TSL3107 TEACHING WRITING SKILLS IN THE PRIMARY ESL CLASSROOM

LESSON 9: LESSON PLANNING

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPG Kampus Kota Bharu

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Content
2

What is a lesson plan Reasons for a lesson plan General principals of teaching

Pedagogical Principles
Stages of a writing lesson Pre-writing stage While-writing stage Post-writing stage

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

What is a lesson plan?

3

Some defs: 1. A map / A framework of a lesson 2. Highly organized outlines that specify the subject matter

to be covered, the order in which the information will be presented, and the timeline for delivering each section or component of the subject matter 3. An art of combining a number of different elements into a coherent whole so that a lesson has an identity which students can recognise, work within and react to (Harmer, 2001) 4. A unified set of activities that cover a period of classroom time (Brown, 2001)
Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Reasons for designing a lesson plan

4

Why is designing lesson plan important? 1. Creating an effective lesson plan is the key to effective

teaching and a critical factor in achieving positive student outcomes 2. One of reasons is that it helps them consider very important elements and questions before the actual instruction, and thus enhance the probability of successful teaching activities. 3. Lesson plans provide a framework for an individual lesson. They should contain sufficient detail for another teacher to be able to deliver the lesson in your absence.
Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Reasons for designing a lesson plan (cont)

5

4. The process of planning each lesson forces you to reflect

on what you want to accomplish in each class and how best to do so. 5. Planning helps you control how class time is used and, as a result of reflection, use that time as productively as possible. 6. Lesson plans can be used, with revisions and adaptations, each time you teach the class and they can be put in your teaching portfolio, to be used when you apply for better teaching positions. Any other reasons you can think of?
Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Other reasons for designing a lesson plan

6

It will lead you through the class It will allow you to combine different activities or

exercises thinking about your students characteristics It will help you to design a class with different components to keep your students motivation and interest Something the teacher wants to improve (Lindsay, 2000) And a host of other reasons!
Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

General principles of teaching

7

A. COGNITIVE PRINCIPLES (1) Automat (2) Meaningful Learning (3) The Anticipation of Reward (4) Intrinsic Motivation (5) Strategic Investment B. AFFECTIVE PRINCIPLES (6) Language Ego (7) Self-Confidence (8) Risk-Taking (9) The Language-Culture Connection C. LINGUISTIC PRINCIPLES (10) The Native Language Effect (11) Interlanguage (12) Communicative Competence

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
8

Principles for designing writing techniques (H.D., Brown,

2001): 1. Incorporate practices of good writers. Eg:

Focus on a goal or main idea in writing Perceptively gauge their audience Spend some time (but not too much) planning to write Easily let their first ideas flow onto the paper Follow a general organizational plan as they write Solicit and utilize feedback on their writing Are not wedded to certain surface structures (?) Revise their work willingly and efficiently Patiently make as many revisions as needed

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
9

2. Balance process and product Writing is a composing process that requires multiple drafts this leads to effective product Therefore, lead students carefully through appropriate stages in the process of composing Nonetheless, dont get too caught up in the stages leading up to the final product keep also insight a clear, articulate, wellorganized, effective piece of writing Make students see everything leading up to the process is worth the effort

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
10

3. Account for cultural/literary backgrounds Make sure your techniques DO NOT ASSUME that your students know English rhetorical conventions Help them understand different values in the culture of the target language Help them understand Be patient

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
11

4. Connect reading and writing Clearly learners learn to write by carefully observing what is already written By reading and studying a variety of relevant types of texts, learners can gain important insights both about how they should write and about subject matter that may become the topic of writing Hence, giving learners sample writings can be very helpful

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
12

5. Provide as much authentic writing as possible Whether writing is real writing or display writing, it can still be authentic through:
Making the purposes of writing very clear to the learners Specifying overtly who the audience is Making at least some intent in conveying meaning

Example of authentic writings:

Class newsletters Writing letters to people outside class Writing a script for a skit or drama Writing a resume Writing advertisements, etc

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
13

6. Frame your techniques in terms of prewriting,

drafting and revising stages

Prewriting stage generating ideas through reading, brainstorming, listing, clustering, etc

The drafting and revising stages fall under while-

writing stage.

Drafting and revising stages are the CORE process of writing

Use strategies like free-writing, peer-reviewing, editing for grammar, read aloud, proof-reading, etc

May include post-writing stage too to consolidate

learning
Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
14

7. Strive to offer techniques that are as interactive as

possible

Process approach offers interactivity students work in pairs/groups to generate ideas, to edit, etc It is also very learner-centred (students work together to brainstorm ideas, to collaborate, etc) Writing techniques that focus on purposes other than compositions (letters, memos, forms, directions, short reports, etc) are also subject to the principles of interactive classrooms. Writing is not necessarily a solitary activity What makes a good writer can most effectively learned in a community of learners.

