编者按:使学生在快乐的教学活动中消除对英语写作的恐惧感，继而喜爱上写作，并最终写出条理清晰、文法正确的文章，是每个英语教师的责任。本栏目精选了三例国外教师教授英语写作课的实例，分别介绍了使用照片启发写作，合作写作和“冻结”写作三个生动有趣的活动。

　　Using personal photographs to spark narrative writing

　　Steven Kenneth Ahola

　　学生一般喜欢比较接近生活的话题，因此教师经常会让学生写些记叙文作为一堂写作课的开始。以下活动是学生借助于个人照片完成一篇记叙文。

　　第一步:

　　在活动开始之前，教师让每个学生带几张对其本人具有特殊意义的照片到课堂上来。在写作之前，学生参照各自的照片列出要写入文章的内容条目。其间，教师可以问学生几个相关问题。

　　第二步:

　　在学生写完条目后，教师请几位学生到教室前向大家描述自己的照片。之后，教师介绍此项活动的内容，并让学生就各自的一张照片写一到两页的文章（包括引入和结论部分）。

　　第三步:

　　教师朗读一些以前的学生所写的范文。由于这也可能是第一次做这种活动，教师可以就自己的照片为学生写一篇范文。

　　第四步:

　　教师给学生10至15分钟进行写前活动，让学生把拍照当天所发生的所有事件列成表。

　　第五步:

　　教师给学生一些时间写草稿。在这之前，教师再次强调一下写作要求。学生写草稿期间，也是教师为学生提供帮助的最佳时机。最后，教师给学生一星期的时间完成文章，然后上交给教师评阅。

　　STUDENTS tend to enjoy the writing process when they are able to write about topics relating directly to their lives.

　　Step 1

　　Before the actual introduction of the photograph writing activity, the students should be instructed to bring in a couple of photographs that have some special meaning to them. It might be helpful to begin the lesson by allowing the students to write a journal entry for 10 minutes about their photograph. While they are writing, you can ask several questions.

　　Step 2

　　After the journal writing is completed, ask several volunteers to briefly describe their photographs. Then, introduce the photograph writing activity. The students should write a one-to two-page paper (including a short introduction and conclusion) about one of their photographs.

　　Step 3

　　Provide the students with some sample photograph papers written by former students and read them aloud in class. However, since it will be the first time for you to do the activity, you should write a sample based on your own personal photograph.

　　Step 4

　　Do a prewriting activity. On a piece of paper, the students make a list of all the events for the day the photographs was taken. Allow the students to prewrite for 10-15 minutes.

　　Step 5

　　Give the students time to draft their papers. Before they begin drafting, it might be important to highlight the paper’s requirements and expectations once more. Furthermore, it is a perfect time to circulate around the room and provide assistance to the students. Finally, give students a week to draft and complete their papers before turning them in for evaluation.

　　Short collaborative writing activities

　　Winnie Cragg

　　这组活动主要包括以下四个部分:五词故事、短小故事、较长的记叙文、藏头诗。具体活动过程如下。

　　活动一:五词故事

　　教师为学生提供任意五个单词作为引子,其中名词、动词、形容词、副词和感叹词各一个。学生两人一组，在15至20分钟之内，编写一段3至5句的故事。当学生编写完故事后，举手示意教师检查。如果当天时间允许，学生向大家描述一下各个小组编写的故事。

　　活动二:短故事

　　此活动需要一节课，即50分钟的时间，学生仍是两人一组。教师提供一个句子作为故事的开头（也可以集思广益，让学生提供故事的首句）。教师选择学生比较感兴趣的话题，如让学生从各种各样的动物图片中选择两种动物，然后围绕它们编写一个故事。教师也可以采用“从前”或是“很久以前”等语句作为文章的开头，让学生写出富有想象力的故事。

　　活动三:记叙文

　　此活动要求至少需要两个课时，即1小时40分钟的时间。学生可以根据故事的不同主题，将一大张纸裁剪成不同的形状。教师将学生分为两人一组，并为每组提供男人和女人的照片若干张，然后让学生就这两个角色编写一段故事。其它的步骤与编写短故事相同。

　　活动四:藏头诗

　　此活动需要一节课即50分钟的时间。教师将学生分为两人一组，并提供有关某个话题的词汇列在黑板上，例如:感恩节、火鸡、南瓜、火鸡的咯咯叫声。每组学生从中选择一个单词，并以此为据，写一篇藏头诗。其它步骤与编写短故事的相同。

　　A. Five-word stories

　　THESE stories are very short (3-5 sentences) and can take as little as 15 to 20 minutes of class. Students sit in pairs and write the story together. When they finish, they raise their hand, and the teacher checks the story. Students can illustrate them as well, that day, if time permits or at a later time.

