Tall buildings rise from the ground

——Teaching design of "How to write a good beginning of a composition"

Activity goals

1. Through activities Let students understand the importance of the beginning of a composition through practical activities.

2. Master the writing method at the beginning of the composition during the activity.

3. Enable students to write an attractive beginning.

Activity ideas

In the specific collection and sorting practice activities, students will learn how to collect information, learn how to conduct special research, and master the method of writing the beginning of a composition.

Activity Arrangement

1. Let students understand the importance of writing a good beginning of a composition.

2. The teacher collects the beginning of students’ usual compositions, analyzes and studies existing problems.

3. Students collect the beginnings of compositions that they think are well written.

4. Compare the beginnings of good compositions collected with the beginnings of your own compositions to find out the problems in the beginnings of your own compositions.

5. Search for information to learn how to write a good beginning of a composition.

6. Practice in class and master the method of writing the beginning of a composition.

7. Contact the multimedia classroom to show the results of actual activities.

8. Summarize the gains and losses of the activity.

The specific process of the activity

1. Let students realize the importance of writing a good beginning of the composition

Gorky said: "The first sentence at the beginning is the most difficult , just like the setting tone in music, it often takes a long time to find it." Tolstoy attached great importance to the beginning of his work. He revised the beginning of "War and Peace" 15 times before it was finalized. feel satisfied. At the beginning of "Anna Karenina", he used ten different ways of writing it before finally settling on it. The ancients believed that the structure of an article should be "phoenix head, pig belly, leopard tail", which means that the beginning should be like the head of a phoenix, beautiful and graceful. As the saying goes: "A good beginning is half the battle." Students must also have this experience: once they get a topic, it is always difficult to write. But once you get started, especially after you have a good start, it is very difficult to write. The articles come and go in a eloquent manner, with thoughts flowing out, and they are all written in one go. The beginning of the article is the face of the entire article. A store with a beautiful facade can attract many customers; a good beginning of an article can attract more readers. Especially for exam compositions, some people have calculated that when marking the college entrance examination, the average time teachers spend on a composition is only 29 seconds, which means that some composition teachers can't even read 29 seconds. In such a short period of time, how can you make the teacher take a serious look at your composition? Is it okay without a good beginning? "Tall buildings rise from the ground." With a good beginning, writing the article will be much smoother.

2. Multimedia displays the beginning of compositions written by students. (omitted)

3. Investigate students’ performance at the beginning of writing in class. Collect and organize as follows:

When writing the beginning of a composition, I don’t know the techniques for beginning the composition.

Write the beginning of the essay casually according to the essay title.

I only know that I can use flashback.

I was thinking while writing, but I had no idea.

Imitate the beginning of the sample essay.

It’s just that I can’t write the beginning of the composition well.

4. The beginning of the multimedia display of the exquisite compositions collected by students: (***collected fifty articles, only ten are excerpted here)

If she did not take this secluded road that day as usual The small alley, if she turned a blind eye to all the details in the small alley that day, then... ("The Romance of Flesh and Bones") Author: Xiong Xiong, second grade of junior high school (4) Shao Changdong)

Childhood memories are like a long The forest is full of flowers and plants, and the trees in the forest grow very lush. The sun shines through the gaps between the leaves and shines on the road, leaving dark shadows or light spots.

I know that I will never be able to ride a horse into Tibet and let the hot cooking smoke burn the flower shape of happiness from my shoulders. I didn’t know where the tent was, and I couldn’t tell which hill the smoke was rising from. I am small here, my body is heavy, and my eyes are pierced by the light of the snowy field and I cannot open them.

(Selected from Niu Chuanxiao, Grade 2 (4) of "Life Thoughts")

There are countless worries in life: as big as birth, old age, illness and death, as small as work not going well and things not going well... Various people have their own opinions and methods of dealing with troubles.