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
15

8. Sensitively apply methods of responding to and

correcting your students writing Error correction in writing must be approached in different manner- may be different stages need different application You may start early in drafting and revising stages at this stage consider errors among several features of the whole process of responding to students writing give comments, let them selfcorrect, or peer-correct (you are an ally at this stage, just facilitate) Hold conference with the student, written comment may not suffice Only assume the role as a judge/evaluator when the final work is turned in

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
16

8. (cont) Guidelines to responding to first draft:

Resist temptation to correct local (minor) grammatical errors; major (global) errors may be indicated directly (eg; underlining) or indirectly (eg: through a check/tick next to the line where error occurs) Resist temptation to rewrite students sentences Comment holistically, in terms of the clarity of the overall thesis and general structural organization Comment on introductory paragraph Comment on features that appear to be irrelevant to the topic Question clearly inadequate word choices and awkward expression within those paragraphs/sentences that are relevant to the topic

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
17

8. (cont)
For subsequent drafts your comments may include all the ones in

slide 15 and more:

Minor grammatical and mechanical errors should be indicated, but not corrected for the students Comment on the specific clarity and strength of all main ideas, supporting details and on argument and logic Comment on any further word choices and expressions that may not be awkward but are not as clear or direct as they could be Check cohesive devices within and across paragraphs In academic papers, comment on documentation, citing sources, evidence and other support Comment on the adequacy and strength of the conclusion.

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
18

9. Clearly instruct students on the rhetorical, formal

conventions of writing

Introduce the formal properties of each type of writing you teach

Dont assume students can absorb these by themselves A reading approach / product based approach might be useful:
Give model Analyze features and the language use Thesis statement / Topic sentence Development of main ideas Supporting ideas etc

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pedagogical Principles
19

Other important principles: The topic must be stated in the curriculum specs Identify the learning outcomes including the

language demands of the teaching and learning. Maintain and make explicit the same learning outcomes for all the learners. Begin with context embedded tasks which make the abstract concrete.

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pre-writing
20

The discovery stage - Prewriting includes everything that a student does

before beginning to draft a paper Generate raw material, finding out what you have to say, using the creative, spontaneous parts of your mind as you explore your thoughts. Working on the ideas you generate with your pre-writing will help you find a focus, a point to which your ideas relate Here are four techniques that will encourage you to think about and develop a topic and get words on paper: (1) freewriting, (2) questioning (Why? When? Where? Who? and How?) (3) making a list, and (4) diagramming. General prewriting can help you generate ideas and focused prewriting can help you to organize and refine your thoughts. Any of these techniques can be used in combination with another, as you will see in the following sections.

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Pre-writing
21
We can further classified prewriting into five activities: reading as a writer,

generating ideas, organizing ideas, contextualizing ideas, and coming up with a working thesis. With most academic papers, prewriting begins with reading a text for many reasons (to understand pattern, to find ideas, etc) Generate ideas - to freewrite, or brainstorm, or write a discovery draft, dialogue, etc Organizing Ideas - draft formal outlines, informal outlines, drawing arrows to establish possible connections, try to cluster related ideas beneath them, etc Contextualizing ideas - the history of idea, other relevant ideas to topic, how does it relate to other ideas that we've been discussing, etc Working thesis - this sentence, if well crafted, will help the writer to stay focused on the argument she is trying to make, do let the student know that, at this stage, they have only a working thesismost writers revise their theses as they go, in order to accommodate shifts in perspectives and new ideas.

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

While-writing
22

The writing process begins. It may start with drafting, editing, rewriting until the

final work is achieved. Information gathered during the pre-writing can be used eg: format, structure, words, other conventions, etc

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Post-writing
23

An extended activity(ies) based on the activity in while

writing Post-writing activities help students polish their work. Many writers look at post-writing and rewriting as where the real work of writing begins. Teaching your students to complete post-writing activities with each assignment will help them to grow as writers and gain confidence in their writing skills. Example: Read the Paper Aloud, Group Critiques, Line Editing, Reflection Essay

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Example
24

Example of activities for stages of a writing lesson

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

Tutorial
25

(Use KBSR Curr. Specs for Year 4/5/6) In groups, plan an outline of a writing lesson for

Under average learners Average learners. Above average learners

In lesson 10, share the outline with peers and get

feedback from them by

Presenting the outline of the lessons together with appropriate activities Inviting constructive comments of the prepared lessons

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9

ISL
26

Read Chitravelu, N.et.at (2005). ELT

Methodolology: Principles and Practice, Selangor: Fajar Bakti. (p182 185) Read other relevant reading materials

Mohd Iskandar TSL3107 Lesson 9