A PIECE OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY

" One evening in early December last year I was sitting in my bedroom reading a fantastic book of adventures when suddenly I heard something outside in the garden. I opened the window and ..."



This is a piece of autobiography, a piece of writing where you write about yourself, your life, experiences, anecdotes... and everything you want to share. 

You may think only important people write autobiographies (Rosa Parks, Barack Obama, Greta Thunberg...) but you are important enough and adventurous enough to write something, sure you are!

Remember, to write your piece of autobiography you must observe:

1. Tenses are in the past, it is an event you experienced.

2. It is written in first person; I had, I was, I saw, I felt...

3. Because it is personal, you always include your feelings and thoughts: and then I felt excited because... and then I thought "what a wonderful surprise" because... 


 Now the idea is... once written, I want to share my piece with the rest of the class. How will I do that?

Click on the link below and find out!!!



Once you have created your BIOCUBE it is time now to exhibit it in class and use it to illustrate your oral presentation. HAVE FUN!!

WRITING SKILL: A DESCRIPTIVE TASK

"You have seen an advertisement in an international travel magazine inviting readers to send in articles about a town they have visited. Describe a town, including things to see and do as well as information about the town's shops and nightlife"

 Would you like to take part in that contest above? Which, in your opinion, is the best writing organization? How many paragraphs? which contents should you include and which of them are not necessary?

Main sights / population and climate / shops / entertainments / train schedules / restaurants?

click on the icon to find the best text organization

ORAL SKILL: ASKING AND GIVING ADVICE

Have you heard about TIPS FOR A SAFER INTERNET DAY?

 Safer Internet Day, or SID for short, tries to help people to use the internet correctly. SID started in 2004 and is organised in February every year in 74 countries around the world to promote safe and responsible use of online technology and mobile phones. Each year there is a different topic such as cyberbullying or social networking. The focus for SID’s next campaign is ‘Let’s create a better internet together’. SID organisers want children and young people, parents and carers, teachers and educators, as well as industry and politicians to work together to build a better internet for all of us, but particularly for children and young people. 

Source: Learning English British Council 

Click on the next link to find out about it...



Click on the next ICON and find out about functional language used when asking and giving advice.

ORAL SKILL: Social Networks

Here is a video to introduce the topic of SOCIAL MEDIA and how much it has affected our lives 

Source BBC learning english


And here is a POSTER with some of the most popular SOCIAL NETWORKS nowadays. What do you know about them? Which ones are mostly used today? How do you like them?



You guess right? Click on the ICON and find out about your next ORAL TASK.
 

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

 

 CHILDREN'S RIGHTS are HUMAN RIGHTS adapted to children.

RIGHT TO EDUCATION is one of the 8 basic rights for children. Why do you think there should be such a thing as a declaration of children's rights?

Click on the icon and find out

 

See Malala's acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize and write your essay.

LETTERS TO A NEWSPAPER OR A HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

"You are about to tur 16 and strongly believe you should be allowed to drive, even though it is not legal in your country. Write a letter to a newspaper editor putting forward your case"

This is a kind of task in which you want to express your opinion about a topic of interes and show your views, discuss different aspects and try to put forward your suggestions. 

These kind of letters follow a clear structure answering a previous article you have recently read about the matter. Since your real aim is to make the audience agree with your views, it is your duty to express clearly problems and consecuences produced. Language should be formal and arguments presented in a clear way. Remember, you want the reader to read to the end and be open to receive your views so... try to sound convincing presenting data in a respectful way.




And click on the following icon to find some MODEL in order to create your own writing tasks

A BOOK REVIEW

Reading is a wonderful activity and we might be required to write about one of your favourites as a writing task.

Find some guidelines to improve your skill and remember, PRACTICE MAKES IT BETTER!! 

 
Example of book review by BBC Learning English 

 
Source by British Council Learning English Teens
 

A LETTER OF COMPLAINT

"You recently bought a calculator, but you wer given the wrong model by mistake. When you complained, the shop assitant was rude to you"

Formal letters are usually written either:
- to apply for a job
- to ask for information
- to make a complaint

They are normally sent to people in an official position or people you don't know well (Director of Studies, Personnel Manager...) therefore, they are written in a formal style with a polite, impersonal tone.

A formal letter should consist of:
- a formal greeting (Dear Sir/Madam, when you don't know the person's name; Dear Ms Green, when you know the person's name).
- an introduction in which you write your opening remarks and mention your reason for writing (I'm writing to apply for the position of ...)
- a main body in which you write about the main subjects of the letter in detail, starting a new paragraph for each topic.
- a conclusion in which you write your closing remaks (I look forward to hearing from ñyou as soon as possible...)
- a formal ending (Yours faithfully, when you don't know the person's name, Yours sincerely, when you know the person's name ; + your full name).

Find some guidelines for structure, style and models in the icons below.Remember, PRACTICE MAKES IT BETTER!!
 
 
 

AN INFORMATIVE ESSAY

WHAT IS IT? When you read an essay that contains factual and objective information about a topic of particular interest, that is an INFORMATIVE ESSAY.
I’m sure you can figure out that when writing an informative essay you need to inform your audience about a topic. Of course, there’s more to it than that.
You need to give your readers enough information so they fully understand what you’re writing about.

You need to assume your readers don’t know much (if anything) about your topic. This is why you’re informing them. (Makes sense, right?)

Here’s an example. Let’s say you’re into skateboarding, and you’re trying to tell a friend all about it. You can’t just start using terms like dropping in, heel-flips, and half-pipes.

You need to explain the lingo and provide enough information so your friend actually understands the words you’re using!


STRUCTURE in these essays is quite logical. Events are described in chronological order so that the reader follows the developmet easily. Every paragraph refers to a particular aspect of interest about the topic and sentences are connected by means of conjuncions or linking words.

LANGUAGE is rather neutral, standard so that everyone can understand without much effort. The AIM of the essay is to inform about a topic in particular to a wide audience. Abbreviations and jargon is avoided, same to complex grammar.

Click on the ICON for further guidelines to improve these essays: 




click on the ICON below to practice with CONNECTORS
 

WRITING A SUMMARY

Can you write a SUMMARY? Are the any techniques you can use in order to make it better and  brighter? Which is the best STYLE to be used in order to write a summary?


Click on the icon below and find out some recommendations.

Remember, only PRACTICE makes it BETTER!!