CONTINUITY IN THE INTEGRATION OF CONTENTS AND SKILLS LEADING TO WRITING

A SAMPLE LESSON THEME: PEOPLE TOPIC: DESCRIBING PEOPLE

LESSON 1
DESCRIBE ONESELF BY WRITING A PERSONA POEM (HO 1)
1. 2.

3.
4. 5. 6.

Look at an example of a poem about Kate and discuss the structure of the eight lines. What parts of speech or groupings of words typify each line? (Teacher goes through sample analysis of a persona poem) Using template, students work alone and write about themselves. Get some students to read aloud the persona poem they have created about themselves. Display students persona poems in the class notice board for students to get to know each other.

LESSON 2
BRAINSTORMING CLASS DISCUSSION What are the things you will talk about when describing a person?
1. 2. 3.

Every student has to contribute an idea. Teacher writes ideas on board. Students group ideas into different headings

LESSON 3
VOCABULARY ACTIVITY Words describing peoples physical appearance
1. 2.

3.
4. 5. 6.

Teacher gives headings e.g. size, face, chin, cheeks, nose, mouth, hands, complexion. Students suggest adjectives to describe these physical attributes. Read excerpts of descriptive essays. (HO 2) Pick our descriptive details and state what effect/message/emotion is conveyed about the person. Teaching point Your choice of details/adjectives will convey a message and determine the effectiveness of your description. Do worksheets 1-3 on describing physical appearances. Discuss and check answers.

LESSON 4
VOCABULARY ACTIVITY Words describing peoples personality
1. 2. 3. 4.

Read excerpts about personality of characters. Pick out the habits and idiosyncrasies of the characters. Q : What is conveyed about the personality of the character? (HO 3) Teaching Point : When describing the personality of a character we can make our description more interesting by using :
Adjectives Illustrations or explanations Description of habits/ idiosyncrasies/behaviour

5. 6.

Teacher gives some adjectives to describe different personalities and goes through the list. Students pick an adjective and make up idiosyncrasies/habits to illustrate the adjective describing the character. (Group Work)

LESSON 5
GRAMMAR ADJECTIVES AND ITS USES
1. 2. 3. 4.

Teach the use and usage of adjectives and the rules. (Refer to ppt or worksheets) Give practice exercises (Worksheets 4-5) and discuss. Groups present their descriptions of a famous person (refer to previous W/S 3) on mahjong paper. Class evaluate writing by applying the grammar rules taught by identifying errors and correcting them.

LESSON 6
READING COMPREHENSION 1. Read an essay describing interesting classmates. (HO 4) 2. Answer comprehension questions about the classmates e.g. their appearance, personality, habits and idiosyncrasies. 3. Draw a mind map to summarize the description of each of the classmates. 4. Present mind maps to class and class give feedback. 5. Make corrections to mind maps based on feedback given.

LESSON 7
SUMMARY WRITING 1. Teacher picks the mind map from previous lesson that best summarises the essay read in the previous lesson. 2. Group work write a summary of the description based on the details given in the mind map in 130 words. 3. Present to class and class check the tense. 4. Teacher explains the use of present tense and past tense. 5. Students identify the errors and make the corrections.

LESSON 8
WRITING GENERATING IDEAS MY FAVOURITE AUNT/TEACHER
1. 2.

3.
4.

Brainstorming - jot down anything that comes to mind. Group Together group what you have listed according to an order or arrangement that makes sense to the topic. Give a heading to each grouping. Mind-mapping explore the connection or relationship between the ideas in a mind map. (Refer to Example) Organising once you have your points, you need to develop an outline to organise your ideas. Every essay should have :
An Introduction A Body At least 3 points A conclusion (Refer to Overview of Essay HO 5)

LESSON 9
WRITING INTRODUCTION AND PARAGRAPHS MY FAVOURITE AUNT 1. Introductions must attract your readers to want to read on. Here are some way to write introductions (HO 6). 2. Group work write an introduction for the topic My Favourite Aunt. 3. Present to class. Class identify type of introduction and give comments. 4. Body should have at least 3 main ideas. 1 paragraph should have I main idea written in a topic sentence (TS) usually at the beginning of the paragraph.

LESSON 9 (CONT)
1.

Develop the paragraph by elaborating on the TS by:

Giving explanations, details, examples Provide reasons, suggestions Make comparisons State cause and effect Your paragraph should look something like this. (HO 7)

2.
3. 4. 5.

Refer to your mind-map on My Favourite Aunt. Practise writing topic sentences for the ideas stated in your mind map. After you have finished, pick one idea and develop a paragraph for it. Conclusions - have a conclusion to tie things up. Use any of these methods (HO 8) Choose a method and write a conclusion for your essay.

LESSON 10
EDITING & REVISING 1. Check your essay for grammatical errors i.e.

Subject verb agreement Tenses Transition markers Correct use of adjectives

2. 3.

Teacher can revise the grammar rules and guide students through the appropriate grammar items. If you spot any errors, underline them with a red pen and write the corrections on top of it.

THE END

PRACTISE CONTINUITY TO SPICE UP OUR ENGLISH LESSONS