A Sample of Writing Lesson Plan

Duration: 80 minutes
Material: New Interchange 2, 3rd edition, Unit 3, P. 18.
Target items: as…as, not …enough, too…, as many…as, as much …as

Aim: To practice writing a descriptive email using adjectives and nouns for comparisons
Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
 Write an email to a friend using nouns for comparisons and adjectives
 Compare the new apartment to their current home
 Discuss and explain how to get good things when buying something valuable.
I. PRE-WRITING STAGE
1. Lead in: (Objective: to create Ss’ interest in the topic.)
- Have you ever written an email? To whom? About what?
2. Revise old vocabulary: (Objective: to help Ss recall some words they will be using in their writing)
Write the opposite of the following words:
bright …………………. modern …………………..
dingy ………………….. quiet …………………..
cramped ………………….. reasonable …………………..
dangerous ………………….. convenient …………………..

3. Reading comprehension (Objective: to help Ss understand the model text)

T. tells that this is an email to Emma. Her friend has just moved to a new apartment. Look at the
picture, this is her apartment floor plan. Can you describe it, telling the number of the rooms and how
big or small they are? E.g. there are 2 bedrooms…

T. asks Ss to read the text and answer the questions:

1. Did the old apartment have enough space?
2. Is the new apartment big or small?
3. Which one is brighter the old or the new apartment?
4. How many windows are there in the new apartment?
(As the text is not complete yet, the teacher should prepare a few more questions to help complete the
letter, e.g.: Let’s predict the answers to the following questions together:
- How many bathrooms does the new apartment have? Are they big or small?
- How many closets are there? Big or small?
- Is it in a good neighborhood?

- Ss compare the answers with their partners.

- Teacher goes around and helps if needed.
- T. checks the answers with the whole class.
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 3. Email organization
T. elicits some grammatical structures from the students by asking Ss to read the text again and
answer a few questions:
How can Emma’s friend compare her 2 apartments? Read and underline words that are used to
compare 2 apartments.
Ss read and underline: not enough, too dark, more spacious…

II. MAIN WRITING STAGE

1. Controlled writing practice
Transforming
 Rewrite these sentences using not…enough or too:
The house is too expensive The house isn’t reasonable enough
The bath room is too old ……………………………………..
The neighborhood is too dangerous ……………………………………..
The kitchen isn’t convenient enough ……………………………………..
Filling in the gaps
 Fill in the gap with: just as many…, as many…as, as much …, not as…as
The house on Second Street is ……………………… the apartment on Main Street. (convenient)
The house is ……………………… the apartment (cramped)
I think apartments do not have ……………………… as houses. (rooms)
Houses aren’t ……………………… apartments. (safe)

2. Less controlled writing practice (Objective: to build students’ confidence in comparing 2 places)
T. gives Ss a strip of paper about the information of 2 apartments.

Old apartment New apartment

Bedroom not enough bedrooms 4 bedrooms
Living room too cramped more spacious
spacious
Window not enough windows more spacious,
Parking space one parking space 2 parking spaces
Neighborhood dangerous safe

- T. asks them to write an email to their friend comparing their old apartment with the new one.
T. encourages Ss to use too…, not enough, as…as, as many…as, as much …as, er…than….
(They use the text as an example)
- T. monitors and helps with some difficulties if necessary.
- T. asks a few Ss to read their work to the whole class

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 3. Free writing practice (Objective: to give Ss practice writing an email using their own
information)
- T. tells Ss that: you have been looking for a new apartment for several weeks. Now, you have
found one that is better than your old home. Write an email to your friend comparing the 2 places.
Tell your friend how you feel about the new one. Ss have to select at least 3 comparisons for their
email.
- T. monitors and helps with some difficulties if necessary.

III. POST-WRITING STAGE

(Objective: to correct and give feedback on the student’s writing and to give Ss an opportunity to
move from writing to speaking.)
A. T. tells Ss to work in pairs and exchange papers with another classmate.
- Ss read each other’s e-mails and ask questions when they are not sure.
- Ss correct their friends’ spelling mistakes, or inappropriate ideas.
- T. gets a few Ss to read their emails to the whole class.
- T. goes around the class and gives help if needed.

B. T. writes a question on the board and asks Ss to work in groups of 5.

- Why do you think you can get a better place to live?
Possible answers:
We spend time house hunting, we compare different houses, we do not make hasty/fast decision.
- T. monitors and helps with some difficulties if necessary.
- T. asks a few Ss to read their work to the whole class

IV. DEVOLOPING POSITIVE ATTITUDE

T. asks the class to discuss the following questions:
- Do you think hasty decision is good, when buying something valuable? If not why?
Possible answers: We will get lots of bad results such as: having poor quality, bad condition (not
useable), wasting money, wasting time, feeling regret…
- What would be your suggestions in order to get good things to use?
- Possible answers: Do not make hasty decision, compare things, discuss with friends or
experienced people.

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