Mixed ability writing activities

Block 3 Mixed ability writing activities

Paragraph (back in the 70’s) (Student’s Book page 149)

Instruction: What would you do if you accidentally went back in time and woke
up in the 70s?

Write a paragraph (120-140 words) in the first person singular about your
adventure. Use your imagination or consult your parents and teachers for a few
ideas. You can also check these links out on the net:

• http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSeventies
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVRC5BnNg8A

To make your paragraph more interesting you can describe what you think the
people felt and did at the time.

Step 1: To help you organise your ideas for your paragraph, surf the sites
above and jot down the answers to the questions in the graphic organiser
below.

Music: What kind of

Television and the music are people Lifestyle: What do
Movies: listening to? people's cars and
houses look like?
What's everyone
watching?

Politics:
Clothes and Fashion: Waking
Who's the president?
What are people up in the
wearing these days? What's going on
seventies politically?

Step 2: Now that you have the information that you need, decide how you
are going to organise your paragraph. To help you do this, fill in the
graphic organiser below.

Virgínia Barros, Luísa Barros, Maria José Rodrigues, Vanessa Reis Esteves
 Mixed ability writing activities

Idea: Describe how you went to bed in _______

Introduction and woke up in _________________________.

Title (set the context) ______________________________________

______________________________________

Tell the reader that you are going to explain and

help them see and feel what you saw and felt.
_____________________________________.

Talk about 3-5 concrete examples from the

Development seventies and mention feelings and emotions:

(develop 3-5 topics by giving Example 1: ___________________________

concrete descriptions and Example 2: ____________________________
examples to help the reader
visualise what you are saying) Example 3: ____________________________

Mention and stress a point/feeling or mention

Conclusion what you really want the reader to remeber.
______________________________________
(to summarise what you have
said and conclude) End with an expression that was commonly
used in the 70s:
______________________________________

Step 3: To help improve your writing, you should think carefully about the
vocabulary that you are using and make sure that you include a few words
and expressions that are sure to “impress” the reader.

Make a list of some interesting words (nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs) that
you are going to use in each paragraph. You should have at least 2 words for
each paragraph.

Here are a few words about the seventies to get you started:

Fashion: Common Adjectives:

Music:
Polyester expressions: unfamiliar
Disco fever
suits “Get down and tense
Jive
Bell bottoms boogie” groovy
Feel the beat
Mini skirts “It’s dy-no-mite!” dazed
Party away
Maxi dresses “No way, José” confused

You can also consult the vocabulary lists in the Glossary of your Student’s Book
(pages 245-6).

Virgínia Barros, Luísa Barros, Maria José Rodrigues, Vanessa Reis Esteves
 Mixed ability writing activities

Task / Role Words

Introduction (+/- 3 sentences)
To talk about/describe _____________________
Development (+/- 5-8 sentences):
To talk about/describe _____________________
Conclusion (+/- 3 sentences):
To talk about/describe _____________________

Step 4: Now, you are ready to actually write your paragraph. Fill in the
frame text below with your ideas.

Title: ________________________________________________________

Last night I went to bed at ________________________________________

and had a strange dream. I think that I dreamt something about ___________
__________________________________________. When I woke up this
morning, I felt ____________________________________________. What I
didn’t know was that I had travelled in time and ________________________
_____________________________________. You may be wondering what
_____________________________________________________________.
After some initial panic I decided to get up and see what ________________
_____________________________________________________________.
Well, this is what I have discovered. People here have a strange sense of
fashion. For me to blend in, I have to wear ____________________________
____________________________________________. Then, their idea of
entertainment is ________________________________________________.
When I switched on the TV, I saw that people here still watch _____________
_____________________________________________________________.
How am I going to survive without __________________________________
_______________________________________? The music scene is a bit of a
nightmare. There are no iPods but ________________________________
_______________________________________________ and everyone is into
_____________________________________. In my opinion, the music that
everyone is listening to is ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
I thought that in the 70s everyone was ______________________________

Virgínia Barros, Luísa Barros, Maria José Rodrigues, Vanessa Reis Esteves
 Mixed ability writing activities

___________________________________, but, in reality, everyone is really

___________________________________________ because it seems that
there’s a war ___________________________________________________
__________________________________. They tell me that lots of the young
men they know have ___________________________________. People also
use strange expressions like __________________________________. When
they say this I think they mean that ____________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
So, how do I feel about all this? All I can say is that ____________________
_______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________.

Step 5: Proof read your paragraph and check for any

silly mistakes.

Always review your writing before handing it in.

Virgínia Barros, Luísa Barros, Maria José Rodrigues, Vanessa Reis Esteves