Instructions
for the teacher
Schedule - The ENODASE website was published in January 2014 and the funding period continued until August 2015, but the compilation of the database has no deadline at present. You are still very welcome to join in, and if you do, you are free to arrange the writing of the essays with your students when it suits you best; preferably during the semester or the next semester after signing up.
IMPORTANT:
Ethical considerations
Selecting
the topic
The
teacher can choose any
of the topics
below for his/her students, depending on the teacher’s and
students’ interests and language skills. If you choose to use free
story or essay topics, the students can then decide on the topic on
their own, without teacher guidance.
Instructing
the students
The
teacher is most welcome to tell
the students about the aims
of this essay project: the ENODASE database, its connection to the
ENO virtual school and the possible exchange of stories or essays
with another school (if you arrange such an exchange; see Contact for suggestions).
After
the topics have been chosen, the teacher can
prepare
the students for the assignment by introducing them to the general
field in question and the vocabulary related to it. However, in
order to get an authentic view of the students’ thoughts on these
topics, they must
not be guided in terms of the exact content
of the essay/story.
The
students may
use dictionaries,
if the teacher considers this necessary. If dictionaries are used,
this must be indicated in the background questionnaire.
The
students should be encouraged to write long
rather than very short texts. The suggested length for a story/essay is 300-600 words. This means
at least half a page of single-spaced computer-written text or at
least 1-2 pages hand-written, depending on one’s handwriting.
The
story/essay should include
the student’s name or initials
for identification purposes. All assignments will be anonymized
prior to database use.
Writing
the stories or essays
Each
student should write their essay on
their own.
This cannot be used as a group assignment.
The
students should preferably do the assignment in
class.
If this is given as a home assignment, this must be indicated in the
background questionnaire.
Ideally,
the assignments should be written
on a computer using Notepad
or a similar simple text programme. The students should
not
use a word-processing programme (for example Microsoft Word). They should not use the Internet during writing, either.
The
assignments can
also be written by hand,
after which they can be either 1) posted via regular mail to Joensuu,
Finland, or scanned (minimum resolution of 300 dpi) and 2) attached to the online questionnaire or 3) e-mailed as
PDF-attachments. Please find the contact information on the ENODASE
website.
Processing
the stories or essays
Important:
The teacher must
not correct or change
the students’ writing in any way. The submitted texts should be as
authentic as possible and consist of the student's own work only. The teacher can of course use the
opportunity to give the students feedback on their writing after the texts have been submitted, but when writing, the students should not feel that their language skills or their thoughts are being evaluated or assessed critically. Quite the opposite: We are happy and grateful for every word!
If
the essays are written on a computer, they should be saved as
separate files and each essay copy-pasted onto the student’s own
questionnaire e-form, where you will find a section marked Content.
Filling
in the questionnaire
For
each story/essay,
the teacher should fill
in the background questionnaire,
either online or on paper, detailing the information of the task
variables and the student variables. The paper forms should be sent or e-mailed to Joensuu together with
the hand-written essays.
If
the online questionnaire is used, you can nevertheless distribute the paper form in class, if you like, so that the students can fill in the necessary
details.
Assignment
topics
Story
topics
The
life of a tree Our
tree-planting day Adventures
in nature
Things
we do in our forests / in the nature / in the water
My
favourite place in the world
Scary
environments
Ghosts
and goblins in the forest
Free
story topic on a nature/environment theme
Letter
topics
9. ENO
is great! You should join us! 10. This
is my country! Come for a visit? 11. You
have to see this natural region!
Essay
topics
12. The
significance of tree-planting in my country 13. Water
around us 14. National
parks and untouched nature 15. The
most significant environmental problems 16. Coping
in the wild
17. Nature
and the well-being of people 18. My
actions for the future of the planet 19. Nature:
Any future without it? 20. My
wish of the future 21. Changes
in my environment: past and present 22. Science
and technology: a blessing or a curse? 23. Nature is energy! 24. Free
essay topic on a nature/environment theme
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