And I admire Alexandre Dumas the most. He only said plainly about troubles: "Life is a rosary composed of countless small troubles. People who understand the value of life will count the rosary with a smile." A few simple words The word expresses the true meaning of life - smiling at troubles. (Excerpted from "Award-winning Essay: Laughing at Troubles" Grade 2 (5) Wang Ruixue)

I have always thought that talking about prices is something vulgar and intolerable. Every time I buy something, I pretend to be rich and pay the price as soon as I ask. Seeing the sly smiles of the vendors, I realized that I had been "slaughtered", but I just wanted to save face, so I gritted my teeth and admitted it.

("The First Price Talk" Grade 2 (5) Guo Yanjun)

I have a small wish, which is to go see the sea. My mother said: "Go, child, there is no real sea in the picture." So, I finally appreciated the beauty of the sea.

(Zhao Hongjing in the second grade of "The Sea" (6))

It is late at night, and people who have worked for a day fall asleep with sweet dreams. Outside the window, the dark blue night sky was dotted with gem-like stars. The silver disk-like moon spread its bright moonlight. The quiet courtyard melted in the cool moonlight. I couldn't help but walk to the small courtyard.

(Excerpted from "Night in the Small Courtyard" by Dai Lijun in the second grade of junior high school (6))

It has been many years since I left my hometown. Many things are in my memory, but the dragon boat racing in my hometown condenses my feelings about it. The feeling of hometown is engraved in my memory.

(Excerpted from "Hometown Dragon Boat Race" by Fan Jun in the second grade of junior high school (6))

History is the footprint of mankind, recording ups and downs, and civilization is a symbol of social progress. Glittering with the sweat of wisdom. The Chinese state has a long civilization of five thousand years. Her splendor and brilliance make the descendants of Yan and Huang proud, passionate, and excited.

(Excerpted from "Xin'an Evening News", Day 2 (6) Wang Yang)

In the early morning, the sun spreads all over the earth, and a few white clouds fly leisurely in the blue and high sky. I was walking on the way to school, looking at all this beauty, but my heart was extremely heavy. Everything seems to be cast a layer of gray in my eyes. I was thinking about what happened last night, which I regretted so much.

(Excerpted from "I Really Regret", Grade 2 (6) Cui Xuan)

Friend, have you read Mao Zedong's "Qinyuanchun·Snow"? Aren't you intoxicated by the scene in the poem "Silver snakes dancing in the mountains, wax elephants riding in the mountains"? Have you ever listened to the thunderous wind? If you are a gentle and delicate southerner, then you must be full of eager yearning for the deep winter in the north. Please follow my clumsy writing and have a good time!

(Ma Wenjuan, Class 6, Grade 2)

In the face of failure and setbacks, smiling away is a kind of optimism and confidence, and then getting back on track is a kind of courage; facing To laugh away misunderstandings and hatred is a kind of calmness and tolerance, and to maintain one's true nature is a kind of optimism. (Excerpted from Ma Guofu's "Smile and Pass" Grade 2 (6) Yao Mengya)

5. Compare the beginning of students' usual compositions with the beginnings of collected compositions, and analyze the problems existing in the beginning of students' compositions:

Cannot summarize the content of the main body of the article.

I won’t use any of the composition opening techniques.

Say some detours that have nothing to do with the main content.

No literary talent, not attractive.

The beginning is too long, resulting in a top-heavy situation.

Only use narrative as an expression, not rhetoric.

The summary at the beginning is too small and cannot dominate the entire text.

6. Search for information; understand the common methods of writing a good beginning of a composition, use multimedia display, teacher analysis and explanation

{1} Direct style: Most students always like to go around the beginning. Going around and saying irrelevant things not only wastes a lot of pen and ink, but also affects the effect of expression. There are actually many excellent narratives, usually ones that go straight into the events. For example, Daudet's "The Last Lesson" and Chekhov's "Chameleon" have a concise and clear beginning, bringing the reader into the story from the beginning, allowing the reader's thoughts to fluctuate as the plot unfolds.

