Reading
B2 level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide detailed reading practice using a text about causes of conflict
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide practice of language used for making arguments and supporting detail in the context of sociological and/or psychological phenomena
Procedure (58-77 minutes)
The instructor invites the students to brainstorm and share what they remember from the previous sessions' reading text's main and supporting arguments. They may refer to the padlet page they created previously.
The instructor asks the students to brainstorm about the reasons for which they managed to find titles for each paragraph of the previous session's text, guiding them to reach the conclusion that paragraphing is one of the cohesive devices authors employ in order to make their texts easy to follow. Then, the instructor draws the students' attention to the first and second paragraph of the text, eliciting the connectives, pronouns, and classificatory terms.
The instructor shares a worksheet with students, containing highlighted pronouns and connectives taken from the reading text. The students are tasked to state what each pronoun refers to and what the purpose of each connective is. They will check their answers in pairs, and the instructor elicits whole-class responses, and encourages peer feedback.
Students are asked to choose one of the below prompt questions shared with them, and form a clear argument, along with 3-5 supporting evidence. They are also expected to use cohesive devices in their speeches. While preparing, they are allowed to use their electronic devices in order to find evidence online. Once they are through with their task, they are required to visit three of their classmates, and share their arguments. Each student is provided with a task-sheet where they note down the arguments, supporting details, and cohesive devices they detect in their peer's speech. At the end of the activity, the instructor invites volunteers to share the best arguments they had a chance to listen to.
If time allows, the instructor shares with the students a kahoot link, where they respond to a number of comprehension check questions on how to provide a reasonable argument.