Lesson Plan for PP 104

Students:

Graduate students in a course on using computers for second language learning.

Objectives:

·        After reading an article on discussion boards, students will be able to answer questions to demonstrate their comprehension of the technical terms used in the article.

·        After discussing the article, students will be able to list the three most important considerations when using discussion boards with ESL/EFL learners.

·        After individual and group activities, students will be able to verbalize how they might use a discussion board in their future classes.

Location:

Computer lab

Reading material:

Bikowski, D and Kessler, G.  “Making the Most of Discussion Boards in the ESL Classroom,” TESOL Journal, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 27-30.

Link:

http://school.discovery.com/quizzes28/eslteacherny/DiscussionBoards.html

Prior activities:

Students will read the article by Bikowski and Kessler and take the quiz on discussion board vocabulary prior to class.

Class Activities:

·        Students will form groups and choose roles.

·        Students will discuss their own prior experience using discussion boards (What they found useful/ not-useful).

·        Referring to article’s list of considerations (time investment, monitoring, register, training, etc.), students will individually choose the three they judge most important if they were to use a discussion board with their own ESL/EFL students.

·        The group will discuss the choices and decide on the two the group considers most essential.

·        Each group’s reporter will explain to the whole class the group’s choices.

Closure:

Students will share with a partner how they could use a discussion board in their own ESL/EFL teaching situation or why they would not do it.

Grammar Lesson Plan for PP104

Students:  Intermediate level high ESL/EFL school students

Objective:

·        Students will be able to use the verbs “let, have, make, get” and “help” in grammatically and semantically correct sentences.

Setting:  Computer lab where 2 students are seated at one computer

Materials/Links:

http://school.discovery.com/quizzes28/eslteacherny/Specialverbs.html

Activation of Prior Knowledge:

T asks students how many have babysat for a younger sibling, a relative or a neighbor.  She asks them to tell the class things that they felt safe allowing the kids to do.  Then she asks them to tell the class if there were things the kids didn’t want to do, but that he/she forced them to do.  Were there things the kids needed help with?

Activities:

1.  T displays the following sentences on the OHP:

1.     The babysitter helped the boy finish his homework.

2.     The babysitter let the boy finish his homework.

3.     The babysitter got the boy to finish his homework.

4.     The babysitter had the boy finish his homework.

5.     The babysitter made the boy finish his homework.

T then asks the students if anyone can explain the differences in meaning in the sentences.  As Ss explain, the T will write synonyms above each verb (supplying words the Ss may not suggest).

Helped=assisted

Let=         allowed

Got=         persuaded

Had=         persuaded/forced

Made=forced

3.  T tells Ss to go to http://school.discovery.com/quizzes28/eslteacherny/Specialverbs.html

And do the quiz with their partner.

4.  Ss do quiz and check their own answers.

5.  T discusses any questions Ss may have about the quiz.

6.  T displays the following sentences on the OHP:

·        The babysitter helped the boy finish his homework.

·        The babysitter helped the boy to finish his homework.

·        The babysitter let the boy finish his homework.

·        The babysitter got the boy to finish his homework.

·        The babysitter had the boy finish his homework.

·        The babysitter made the boy finish his homework.

T asks Ss what form of the verb is used after each verb (simple or infinitive)

7.  T asks Ss to work with a partner to write one sentence using each verb ( have, made, let, get, help) to describe something that happened between people in class today.