will lead to learners becoming confused about which form is which.  Allow them to become confident in one form before introducing another and always build on what they already know.

Writing frames, poetry, syllables and grammar.

Poetry that has a specific form such as a haiku or a cinquain is a useful way of helping learners to tap into their creativity in an nonthreatening way and also to rehearse skills such as breaking words down into syllables and recognising different parts of speech.

The advantage of rehearsing these skills while using a poetry model is that there is a support framework and it becomes more of a problem to be solved.  It becomes bite sized rather than so big as to be intimidating.

Remember to provide an example, discuss the example.  Model examples, work in groups and provide chunks that build to learners working by themselves.  Presenting learners with a haiku or cinquain and telling them to get on with it isn't a great recipe for success... though getting learners to look at an assortment of haiku and then decide which statements about the haiku are true and which are false is much more effective.  The problem solving activity results in learners creating their own 'recipe' for a haiku and rehearsing their syllable skills as well.

Newspaper headlines - telling broadsheets from tabloids.

Ideally you need a news item that is covered by all the papers.

First of all learners need to discuss what they think the differences are between a broadsheet and a tabloid.
It may be useful to model an example of two headlines covering the same topic from a broadsheet and a tabloid.

Now ask learners to sort your headlines into broadsheet and tabloid headlines.  They should discuss why they have made the decisions that they have made and how the use of language and approach to the news differs.

Letter writing

There are lots of activities to help with the drafting, editing and proof reading of letters.

• A jigsaw exercise.  Learners sort component parts of a letter into the right order.  More able learners may have some red herring elements in their jigsaw.
• A proof reading exercise.  There's nothing quite like finding what's wrong with someone else's work.  Write a letter filled with errors - 10 or 20- and ask learners to find and correct them.
• Matching activities for the conventions of yours sincerely and yours faithfully.
• Audience and purpose grids - decide who and what different letters are aimed at and then compare the kind of language used.
• Writing frames
• Cloze exercises.
• Write a letter to an 'agony column' and then swap and have learners reply.  This is useful as learners can look at a magazine or newspaper and discuss the model beforehand.  Make sure that the topic is one that learners are happy to share. 
• A group activity with people taking turns to contribute and edit.  Thus enables the tutor to model the writing process.

Bingo

Bingo is a versatile game.  It does require some time to create the boards for the activity that you have decided to focus upon but it can be an effective tool.

Numbers on the learner cards

• Phoneme bingo.  Provide learners with boards with numbers from one to five in various combinations.  They then have to identify the number of phonemes in words provided by you  - remember you should say the word, not write it.  During feedback write the word on the board following learner direction.
• Syllable bingo. Very similar to the above but using syllables rather than individual sounds.

Specialised cards

• Advertising bingo.  Create cards containing the checklist for an advert e.g. lists of three, expert quotation, plays on words, addressing the audience etc.  Provide examples of various advertising features from real adverts - this could be the real thing held up or on a PowerPoint presentation.  Learners need to decide what aspect of advertising technique is on display and mark their bingo card accordingly.
• Spelling bingo. Another broad category but only useful for a specific purpose rather than having the multi-functionality of the number cards.  Learners could be asked to listen out for blends, vowel sounds - whatever it is that you are working on in fact.