Writing (Student Discursive Essay), Vocabulary (Adverbs of Sequence, Language for Contrast, Addition and Conclusion)
Intermediate, CEFR B1 level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide product writing practice of a discursive essay in the context of advantages/ disadvantages of smartphones
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide revision of adverbs of sequence and vocabulary for contrasting, exemplification and adding information in the context of a discursive essay
Procedure (44-56 minutes)
The class are asked two questions on the importance of having a TV and hypothetical implications of not having one. There will be time for sharing ideas in pairs and group feedback by having pairs merge if possible. In case this cannot be done, there will be class feedback.
In this stage, a model text with 10 grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation mistakes is presented to the class for them to see whether there is any trace of their own ideas without minding the mistakes at first and then to correct them. The article is read individually and the reflection and error correction is done in pairs. There will be open-class feedback to finalise this stage.
In this part of the lesson, the students are asked two sets of questions. Firstly, to allow them a chance to discover the formation of the text in terms of number and content of paragraphs and then to evaluate arguments for and against the topic. The class work on each set in pairs and after each piece of pair-work there will be whole-class feedback to confirm learners' responses. Next, the pairs are given a new topic (having/ not having a smartphone) to evaluate and are asked to list a number of advantages and disadvantages of having a smartphone. After a brief feedback on their lists of pros and cons, they are told to organise and prioritise them with their partners and to exchange their lists with a different pair for feedback. In the end, they are provided with a list of words and phrases that are needed for writing the essay and their purposes and uses are explained and clarified and then students are asked to find examples of the language presented in the model text. CCQs could be asked to check learners' understanding as well.
The class are provided with an introduction paragraph based on which they can present their arguments for and against smartphones. They are reminded of the number and content of the remaining paragraphs of the essay and after all ambiguities are resolved, each learner has (plenty of) time to write the rest of the text and check it for grammar, vocabulary, punctuation and spelling mistakes by themselves.
All essays are collected in and put separately on the classroom walls for students to go round and look at their classmates' writings and check them for the mentioned areas of mistake at first and then find a classmate with most similar or different opinion to their own. Lastly, there is open-class feedback to conclude the lesson.