Amanda Robinson Amanda Robinson

Writing Focus, in the Context of Dinner Parties, and Food and Drink
Pre-Intermediate level

Description

In this lesson the students will focus on the productive skill of writing in the context of a dinner party, and what adjectives they might use to describe food. First, they will do two exercises on the use of adjectives to describe different foods, and then be asked to write a letter to a friend on the letter template at the bottom of the handout describing the dinner party they went to.

Materials

Abc Handout 1- Exercises in use of adjectives and letter-writing template
Abc Handout 1- Exercises in use of adjectives and letter-writing template

Main Aims

  • To provide practice in the productive skill of writing in the context of a dinner party, by writing/composing a letter.

Subsidiary Aims

  • To introduce vocabulary in the context of food and drink at a dinner party, and provide clarification in the use of appropriate adjectives.

Procedure

Warmer/Lead-in (3-5 minutes) • To set lesson context and engage students in the topic of a dinner party, and food and drink.

Explain to the students they are going to have a dinner party. Ask them if they understand what a 'dinner party' is. Write on the board the three courses to be served at the dinner party - Starter/Main Course/Dessert, and brain-storm different foods for each course, e.g. Starter - chicken soup; Main Course - Spaghetti Bolognese; Dessert - ice-cream, etc, eliciting as much vocabulary as possible, and giving meaning and pronunciation if required.

Semi-Controlled Speaking (5-8 minutes) • To practise 'speaking' by asking the students to work in pairs and discuss what food they might have at their dinner party.

Ask the students to work in pairs and write what food they will have at their dinner party. Ask them to think of at least one type of dish for each of the courses. After five minutes, ask them to swap their menu with another pair, explaining that they have invited the other pair to their dinner party.

Vocabulary - Appropriate Adjectives (3-5 minutes) • To introduce/choose correct negative and positive adjectives that can be related to certain foods.

Ask the students to do Part 1 of the Adjectives exercise on the handout in their pairs. Explain that the first sentence has been done for them. Give them a time-limit of 3 minutes, and then get feedback as a whole class.

Grammar - Cause and Effect (5-8 minutes) • To highlight cause and effect in sentences by using the words 'so' or 'because'.

Write two sentences on the board - 1. The meat was too spicy because they used too much chilli pepper. 2. The soup was tasteless, so I didn't eat it. Highlight the cause and the effect in each sentence, and then elicit similar sentences using 'so' and 'because'.

Controlled Writing - Gap-fill Sentences (5-8 minutes) • To give students practice in the productive skill of writing and in choosing adjectives

Again in pairs, get students to do the Part 2 Adjectives exercise on the handout, using the same adjectives at the top of the page. Afterwards get feedback from the whole class.

Semi-Controlled Productive Task - Writing (15-18 minutes) • To provide practice in semi-controlled writing using the adjectives on the handout, and giving reasons using 'so' and 'because'.

Explain to the students that they are going to write to a friend describing the dinner party they went to using the letter template on the handout, and the menu they were given by the other pair. Tell them they must say if it was either really good or really terrible, and give reasons why things were good or bad, using 'so' and 'because'. Ask the students ICQs, to make sure they understand what they have to do, and give them a time limit of 10 minutes. Next, ask the students to swap their letter with their partner, and ask them to read their partner's letter and decide if they think the meal was good or bad. Ask them to underline any reasons in their partner's letter they don't think are good reasons. Ask the students further ICQs, and give them a time limit of 5 minutes to do this. Finally, ask them to swap back their letters and REWRITE anything that is underlined.

Feedback and Error Correction (8-10 minutes) • To provide feedback on students' production and use of language

Ask individual students to give an example of a reason in their partner's letter that they didn't think was a good reason, and had underlined, and get their partner to read out what they have rewritten.

Web site designed by: Nikue