{2}Point question format: Enter the title at the beginning of the article. Revealing the topic at the beginning and entering the topic quickly will help guide readers to grasp the center of the article. Ye Shan, a student in the junior high school branch of Beijing No. 12 Middle School, has an essay "My Father", which begins with: "People have praised great mothers since ancient times, but I love my father even more. Maternal love is like sunshine, warmth, and thoughtfulness. . And father's love seems to be an endless ocean, broad and vast, and seems to be able to accommodate everything.

"From this first paragraph, we know very well who the author wants to praise and what the content of the song is. There are many articles starting like this in Chinese textbooks. The beginning of "Eight Kittens": "I don't like living. Or any other cat, with some exceptions for the eight Jingdezhen porcelain kittens at home. I met them at the Jiangxi Porcelain Exhibition. I fell in love with them as soon as I saw their fresh and cheerful appearance. "Close to the title, it points out the origin of "Eight Kittens" and the author's feelings for the kittens.

{3} Narrative style: This method is used at the beginning of the narrative to explain the time, place, and Relevant information about characters and events. For example, the first paragraph of Mo Huaiqi's "Walking": "We were walking in the fields: me, my mother, my wife and my son. "A classmate wrote an essay about the group's collective participation in social practice activities. He began with this explanation: "Today is our second group outing. Six classmates and I walked onto the street against the wind early in the morning and rushed to the practice location. "Detailed explanations of the people who participated in the activity paved the way for the unfolding of the following events and the appearance of the characters.

{4} Reminiscence style: Most of the articles written by junior high school students describe their experiences in life It's something that happened in the past, so it's very natural to use a recall style to start, which makes it easier for you to recall scenes from the past when writing, and also helps to introduce readers into the story. Bing Xin's "Little Orange Lamp", Zhu Ziqing's "Back", Wei Wei's "My Teacher" and the works of these great writers all start like this. "Little Orange Lamp" only begins with a short sentence: "This was more than ten years ago. "Simple and practical. Students' compositions often start like this. For example: "Today, I took the bus back to school. Unexpectedly, an unpleasant thing happened on the bus. ”

{5}Rendering: It is a description of the natural environment and social environment, which sets the atmosphere for the unfolding of the storyline below and can also trigger the advancement of the storyline. This method is easy to display if used well. The author's skill. Wang Yuanjian's "Seven Matches" tells the story of two soldiers surrounding the "Seven Matches" during the Red Army's long march across the grassland. The article begins with a description of the harsh natural environment on the grassland, and the development and theme of the story. The expression plays an important role. The same is true in Peng Jingfeng's "The Pear Blossoms on the Post Road". The beginning describes the high, steep, continuous and gloomy twilight of the mountain, which naturally makes readers think: it is too dangerous to walk on the mountain road at night, so hurry up and find a place to stay. Where is the place to stay on the mountain road? Such a paragraph not only attracts the reader's attention, but also lays the foundation for the emergence of the "little hut", which is extremely beneficial to the presentation of the theme.

{6} Quotation: "The People's Servants" starts with a typical quotation: "Human life is limited, but serving the people is unlimited. I want to devote my limited life to unlimited service to the people. "When people see this sentence, they will immediately think of Lei Feng. Lei Feng used practice to interpret his motto well. And this paragraph is also a high-level summary of his life. As far as this article is concerned, it is both a topic and the full text. Of course, the role of quotations in different articles is different: they may quote famous aphorisms to highlight the center; they may quote characters to highlight their character; they may quote poems to arouse readers’ excitement; or they may quote common sayings and proverbs to highlight the character of the characters. Explain the reason. In argumentative essays, a common method is to quote famous quotes to introduce the topic.