　　Process: The teacher provides a prompt of any five words on the board: one noun, one verb, one adjective, one adverb, and one exclamation. Before the students begin work in pairs, the teacher reviews the five words with the class. Then students proceed as described above.

　　B. Short stories

　　These stories require a full class period of 50 minutes and are done in pairs. Again, the teacher corrects the story with each pair of students as they complete the story. Then each student copies and illustrates the story.

　　Process: The teacher provides a one-sentence prompt that also serves as the first sentence of the story. An alternate method would be for students to brainstorm the first sentence.

　　An animal story proved to be a very successful idea. The teacher can provide handouts of various animal pictures from which students choose only two and create a story around the two animals. The teacher can also provide imaginative story that starts such as “once upon a time” or “long ago”.

　　C. Longer narratives

　　These stories require at least two 50-minute class periods. Part of that time students copy the story on a large piece of butcher paper they have cut and shaped according to the theme of the story. Process: The teacher provides handouts of men’s and women’s faces. The paired students choose one man’s face and one woman’s face and create a story about the two characters. The process is the same as for the short stories.

　　D. Acrostic poetry

　　These poems can be written and illustrated in one 50-minute class.

　　Process:The teacher provides a list of words about one topic-such as Thanksgiving, turkey, pumpkin, gobble-gobble-on the board from which a pair of students must choose only one. Together they write an acrostic poem. The process is the same as for the short stories.

　　Freeze the writing-a way to make writing tasks a group activity

　　Gillie Cunningham

　　这个活动以一种特定的形式练习写作，例如，教师可以让学生写一封非正式信件邀请朋友到他们的家乡度假。

　　准备阶段:

　　教师首先设定这封信的写作背景，然后将信件的具体格式写在黑板上，让每个学生了解非正式信件的写法。

　　第一步:

　　教师将学生分为两人或三人一组。

　　第二步:

　　教师发给每个学生一张纸，要求他们将各自的地址以及信件开篇的问候语写在纸上。

　　在学生完成后，教师向学生讲解“别动”活动的具体过程:即学生在开始写信后，当听到教师说“别动”时，所有学生都要立即停下各自手中的笔，即便句子或单词正写到一半。

　　第三步:

　　教师讲解完毕后，学生开始写信。教师确定在每个学生都写了一些内容后首次喊“别动”。对于那些写得比较慢的学生，教师可以稍加催促。

　　第四步:

　　当教师喊“别动”后，将每个小组的信传到另一个小组，这样，每个学生都将接着别人的信往下写。教师要求学生阅读、修改并润色手中的信件，然后接着这封信往下写。

　　第五步:

　　稍后，教师再次喊“别动”，重复以上步骤。教师最好在活动完毕后，将信件交还给每封信的第一位作者并要求其对这封信再阅读、修改并润色。最后，教师喊“结束”，学生为每封信结尾。

　　THIS activity would follow input work on writing in a particular style-for example, an informal letter inviting a friend to visit your home town for a holiday.

　　Preparation

　　Set up the context for the letter, you might do a letter layout on the board to make sure that everyone knows how to lay out an informal letter.

　　Step 1

　　Put the students in pairs or threes.

　　Step 2

　　Give them a large piece of paper and say, “Right, everyone I want you to write your address, write the opening greeting and then stop. And you do it immediately and you do it straight onto the paper.” And they do that.

　　Then you say, “OK now you’re going to write the letter. But as you write it, at some point you’ll hear me say ‘Freeze!’ and when I say ‘Freeze!, I mean ‘Freeze’, even if you’re in the middle of a word-you stop writing. If you’re in the middle of a sentence you stop writing.”

　　Step 3

　　The students begin to write. You check that everyone has written something before you say freeze for the first time.

　　You try to hurry the ones along that are lagging behind a little.

　　Step 4

　　When you say “Freeze!”, you transfer each paper to the next group so that everyone’s working with another piece of paper with a letter on it.

　　You give the following instruction which is to read, correct, improve and continue. So, they work on the letter that they’ve received and then they continue that letter.

　　Step 5

　　A bit later you say “Freeze!” and off you go again. Transfer letters, read, correct, improve and continue.

　　It’s always good to get the paper back to the original group just before the ending and again the same instruction-read, correct and improve and this time you say “close”. So they bring it to a finale.