Lesson Plan 2: reading and writing practice

This lesson can be used both in the classroom as well as in the computer lab.

Your needs

Let us imagine the following classroom situation:

You want to practise writing with your students. In particular, you want to teach them about paragraph structure in English discursive writing. Your aims are to make students understand the function of topic sentences, how points are supported / illustrated and how they are linked together. You have a mixed ability class.

Preparation

Step One

Find a suitable article in the magazine archive. In this case, we have chosen the article on Teleworking from Issue 2, 2003. (To view a simple text version of the article, click here)

Step Two

Type the third paragraph of level one in bold letters using a new line for each sentence. Use double spacing.

Repeat the procedure for the fourth paragraph of levels two and three. You will need to make photocopies for use in the Follow up (see below)

Step Three (required only if you are using the material in the classroom rather than the lab)

Print the article and comprehension questions at each level. To do this, select the appropriate frame by clicking inside it. Then select "print" from the menu. Choose "options" and select "print the selected frame". In this way you will only print the text rather than the whole screen. Make photocopies for the students.

In the classroom

Step One: pre-reading

As a preparation for reading, ask the students to work in pairs and discuss together some of the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking. Move around the class offering help where necessary.

When they have finished, ask a few students for their ideas and write down lists of advantages and disadvantages on the board or OHP.

Step Two: Reading

Students now read the text at the appropriate level, either using the computer or reading from the text version that you have printed and photocopied. Allow students to consult together as they work. They should also answer the comprehension questions.

Go through the comprehension check for each group and clarify any misunderstanding. Compare the list of advantages and disadvantages that you wrote on the board with those mentioned in the text.

Step Three: Follow up

1) Paragraph structure: topic sentences
Get students to look at the first paragraph of Level 1. Point out that the first sentence contains the main point of the paragraph. The other sentences support or illustrate that main point. Explain that in English discursive writing, most paragraphs are structured like this. Explain that the sentence which contains the main point of a paragraph is called the topic sentence, which is often the first or second sentence of the paragraph.

Now ask students to find the topic sentences in the following three paragraphs of the article written at level 1. They should find:

Paragraph 2: Companies often like their staff to telework
Paragraph 3: There is no topic sentence here
Paragraph 4: Teleworking certainly appears to be a good thing

Explain that paragraph three is really an extension of the topic in the previous paragraph. It contains only support / illustration of the main point.

Ask students to find the topic sentences in the first four paragraphs of the texts at level 2 and level 3 (if your class is good enough). When they have finished, you may like to compare the style of the topic sentences at different levels. This may help students, understand how the same thing can be expressed in different ways, which is a useful skill when writing. It will be especially valuable to students who are intending to take exams such as the Cambridge First Certificate.

2) Paragraph structure: supporting / illustrating a point
Ask students to read the first three paragraphs of the article at level 1. While reading, they should note down how the main point of the paragraph is supported or illustrated. They should identify two general ways:
stating relevant facts / giving examples
using a quote

Point out to students how the source of a quote is usually an authority and so it is important to mention his / her title or position. Supporting arguments by quoting authorities is an ancient and much used method of lending weight to an argument.

3) Paragraph structure: linking and giving cohesion
Point out to students that cohesion in a paragraph is created in various ways. On the one hand we have the use of pronouns, repeated words or expressions, repeated structures, the use of synonyms or synonymous expressions (to avoid repetition) and explicit linking devices such as conjunctions and adverbs which show the relationship between facts (eg cause and effect, result, contrast, etc).

Ask students to read through the first three paragraphs of the article at level 1 and identify the cohesive devices that are used.

In paragraph 1 we have:
Repetition of a structure (In Finland... In Britain...)

Apart from this, the facts are just listed without the use of explicit linking words.

In paragraphs 2 and 3 (which deal with the same point), we have:
use of synonyms (telework - work from home)

use of pronouns (The company has closed four offices. As a result it...)

use of illustrative expressions (At AT&T for example, teleworking...)

use of conjuctions and adverbial expressions to show explicit relationships between facts (The company does not need so many offices now. So teleworking.... The company has closed four offices. As a result it has saved...)

Now ask the students to identify some cohesive devices in levels 2 and 3, paragraphs 3 and 4.

In level 2 we have:
use of repetition (telework / teleworking)

use of pronouns (Companies often like their staff to telework because it allows the company to cut costs...)

use of illustrative expressions (At AT&T for example) teleworking...
use of explicit linking devices (Teleworking also saves AT&T about $100 million... Mitel Telecom is another company that has benefited...)

use of expressions to emphasize a point (The staff are happy with the flexibility that teleworking offers. In fact, since we introduced teleworking, staff turnover has fallen by 33%)



In level 3 we have:
use of pronouns (Companies are often attracted to the idea of encouraging teleworking among their staff because it can increase productivity as well as cut costs. This is especially true of forward-looking high tech companies. In 2000, productivity rose by 10% at AT&T as a direct consequence of the introduction of teleworking. That translates as increased earnings of $65 million... Teleworking has also enabled AT&T to save around $100 million per year )

use of explicit linking devices (it can increase productivity as well as cut costs... In 2000, productivity rose by 10% at AT&T as a direct consequence of the introduction of teleworking.)
use of synonymous expressions (That translates as increased earnings of $65 million... Mitel Telecom reports similar gains. )

use of illustrative expressions (Teleworking has also enabled AT&T to save around $100 million per year on overheads such as the rent of office space


4) Practice
Give students the copy of paragraph 5 of level 1 or paragraph 6 of levels 2 and 3 that you previously typed and photocopied. Ask students to put the sentences in the correct order, paying attention to the cohesive devices used. If scissors are available, students can cut the sentences into strips and rearrange them in the correct order.