"Get straight to the point" is a very common beginning. Method. The reason why it is widely used is that it goes straight to the topic at the beginning. In today's information age, time is precious, and people who read the article want to understand what the article is about as soon as possible. If you keep wandering around outside the topic, no matter how good the content is, it will be difficult to arouse the reader's interest in reading. For our examination compositions, the marking teachers are responsible for the heavy task of marking, and they need to "get straight to the point" and get straight to the topic. The beginning of the essay will definitely win the favor of the marking teacher and leave an excellent impression on the marking examiner, thus helping you to get the ideal score in the exam. The beginning of "" is very common in our junior high school Chinese textbooks, and it can be said to be easy to ignore, such as: "I have not seen my father for more than two years, and the most important thing I can't forget is his background. "(Zhu Ziqing's "Back View") opens the chapter with a title, setting the stage for the following "Back View" that embodies deep fatherly love. "The poplar tree is really extraordinary, and I praise the poplar tree. "(Mao Dun's "Praise to Poplar") The first sentence of the opening paragraph clarifies the object of praise, the poplar tree, and sets the emotional tone of the entire text - praise.

"On the vast sea, the strong wind rolls the dark clouds. Between the dark clouds and the sea, the petrel is like black lightning, flying proudly." Gorky's "Petrel") first explains the fighting environment of the brave and high-flying petrel, and then starts from The three aspects of "color" (black), "shape" (lightning), and "god" (arrogance) show the heroic figure of Haiyan flying high in battle. There are many successful essays that start with "getting to the point". Here are a few examples:

When I saw this title, I couldn't help but burst into applause deep in my heart. This applause expressed my daughter's approval and admiration for her mother. feeling. Two years ago, I would have applauded my mother. ("Composition" magazine, Issue 10, 1999) This is the beginning of "Applause" written by Jiang Jingfei, the first prize winner in the junior high school group of the 1999 "Wenxin Cup" National Middle School Teacher and Student Composition Competition. This beginning is straight to the point, and at the same time it attempts to advance but then suppresses, and it also sets up an ambush and creates suspense for the rest of the story.

My hometown is surrounded by mountains and reeds grow everywhere. When autumn arrives, reed flowers bloom, covering my hometown in a sea of ??flowers, which is very beautiful. (Same as above, second prize "Reed Flowers in Hometown" by Guo Huifang)

In the spring when I was nine years old, my father bought back a black buffalo. He said: "Our family has a lot of fields, and during the busy farming season, we can't survive without a cow. When the cow grows up, we will use it to plow the land." (Same as the second prize "Better Relationship with Cows" by Ren Meijuan)

Forgot I can’t forget her smiling face that encouraged me, her simple words that inspired me to make progress, and the piece of green she once brought to my life. I will never forget her, my dearest friend. ("Can't Forget Her")

{8}"Scenery and Contrast" Style

When an artist paints the moon, if he only paints one moon in isolation, it will look very monotonous, and even Lack of energy. If you hook a few wisps of clouds around the moon and use the clouds to support the moon, the situation will be very different, and the moon will be particularly magical. This technique is "contrast". Composition also requires this technique. As a junior high school student, most of the exams are narrative compositions about people. A good "scenery setting" type of beginning is helpful to set an emotional atmosphere for the depiction of characters and the narration of events. As a practical composition technique, there are many typical examples in junior high school Chinese textbooks. For example:

"Mountain, what a huge mountain! The undulating green hills are one after another, extending into the distance and disappearing into the confused twilight." This is the beginning of the novel "The Pear Blossom on the Post Road". The description of the mountains is used to pave the way for the unfolding of the plot. With such a huge mountain and twilight approaching, night accommodation is indeed a necessary but difficult problem for those traveling on the road. How anxious they must be! It can be seen from this that a series of plots such as speculation and praise for the owner of the small hut are foreshadowed, which is the beginning of "scenery description".

The time is eight o'clock in the evening. Although the sun has already set, the heat has not subsided. There is no wind, and the ancient trees standing in the park are quiet. The leaves are also quiet. The open-air labor theater is also quiet. (Ye Junjian's "Watching the Opera") "Quiet" is used to highlight the peaceful atmosphere where people are waiting for the show to start. Not only that, but compared with the scene of the roaring mountains and tsunami during Mei Lanfang's performance later in the article, it shows the penetrability of art and reflects Mei Lanfang's superb acting skills.

