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Teaching & Learning Event 2

Teaching & Learning Event 2

Amy L. Altstatt
EDUC 540B
April 28, 2015
Dr. Serena Gould

Teaching & Learning Event 2

EDUC 540B TLE 2 Reading & Vocabulary

EDUC 540B: Paraphrasing
Host Teacher: Alessandra McMorris
USC TESOL Candidate: Amy Altstatt
April 28, 2015 (50 minutes)

Objectives
Students are in a Reading & Vocabulary level-5 class reading, Bridge to Terabithia.
They are given instruction one day a week on vocabulary skills or other skills such as this
paraphrasing lesson. They also do supplemental work that accompanies the concepts in the book
such as bullying, families, etc. which they journal about each week.

Students will be able to understand the reason for paraphrasing.

Students will be able to use their knowledge of synonyms to effectively paraphrase

simple sentences.

Students will be able to use one or more paraphrasing techniques to paraphrase spoken or
written words.

Students will be able identify effective or ineffective paraphrasing as modeled by peers

and teacher.
Level
13 Adult Students: Reading and Vocabulary level 5 of 8 Grammar levels (Intermediate).

Students have either been in the program for 1 or more terms, or have tested and been placed in
this level by the English Language Institute. The students come from Saudi Arabia, Korea, and
Vietnam.

Teaching & Learning Event 2

Theoretical background
The lesson was created with constructivist and sociocultural approaches in mind.
Constructivism sees learning a language as a partnership between students and teachers. In the
Constructivist approach, students contribute to the meaning as much as teachers do, thus giving
the teachers the role of facilitator (Celce-Murcia, 2014). That knowledge can be created
collectively is a fundamental notion of the constructivist approach. In this lesson, the
students will work collectively in groups to practice and model paraphrasing for one another, as
well as discussing as a group what effective paraphrasing is. This modeling is characteristic of
the sociocultural approach which sees learning as a social activity between peers.
Activities
Opening activity: He said, She said (15 minutes)

Students will be given a simple guide as to what paraphrasing is and a set of questions to answer
within groups about family. Student groups will share what their group members think about
family (in summary/ paraphrasing) what their groups members think of family.

Student Activity 1: Teacher will pass out handout on why we paraphrase and discuss reasons
why paraphrasing helps in language learning as well as paraphrasing strategies, and other
academic instances where paraphrasing is a necessary tool. (15 minutes)

Activity 2: Students will be placed in groups and assigned one sentence from an article they
have previously read on families. As a group, student members will work to paraphrase the
sentence using dictionaries and each other as resources for understanding the text. Student
groups will share out to the class their version of the sentence they were assigned and the class
will discuss whether it was effective paraphrasing or not. (20 minutes)

Teaching & Learning Event 2

Assessment
Students will be informally assessed as they share out from their groups, but will also be
informally assessed throughout the semester as they continue their journal writing and relaying
of events in the book they are reading in class.

Extension
Students are reading, Bridge to Terabithia and writing journal responses to essays based
on concepts in the book such as bullying and family. The extension of this activity will be
provided throughout the semester as students relay incidents in the book through weekly journals
and study guides.
Culmination
Ask students on a written survey (See appendix for survey):
Was this exercise easy or difficult?
How does paraphrasing benefit our language learning?
Do you feel comfortable paraphrasing?
Which activity was the most helpful for you?

Differentiation
There are handicap accessible seats in every classroom for those that need to sit closer to
the board, or who may have wheelchairs. Students are grouped with other students of varying
first languages so that no group has an advantage of communicating in their L1, however
students are allowed to give explanations to fellow students sharing same L1 if it helps with

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instruction. Students are allowed to choose their roles within each group so that they can
contribute their strongest attributes to their own learning and the advancement of the group.

