Writing Lesson Plan
Intermediate level
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide students with three essential parts composing a paragraph (topic sentence, supporting sentences and concluding sentence) and the writing process of a paragraph (outline and organization).
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide review of words related to CFT, Chapter 1, The Paradox of Happiness.
Procedure (39-50 minutes)
The students will be shown the key vocabulary related to CFT, Chapter 1, The Paradox of Happiness via powerpoint presentation. In the presentation, the students will see a summary of The Paradox of Happiness and the underlined words related to the text. Together with the students, the meanings of the words will be discussed and their questions related to the words will be answered.
The students will be given a sample paragraph about happiness. In the paragraph the topic sentence, supporting sentences and concluding sentence have been written in bold. The teacher points out the sample and asks: "What is this piece of writing?" The students answer the question and say: "It is a paragraph". Then, these questions are asked to the students: "Why have these sentences been written in bold? Are these sentences important?" The students answer the question and say: "These are important sentences in a paragraph". Next, the teacher writes "Three Essential Parts of a Paragraph" on the board and these essential parts are shown to the students. These are: 1) Topic Sentence, 2) Supporting Sentences (Major and Minor Supporting sentences) and 3) Concluding sentence. Then, the teacher explains what the topic sentence is by highlighting the example on the paragraph sample and adds the information that the topic sentence should have a topic and a controlling idea. After that, the teacher explains what the supporting sentences (Major and Minor Supporting Sentences) are by highlighting the examples on the paragraph sample and adds the information that supporting sentences are the sentences illustrating, clarifying and explaining the generalization made in the topic sentence. Finally, the teacher explains what the concluding sentence is by highlighting the example on the paragraph sample and adds the information that the concluding sentence signals the end of the paragraph and it is a reminder of the important points in the paragraph.
After the students have learned three essentials parts of a paragraph, they are given a paragraph outlining sheet. The teacher highlights that the students should plan a paragraph before they write it to make sure that all of their ideas fit. The teacher clarifies the points in the paragraph outlining sheet by pointing out the topic sentence, supporting sentences (Major and minor supporting sentences) and concluding sentence. Then, the teacher points out the paragraph sample and asks the students to divide the sentences in the sample into the parts in the outline. In this stage, the students will work with their partners to write the sentences in the paragraph sample into the outline sheet. Finally, the teacher checks the answers of the students when they are finished.
After the students have learned three essential parts of a paragraph and how to outline a paragraph, they are asked to write a well-organized paragraph by using at least five words they have learned in Chapter 1. The topic: "Does being a student at Baskent University make you happy or unhappy?". While they are writing their paragraphs, the teacher monitors the students and answer their questions if there is any.
The teacher collects the paragraph writing sheets and tell the students that he will give feedback in the next lesson.