“In the clean blue sky, a dark cloud sneaked up, and the wind pushed it up the mountain. On the side of the mountain, the crops in the terraced fields were like waves rolling in from the green sea.” (Gao Feng's "The Big Golden Bamboo Hat")

Similarly, there are also many successful articles by students using the "scenery setting" style at the beginning, such as:

"A.D. On February 28, 1999, there was a heavy rain in the sky. The translucent blisters on the ground were round and broken, and they were broken and rounded again. They cried out for thousands of times about the sudden death of a century-old man. Repeating an eternal name: Bing Xin. "(Fan Rui's "Century of Bing Xin" in "Composition" Issue 10, 1999)

"My hair is wet and my body is covered with mud, which is unique to Qingming Festival. The rain continued to fall silently from the distant sky on the desolate mountains. I walked hard on the mud, searching, letting the rain sprinkle on my head, face, and body..." (Hu Bo's "Meet Again" Tomb-Sweeping Day" see "Gold List Composition Series" and "Writing Prose" edited by Li Xiaoming and Mao Jianbing)

"At 18:55 in the evening on March 26, the last touch of sunset on the horizon has not yet faded, and the steel city on the weekend Still immersed in a lively and cheerful atmosphere.

In the ten-mile steel city, trams, buses, and taxis shuttle constantly. The ringing of bicycle bells, the sound of car horns, and the cries of small vendors rise and fall. Large and small department stores and food stores are bustling with people. Who could have imagined that this would be a bloody dusk. (Jiang Li's "Bloody Dusk - "March 26" Car Accident Record" can be found in the "Gold List Composition Series" and "Memory Prose" edited by Wang Jingqian and Song Yiming)

Of course, these are not the only eight techniques for good composition openings. However, if students are proficient in it and can appropriately choose an opening technique based on the topic of the essay, it will definitely benefit a lot in improving the quality of the essay. The ancients called a good beginning of an article a "crested head". I believe that students can write some beginnings that are considered "crested".

7. The teacher selects several topic composition materials, and students practice the beginning of compositions from different angles according to the above-mentioned method of starting compositions.

{1} Topic composition materials (omitted)

{2} Practice collecting, organizing and commenting on students’ compositions at the beginning. (omitted)

5. Overview of this activity and reflection on education and teaching

This activity lasted for four weeks. Although it was mainly conducted in the second grade (6) class, it also received Some students from Grade 2 (5) and Grade 2 (4) classes responded, and I would like to express my gratitude to them for their participation.

Judging from the process of the activity, many students

like to participate in such activities. In their own words: “This is more interesting than the teacher blindly explaining how to write a composition. "But during the activity, we also found many problems. The students had too few things in their hands. Most of the materials they collected were things from the "Selected Compositions for Primary School Students", and there were almost no references to classics. Under the new curriculum standards, this is an area worthy of our teachers' attention. The scope of students' activities is narrow, students have no books to read, or students do not have time to read books. These are all bottlenecks that restrict the improvement of students' composition level. Therefore, I made it clear in the later stages of the activity: stop looking at the compositions of primary school students and look at the works of famous artists.

Judging from the effect of the event, this event basically achieved our event goals. From the comparison of the beginning of the composition written by the students before the activity and the beginning of the composition dictated by the students after the activity, we can see that through such activities, students at least know that when writing the beginning of the composition, they can also use some techniques to make the beginning of the composition beautiful. stand up. In particular, the study of eight common composition beginnings has become a major transition for students from unconscious writing to conscious writing. This is also the significance of our event.

From the perspective of the activity method, this activity is still focused on teachers. Especially in the collection and arrangement of materials, students have no independent ideas and lack of methods for special research. The initiative is not ideal either. The collection of some materials requires the teacher to urge many times to complete. This is mainly because they have never done such activities before and do not know how to participate. Therefore, in the next stage, we should also spend some time training students in research methods, so that they can master the ideas and methods of the activity, so that the activity becomes a student-centered activity with the teacher playing a guiding role.