Intermediate ESL Paragraph Writing Lesson
Lesson on Newspapers That Can Help Improve Students' Confidence
Aug 8, 2008
Whether you are teaching ESL students abroad or in your home country, writing is a major component of any English program. Students who have just about reached the intermediate level are likely able to write paragraphs; here is a lesson idea that encourages students to go beyond simply writing on an assigned topic, and can even serve as a confidence-booster in their language abilities.
Introduction to the Lesson Topic
This lesson uses English language news sources as a backdrop for improving writing skills. You could start off the lesson by asking students about which English language news sources (BBC, New York Times, the Times of London, CNN, et cetera) they are familiar with.
The next step is to introduce them to any newspaper/journalism vocabulary you think would be appropriate. The idea here is to improve their vocabulary and to get them into character, because they are going to be cast in the role of journalists for the lesson.
Lesson Checklist
Make sure you have all of the following before walking into the classroom on the day of your lesson:
- Funny, unusual headlines typed or written clearly on note cards or slips of paper
- Paper for paragraph writing
- A handout complete with writing and newspaper vocabulary, as well as a description of what is expected from the group activities (optional).
The Group Activity
After talking a bit about journalism and English language newspapers, it's time to allow your students to get creative. What you need to do is explain that you have some strange newspaper headlines with you, and that these really appeared in an English language news source.
The students' task is to brainstorm in small groups and write a story for that headline, interpreting it however they choose. Depending on the length of your lesson, the students should have at least ten minutes to work on a story. They'll need time to ask you about any words in the headline that they may not know, brainstorm ideas, and finally get down to the task of writing a paragraph.
Group Presentation
After the allotted time is up, have students their news stories aloud. Whether the students choose to divide the story up between group members or select a group speaker, the point is they will be reading aloud in front of their peers. This is difficult even for some native English speakers, so giving ESL students the opportunity to practice will help them become more comfortable with reading the language aloud, and speaking English in general.
Time-permitting, after each group has presented, another fun idea is to ask the groups to come up with one or more bizarre headlines of their own.
Wrap-Up
As with any lesson, it's important to leave some time for student questions and feedback. A good take-home assignment for the students would be to have them find an interesting headline, or make up their own, and write a short story to go along with it.
Additional Sources of Information
To get started researching headlines, check out the BBC and CNN's websites, as well as the sites for whichever newspapers you read regularly. The science, technology, and lifestyle sections are great places to start looking for unusual-sounding headlines.
For lesson plans in general, the British Council's website has a whole section devoted to lesson plans for ESL teachers and English language assistants abroad. There are also resources on those sites for icebreakers and introductory activities. With the right resources and a little creativity, putting together lessons that both you and your students will enjoy will be no trouble.
