New lesson plan: What constitutes a good paragraph?

Maha

What constitutes a good paragraph? - Intermediate, upper-intermediate level

What constitutes a good paragraph?
Intermediate, upper-intermediate level

Description

In this lesson, students will learn about paragraphs. They will be exposed to different types of paragraphs and will be asked to reflect on each one of them to help them learn about what constitutes a good paragraph and what are the mistakes that should be avoided to help enhance their academic writing skills.

Materials

Projector

W/B

Strips of paper

Projector

W/B

Strips of paper

Main Aims

To diagnose what ss already know about what constitutes a good paragraph in the context of academic writing
To provide an opportunity to practice writing good paragraphs in the context of academic writing

Subsidiary Aims

To provide fluency speaking practice in the form of a discussion in the context of paragraph writing

Procedure (44-60 minutes)

Warm-up (3-5 minutes) • To set lesson context and engage students

Students will engage in a 5 min hangman game to guess the main focus of the lesson. The activity is intended to break the ice and engage all students in class.

Test #1 (5-10 minutes) • To gauge students prior knowledge of paragraph writing

Students will be shown a paragraph and will be asked questions to help them reflect on the paragraph presented. Instructor will elicit answers from students to know more about their background knowledge and to help build and unify their concepts about constitutes a good paragraph.

Teach (8-10 minutes) • To clarify key features of good paragraphs where students had difficulty in the test stage

A powerpoint presentation is displayed for the students to help clarify key features of good paragraphs. Examples are presented for students. key features are then elicited and written on the board for the students to use in the next stage of the lesson.

Test #2 (15-20 minutes) • To check students conceptualization of what constitutes a good paragraph in comparison to the first test.

Students are divided into 5 pairs. Each pair is given a strip of paper that contains a paragraph. Pairs are asked to read the paragraphs and reflect on what makes them good or bad according to the elements discussed in the previous activity. Each pair is then asked to post their paragraph on the w/b and present their opinion to the class. Students share their opinions and agree or disagree according to the elements set.

Free practice (13-15 minutes) • To help provide free practice of paragraph writing in different academic contexts

Students are given a bag full of different writing topics related to their fields of academic study. They are asked to individually pick a topic of choice and write a short paragraph about it. The aim is to test their writing skills and practice the concepts introduced in the lesson. Teacher monitors and provides feedback.