WORKING WITH KEY SKILLS

WORKING WITH KEY SKILLS by Alex Ciurana

Activity 1 “Narrative Writing based on a comic”
Aim:
-To have fun.
-Learn to create stories.
-Learn to agree and negotiate ideas.

Activity introduction:
The first activity that I’m going to explain here is a project that my 4th eso students did in the 1st term and that consisted of writing a story based on a comic in black and white given to them. The activity included a sheet with instructions for the students, who sat in groups of three and had a group coordinator who liaised with the teacher. This is what the students were given:

Narrative Writing for 4º eso. Session 1 (1st Term. November 2009)

Introduction.

To the group coordinator,

After doing the exercises in both books you are about to start working as a group.
Read these instructions carefully and try to follow them for the success of the activity, the joy of learning and sharing experiences and information.
Each member of a group needs clear instructions and time limits. Be specific.
You only have one class to do it. Put this sheet of paper on the table so the other members of the group can see it at the same time. Each group coordinator will read the instructions in bold aloud to the other members of the group.
Please follow them strictly. Thank you for your cooperation.

Task 1.
(Read) “In this first activity each member of the group is going to take 3 to 4 minutes to think about the story. Think about what’s happening in the story, the name of the character and any other information you think is fun and appropriate.
When this time is over, share your ideas and decide which is best for the story. Remember to be polite, correct grammatically speaking and fun!!
Make sure you spend 10 minutes maximum discussing the plot of your comic.

Task 2.
(Read) “Now is the time to work individually. Divide the three comic strips into the three members and work with a pencil on your copy of the comic for 5 to 10 minutes. (Stop here)
After that, read what you have created and see how your classmates react.
Think as a group on the following issues:
-Are we all happy with the work?
- Do we need to change anything?
- Are there any grammar mistakes in the text?
- Have we used interesting vocabulary in the comic?
- Have I used humour in my writing?”
(15 minutes maximum)

Task 3
(Read) “Once you have corrected the story, you have to rewrite it on the comic photocopy neatly and easily so everybody can understand the handwriting. Decide who in the group has the best handwriting and is going to rewrite the story in the balloons and the caption boxes. Be careful! You can also colour the comic and add some effects to it if you wish. The other two could be doing the colouring at the same time.” (20 minutes maximum)


Task 4
(Read) “Now the comic is almost done, but there is something very important that is missing. Yes, you are right. The comic has no title. Finally take 1 or 2 minutes to think of a title for the comic. You should write two or three titles which best describe the story. Remember to be imaginative, creative and fun. Don’t forget you can add a touch of humour to your title to make it more interesting.”


Once the first part of the activity was done, every group coordinator had to analyze the activity and each task, thinking about the problems found and alternatively giving suggestions or solutions to improve it. This is what each group coordinator was given:

Task analysis:
Group coordinator’s name:
Group member’s:
Activity description:

Time keeping Problems Observations/Suggestions
Task 1






Task 2







Task 3






Task 4









Activity 1 analysis:

In this activity we have been working with the following key skills (competencias básicas):
• Communications (Competencia en comunicación lingüística).
• Information Technology (Competencia de la información y la interacción digital).
• Competencia cultural y artística (¿??)
• Improving own learning and performance (Competencia para aprender a aprender).
• Problem solving (Autonomía e iniciativa personal).
• Working With Others.


Activity 2 “Music is gonna get you started!!”

Aim:
-To have fun.
-To practise narrative writing in a creative and fun way.

Activity description:
Students sit in pairs this time and they have to share an A4 size sheet of white paper. They are told that one at a time they have a limited time to draw what the music that is going to be played inspires them. There are 8 extracts of songs and they have to draw eight drawings, four each. That is to say, first song member nº 1 of the group draws and when the music stops, it’s time for member nº 2 to draw the 2nd song. So the paper goes back and forth until they have completed the 8 drawings.
Once the last song has finished, the teacher collects all the papers with the drawings made by all the pairs in the class and then hands out the papers with the drawings at random, making sure no pair gets their original one.
Then is time for the follow up activity.
Then they have about 10-15 minutes to write a quick story making reference to all the drawings they have on the paper in front of them.
Needless to say that we assume the pupils studied some of the time connectors in previous academic years so they can connect their ideas to make a wild text.
Finally when the time is up the teacher stops the writing process and one in each pair reads the text they have created aloud in front of the class for they enjoyment.
The written texts with their drawings can be pinned down in the class panels for everyone’s enjoyment.

Suggested music extracts:
1. A Chinese/Oriental song.
2. Batman theme.
3. James Bond theme.
4. Carmina Burana
5. “Que cara más bonita tiene esa niña” flamenco song.
6. “Star Wars Theme Cantina Band” by Meco.
7. El himno de Valencia.
8. “Cumpleaños feliz” by Parchís
Activity 2 analysis:

In this activity we have been working with the following key skills (competencias básicas):
• Communications (Competencia en comunicación lingüística).
• Information Technology (Competencia de la información y la interacción digital).
• Competencia cultural y artística.
• Improving own learning and performance (Competencia para aprender a aprender).
• Problem solving (Autonomía e iniciativa personal).
• Working With Others


Activity 3 “Oral activity”

Aim:
-To practise the Present Simple to express habits and routines using time expressions and adverbs of frequency.
-To have fun.
-To share ideas with others. Learn to negotiate.
-Learn from your mistakes.

Activity description:
In this activity the teacher projects an image on the wall. It can be the photo of a child or an adult.
First, the students individually must think of/about the habits and routines of the person. A day in the life of that person. They have a time limit (2 mins.)
Second they sit in pairs and they share their ideas. Oral activity. Approximate time 5-10 mins.
Once they have agreed on his/her habits and routines, they write it down on a piece of paper and they share with the rest of the group.(5 mins max.)
Finally the teacher correct the mistakes with the help of the other students and the students think about them.

Activity 3 analysis:

In this activity we have been working with the following key skills (competencias básicas):
• Communications (Competencia en comunicación lingüística).
• Information Technology (Competencia de la información y la interacción digital).
• Competencia cultural y artística.
• Improving own learning and performance (Competencia para aprender a aprender).
• Problem solving (Autonomía e iniciativa personal).
• Working With Others.













Activity 1
This is the comic given to the students for the first activity, but the information contained in the balloons had been deleted.