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Teacher Script
Paraphrase Lesson
We are going to be practicing paraphrasing today- How many of you are familiar with
paraphrasing? Who would like to tell me what paraphrasing is?
Correct- In fact, I have a simple reminder here for you for this first exercise that gives you an
easy way to remember what makes good paraphrasing: (show the PARA meme and read
through each step)
I am going to give you each one of these and on the back side of your paper you will find the
questions we will be discussing.
(Model by reading through example)
12 minutes (approximately) for students to share their answers and then ask for volunteers from
each group to share what the group talked about.
Handout on Why Paraphrasing
Can anyone tell me why paraphrasing is so important? (write answers on the board)
Cover each point on the handout and then introduce the second activity.

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Group Activity 1 Instructions and examples:

For this activity, each group will discuss the questions and give every person a chance
to answer the questions. You will each be expected to share the answers that one of
your group members gave.

For example, if Alessandra, Hannah and Amy were in a group, Amy would share
Alessandras answers, Hannah would share Amys answers, and Alessandra
would share Hannahs answers.
Amys answers to the question might be: I think a family is made up of all of the
people in your life that are important to you and that love you. Family can be friends,
co-workers, or actual family, because they are just people that love you and are there
for you.
Hannah might summarize Amys answers like this: Amy believes that true family is
anyone that loves you and will help you when you need it, and it doesnt matter how you
know them.
Use the back of the paper you have been given to take notes- NOT every word
your partner says, but write things that will help you remember their opinion.

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Ask your partner the following questions (you

may use the space to take notes, but do NOT
write down every word):
1.

What makes a family?

2.
Tell me how your friends are like
or not like family to you:

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Paraphrasing: Writing it in Your Own Words

Paraphrasing, or borrowing from a source without plagiarizing, is a useful alternative
to directly quoting from books, articles, or other sources. When you paraphrase,
you write your own interpretation of essential information and ideas expressed by
someone else, without changing the meaning of the original. When you paraphrase,
you use your own words. A paraphrase should usually be the same length as the
original passage and it should include all the information. Even though you are
using your own words when you paraphrase, you still need to cite your source
because you are expressing someone elses ideas, not yours.
Always begin your paraphrase with a reference to the author and/or title of the
source. These are some helpful phrases:
According to [authors name],
Based on [authors name]s article [articles name],
In his/her book/article [title], [authors name] argues that

1.
2.

Steps to Effective Paraphrasing

Read and read the original passage until you fully understand it.
Underline any word you dont know and look it up in a dictionary.
3. Begin to paraphrase by citing the author and title of the work.
4. Rewrite the original passage in your own words.
5. Review your work and make sure you included all the original information, and
that you have not changed its meaning.

(This document provided by Alessandra McMorris of English

Language Institute at California State University Sacramento/
April, 2015)

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Teaching & Learning Event 2

Paraphrase Exercise
Paraphrase the following passages form the article What Makes a Family a Family?
1. Example: The nuclear, standard, dominant cultures idea of the family is being
reformed by pioneers all over this country. (Paragraph 1)
The way that most people think about families is changing because of people across the
country that are showing us a different kind of family.
2. Also I wonder, when will we be able to just label all families-however they come- just as
families? (Paragraph 2)

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________
3. They may not always be successful in their parenting efforts, but theyre certainly off to a
better start than unplanned families. (Paragraph 3)
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________
4. There is so much to being a good parent regardless of whether the parents (or parent) are
single, bi-racial, gay, straight, two gay couples, remarried with fused siblings, or a single mom
with a sperm donation family. (Paragraph 5)
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________
5. Any straight couple can get together, get pregnant, and start the wanted, or unwanted family,
or the planned or unplanned family. A gay couple has to plan, to want. (Paragraph 7)
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

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Teaching & Learning Event 2

References
Celce-Murcia, M. Brinton, D. M. Snow, M. A. (2014). Teaching English as a second or foreign
language, (4th Ed). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning.
Lynette, R. (January 22, 2015). Minds in bloom: Teaching kids to paraphrase, step by step.
Retrieved from: http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2014/02/teaching-kids-to-paraphrasestep-by-step.html
McMorris, A. (2015). Paraphrasing: Writing it in your own words. (Handout).