A1–B1 Writing

Teaching
Study & Practice
W1a, August 2020

© 2021 Cambridge Michigan Language Assessment

 Writing Activity W1a
Study & Practice Teacher Notes

The following teacher notes accompany the classroom activities for practicing the skills needed to successfully
complete the story-writing task on the MET Go! Writing test.

1. Write a Story
Test Task Suggestions for using these
Tell a story based on a comic strip illustration. materials
• Black and white printed images
Global Skills will be adequate for completing
Describe a sequential narration of familiar events. the activities. If full color is desired,
project the first page of the
Sub-skills activity on a screen or display on
computers.
• Use vocabulary words correctly in simple sentences.
• Print out the student worksheets.
• Use action verbs in sequential order to tell a story. • Since the test uses paper and
• Use connecting devices to indicate beginning, middle, pencil, these writing activities
are best completed as paper
and end of a story.
and pencil activities. Make sure
• Use basic grammatical constructions accurately in simple students’ handwriting is legible.
sentences.

Teaching Tips
• These activities provide structured
Details practice for beginning-level
(pre-A1, A1) students to build
confidence in writing short,
A. Warm up/prior knowledge: connected narrative paragraphs.
Teach the verb ‘break,’ adjective ‘broken’. For advanced (A2-B1) students,
skip to Part D.2 if preferred.
verb: I broke something. / It broke. • Grammar and mechanics are not
rated separately on the test, but
adjective: It’s broken. / The _________ is broken. punctuation, capitalization, and
spelling should be part of writing
For intermediate/advanced students: instruction.
Note on verb tenses:
Review the words accident/accidentally
• For a narrative, verbs should
While not essential for successfully completing the task, generally be in the present or past
the concept is relevant to the story. progressive to set the scene.
They are/were playing ball
B. Vocabulary review/brainstorming (in the house) to set the scene.

• Students can brainstorm as a class, in small groups/pairs, or • The action verbs that follow are
usually in the past tense.
individually.
The girl didn’t catch the ball,
• Use the chart below the illustration to write nouns, verbs, and and it hit the lamp.
adjectives they will need for the story.
• For purposes of vocabulary review and writing practice, encourage
students to write as may words about the picture as they can. The
more detail, the better.

C. Filling out details

• Encourage students to create their own details.

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 MET Go! Study & Practice Teacher Notes Writing Activity W1a

For example:
The boy and girl are friends / brother and sister / neighbors /
cousins
They are at home / in a living room / in their bedroom
• There are no ‘right’ answers, as long as their details go with the
pictures.
• Answers should emphasize writing for content, not grammatical
accuracy or spelling. Short phrases are fine for this step.
Construct simple sentences
Use the verbs shown, plus additional vocabulary as they are able
to complete the sentences. Model the first one, then have students
complete the rest independently.

D. Putting it all together

• Put the phrases in sequential order according to the events
shown; number the phrases from 1-6 in the left-hand column.
• Using the phrases above, plus the vocabulary in parts B and C,
write a connected story in 3-5 sentences.
• See if students can come up with a title for their story.

Write a Story: The Broken Lamp

Nouns Adjectives Verbs Prepositions

ball house afraid break look at off

boy lamp fun fall play on

girl room happy feel (happy) stand

floor table little (girl) fix throw
home have fun use
help
Nouns: Adjectives: Verbs:
Conjunctions
Advanced Advanced Advanced
accident careless knock over and
glue guilty look (worried) after (that)
irresponsible pick up finally
responsible next
sworried then

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 MET Go! Study & Practice Teacher Notes Writing Activity W1a

Additional Teaching Suggestions

1. To reinforce these writing skills, use a familiar comic strip or any
available sequenced images with no dialogue. Then have students
practice the same steps as in this activity:
• Brainstorm relevant vocabulary words (in pairs, as a whole class
on board, or individually)
• Put verb phrases with main actions or states in correct order
• Build sentences with details from the vocabulary and phrases
• Connect the sentences into a coherent narrative using
conjunctions and adverbs.
2. The graphic on the final page can serve as a blank slate for students
to create their own drawings as the basis of the story, based on a
variety of themes according to students’ interests. Simple stick-
figure drawings are fine; encourage students to work in pairs or
small-groups if preferred. Aim for three simple, connected sentences
at lower levels, and up to five detailed sentences at higher levels.

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 Listening Activity L1a
Study & Practice Student Worksheet

1. Write a story based on three pictures

A. Warm-up: Think about or discuss in class

• Have you ever broken something?
• What was it?
• How did you feel?
• Did you try to fix it?

B. Pre-writing/vocabulary

Look at the picture.

Write the words you will need for this story.

Nouns (people & things) Verbs (actions) Adjectives (feelings)

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 MET Go! Study & Practice Student Worksheet Listening Activity L1a

C. Answer a few questions to set the scene

You can make up your own answers based on the picture.

Where are they?____________________________________________________________________________

Who are they?_____________________________________________________________________________
How do they feel at the beginning?___________________________________________________________
How do they feel in the middle?______________________________________________________________
How do they feel at the end?________________________________________________________________

Simple sentences.
Use the verbs shown—plus additional words from B and C—to complete the following sentences.

1. A boy and a girl___________________________________________________________________ (play).

2. They are________________________________________________________________________ (throw).
3. The ball____________________________________________________________________ (knock over).
4. The lamp________________________________________________________________________ (break).
5. The boy ___________________________ and the girl ___________________________ (pick up; look).
6. They_______________________________________________________________________________ (fix).

D. Putting it all together

1. Beginning students
• What happens first?
• What happens next?
• What happens last?
Number the following phrases 1–6 according to the action in the picture.

they look worried

they fix the lamp
they play ball
the lamp falls and breaks
they look happy
the ball hits the lamp

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 MET Go! Study & Practice Student Worksheet Listening Activity L1a

Now, add the words from parts B & C to the action phrases above to write a story.
Write 3-4 sentences.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Intermediate/advanced students
Use the sentences from part D, with the vocabulary words and details you wrote in parts B and C,
and write a short paragraph describing the events in the pictures.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

• Be sure to include transition and connecting words like:

Tips first, next, then, finally, in the end, etc.
• Think about the verb tenses:
They were playing…
The lamp broke…
They looked/felt…
• Challenge yourself: Include advanced vocabulary words
like accident/accidentally, guilty, glue or other words to
add more details.

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 MET Go! Study & Practice Student Worksheet Listening Activity L1a

E. Create Your Own Comic Strip Story

Title/Topic: _________________________________

A. Draw a picture. (Stick figures are fine!)

B. Write the words you will need for your story.

Nouns (people & things) Verbs (actions) Adjectives (feelings)

C. Write 3-5 sentences or phrases, in the correct order.

1. _________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________________________________________

5. _________________________________________________________________________________________

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 MET Go! Study & Practice Student Worksheet Listening Activity L1a

D. Connect the sentences to make a short story.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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