In the past few months, I enjoyed reviewing promising resources for helping instructors effectively teach writing to adults preparing to pass the GED. Gear Up Writing Webinars have the dual purpose of providing GED® content review for teachers and providing related teaching strategies, including sample lesson plans and curriculum resources. Prior to each webinar, the Gear Up series offers “pre-work” readings and/or web activities that teachers can access in order to build their background knowledge before attending the webinar, as needed." Webinars and support materials cover four topics, which I found to be very helpful: Writing for the Social Studies Test, Identifying and Evaluating Evidence, Paraphrasing Evidence, and Writing an Argument.
Paraphrasing is not an activity that we have discussed much in this forum. I found that Webinar topic to be enlightening and very helpful. I invite you to explore it and to return here with your impressions. How many here use paraphrasing as a means to help students write and think better? Leecy
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I have been teaching paraphrasing since the new HSE tests came out. I feel I have to since many students have no idea how to "use information from both texts" without outright copying. I use an old reading textbook to show examples of paraphrases and summaries. We compare the original and the paraphrase and come out with specific techniques the paraphraser used: synonyms, switching phrase and clause order, etc, Then I give the students increasingly more complex texts to practice paraphrasing.
My purpose is to improve essay writing since my upper level students are already quite good in reading comprehension.
Yes, Jane! I believe that the paraphrasing resource I entered in my earlier post was incorrect. It is http://abe.mpls.k12.mn.us/episode_3_paraphrasing_evidence.html. I am correcting that now. You have also enlightened us/me to the need to change how we address the preparation of students to enter post-secondary education. I am now using HSE instead of GED as the appropriate acronym. I am no longer claiming that Adult Ed programs address ESL/ABE/GED students, but ESL/ABE/HSE students! :)
Should we emphasize summarizing and paraphrasing more in our instruction among adults? Tell more! Leecy