WEB-ресурс научно-практических конференций

C.p.s . Novozhilova M.V., Loshkova I.G .

TEACHING CREATIVE WRITING THROUGH PIECES OF ARTS

The modern approach to the teaching of writing is based on three assumptions:

1. People write to communicate with readers.

2. People write to accomplish specific purposes.

3. Writing is a complex process.

Thus, writing is seen as a communicative act. Students are asked to think of their audience, the reader, and their purpose for writing. Meaning is stressed, rather than form. And writing is seen as a process.

While teaching writing the teacher should not be so devoted to one approach that s/he excludes all others. A teacher should be eclectic, drawing from all methods available. A balanced approach to the teaching of writing skills should take into account all of the factors which are involved in good writing.

As the writing materials should be creative, we often use art transparences for teaching of intermediate-level writing skills. They act as springboards for a variety of language arts activities that help students transfer and apply knowledge from other courses of study, create diversity, and promote tolerance by encouraging students to share aspects of their culture and personal experiences, foster confidence in self-expression, and help students to recognize and pursue personal interests. The art transparences also provide strong connections to literature, science, maths , social studies, music, and high interest topics.

One of the paintings we use at our lessons is Deck Life on the Paragon by Pavel Petrovich Svinin . Deck Life on the Paragon , one of Fulton ’s steamboats, with Fort Putnam and West Point in the background, was painted by Svinin while visiting the United States . It is a portrait of Robert Fulton’s third steam-powered paddleboat, the Paragon. This boat, launched in 1811, carried passengers between Albany and New York С ity , along the Hudson River . It is obvious from this work that Svinin was impressed with Fulton ’s invention. He shows the well-dressed passengers enjoying themselves on the deck despite the choppy water and wind. The boat is painted in accurate detail with dark, rich colors. The American flag is given a prominent spot in the composition, and the landscape of the Hudson River is delicately depicted.

Writing tasks can be first of all: a descriptive and observational essay. The students are given the task: Imagine that you are one of the people aboard the Paragon. Put yourself first in the place of one of the passengers, then one of the officers, one of the crew, and finally, one of the children. Write four brief descriptions of deck life on the Paragon – one as each of these people would see it.

We can ask them to write a short story based on the scene in the painting. The task is: Write a short story based on the scene in the painting. Your main characters may be from any of the distinct groups of people aboard the Paragon – the captain and officers, ladies and gentlemen, crew members, or children. Include minor characters from all four groups. Before you begin writing, decide on your major characters and the conflict among them. Resolve the conflict at the end of the story. Make your language vivid and descriptive. Use action and dialogue to reveal your characters’ personality traits.

Another piece of arts we successfully use at our lessons is Young Mother Sewing by Mary Cassatt , an American Impressionist painter who lived and worked in France . Women and children, particularly her relatives were her subject of choice.

Young Mother Sewing is a painting of Mary Cassatt’s favorite subject, a woman and her child. This painting of a simple and warm human movement is done in a straightforward and powerful manner that is not overly sentimental. Her devotion to Impressionism is evident in the luminous skin tones and use of color in a hazy, soft manner. This close-up view of the subject was considered outrageous by critics of the time. It defied their rules of painting that called for a full view of figures and carefully defined backgrounds.

For this painting we offer our students such writing activities:

1. Oral History. Prepare a list of questions to ask in the course of conversation with your mother or father about your own childhood. You might ask a parent to recall amusing or unusual incidents or compare your personality as a child with what you are like as a young adult. Do you agree on all points, or do some of your memories differ from those of your parent’s? Write an essay based on your conversation.

2. Personal Letter. Parents often give advice to their sons and daughters, hoping that their own experience will help their children to solve problems and make intelligent choices as they mature. If you were a parent, what advice would you have to give your children? Write your words of advice in a letter to your imagined daughter or son.

3. Problem-and-Solution Essay. No matter how warm and close a parent-child relationship may be, misunderstanding and disagreement occasionally cause problems, especially when parents must contend with their growing children’s natural demand for increasing independence. Identify one common problem between parents and people of your age group. Explain the problem and why it arises. Then write an essay suggesting one or more possible solutions.

As an additional activity we asked students to prepare a photo essay with a series of photographs of mothers and fathers with sons and daughters. Nobody was indifferent. The students got interested in the project and prepared a wide range of posters trying to arrange and display their photographs as effectively as possible, suggesting different aspects of the parent-child relationship.

Thus such types of writing tasks meet the main requirements for good writing materials:

1. Materials should be learning-centered rather than teacher-centered. They should focus on helping students to develop their own strategies for learning.

2. Materials should be creative. They should provide stimulating activities to focus students’ attention on the things to be learned. Audiovisual aids such as tapes, pictures, and diagrams should be used to activate the students’ awareness of the content as something real.

3. Materials should be interesting. They should be related to students’ interests. Moreover, there should be a variety of text types and activity types in the materials to motivate the students’ interest in writing.

4. Materials should be task-based. They should use purposeful tasks to motivate students’ learning and to make students see the usefulness of writing.

5. Materials should be practical. They should deal with real-life communication tasks.

Bibliography

Atwell, Nancie . In the Middle: Writing, Reading and Learning with Adolescents . Upper Montclair , NJ : Boynton / Cook, 1987

Calkins, Lucy M. The Art of Teaching Writing. Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann, 1986

Graves, Donald. Writing: Teachers and Children at Work . Portsmouth , NH : Heinemann, 1986

Prentice Hall Writer’s Companion. Prentice Hall, A Paramount Communication Company Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632