This lesson plan aims to teach intermediate English learners about design through examining flags. It begins with warming students up to the topic of design and having them describe well and poorly designed objects. Students then read about what design is and practice describing designs. They learn adjectives to describe flags and are introduced to flags from around the world. Students then listen to a TED Talk about flag design and identify the speaker's main points. Finally, they work in groups to design a flag for New York City using the principles discussed and present it to the class. For homework, students write a paragraph analyzing an existing flag.
This workshop covers the different ways of presenting grammar, both form and meaning, and provides ideas for controlled student practice. Teachers will understand the basic principles of conveying meaning and highlighting form through techniques such as timelines, concept checking and guided discovery. They will also discover how to select and stage practice according to the needs of their students and the importance of accuracy vs. fluency, as well as how to use techniques such as drilling and personalization to provide practice.
This is a great introduction to Step Up To Writing that I plan on using with my kids and sharing with my parents. It is from (I believe) Mountainview Middle School
This workshop covers the different ways of presenting grammar, both form and meaning, and provides ideas for controlled student practice. Teachers will understand the basic principles of conveying meaning and highlighting form through techniques such as timelines, concept checking and guided discovery. They will also discover how to select and stage practice according to the needs of their students and the importance of accuracy vs. fluency, as well as how to use techniques such as drilling and personalization to provide practice.
This is a great introduction to Step Up To Writing that I plan on using with my kids and sharing with my parents. It is from (I believe) Mountainview Middle School
Discussion Board Guidelines Students must respond individuallyLyndonPelletier761
Discussion Board Guidelines
Students must respond individually to the Discussion Board question and forge a discussion with at least two class members.
Discussion Board postings should be "original thought" posting. Unless requested to do so, students should not use the internet to create discussion board responses.
Discussion Board postings should be 300 words minimum in length, provide evidence of reading comprehension through illustrations from the reading assignments, critical thinking, and consideration of others' views.
When Discussion Board work is assigned on the syllabus schedule, students must post their responses by the appointed time and respond to at least two class members' posts within 48 hours/at the appointed time.
Discussion Board work is time-sensitive. Late submissions will not be accepted/will receive a zero.
It is STRONGLY suggested that you visit the discussion board frequently after your work is completed to see where the discussion is going and to further respond to your group members (or your instructor) if need be.
Please see the Discussion Board Rubric for grad
Assignment
Grading Rubric
Meets/Exceeds
Expectations
(10 Pts)
Approaches
Expectations
(8 Pts)
Needs Improvement
(6 Pts)
In-complete
and/or not
done correctly
(1 Pt)
No
Marks/Missing
(0 Pts)
Purpose
Purpose is clear.
Shows awareness of
purpose.
Shows limited
awareness of purpose.
No awareness.
No
Marks/Missing
Main idea Clearly presents a
main idea and
supports it throughout
the paper.
There is a main idea
supported
throughout most of
the paper.
Vague sense of a main
idea, weakly supported
throughout the paper.
No main idea.
Student didn't
turn in
assignment.
Overall and
Style
Well-planned and well-
thought out. Includes
title, introduction, and
statement of main
idea, transitions,
conclusion, using
APA standard: correct
font, font size and no
more than 1000
words.
Good overall
organization includes
the main
organizational tools
but font is incorrect
or word count is
more than 1000
and/or line spacing
is not doubled, or no
APA style.
There is a sense of
organization, although
some of the
organizational tools are
missing and/or late.
No sense of
organization.
Student didn't
turn in
assignment.
Content Exceptionally well-
presented and
discussed; ideas are
detailed, well-
developed with
evidence & facts
based on text
information.
Well-presented and
discussed; ideas are
detailed, developed
and supported with
less evidence and
details.
Content not as clear or
solid; some ideas are
present but not
particularly developed
or supported with
minimal evidence of
clear knowledge of
subject.
Content is not
complete.
Student didn't
turn in
assignment.
Structure Sentences are clear
and varied in pattern,
from simple to
complex, with
excellent use of
punctuation.
Sentences are clear
but may ...
Intermediate -Design is Everywhere- Lesson w- Rationale
1. Design is
Everywhere
Intermediate (B1+), EC New York
Anna Murray
Auxiliary lesson material for Lesson 7.1 (Design chapter)
Language Leader Intermediate, Pearson Longman
2. Objectives
Today, you will...
Scan extracts about design for main ideas. (READING)
Use new descriptive adjectives to describe designs and flags.
(VOCABULARY)
Listen to a TED Talk and identify the main ideas. (LISTENING)
Design a flag for New York City and present it using descriptive adjectives.
(SPEAKING)
Write a paragraph using descriptive vocabulary to describe a flag of your
choice. (WRITING)
3. Lesson rationale
This lesson was created to adapt and supplement lesson 7.1 found in Language Leader Intermediate. Chapter 7 featured a full unit
contextualized in design. The class was classified as Intermediate, which translates to roughly level B1+ on the CEFR scale.
The main objectives of this chapter segment revolved around supplying students with adjective vocabulary necessary for describing objects
and discussing design, which would be necessary for readings, listenings, and discussions later in the chapter.
The class lasted 3 hours total, separated into two 90 minute modules. For the first module, I followed the book more closely but adapted
portions of it to the presentation in order to increase student engagement. (In the interest on time, the activity on word formations and
emphasis would be shifted to a later lesson.)
MODULE 1 (90 minutes):
● Warm-Up and Contextualization: In this lesson, I expanded the warm-up and brainstorming phase and made it more specific to
better stimulate interest and to generate more ideas closer to the students’ experience.
● Reading: For gist reading practice, I incorporated the reading in the book, as it gave students practice in identifying main ideas
through categorization. It also supplied a good definition on design that would be expanded upon later by the TED Talk.
● Vocabulary: For the vocabulary section, students were put into pairs to use words to describe common items. They were instructed
to first help each other out with vocabulary words that their partner didn’t know, since there was a variety of L1s and linguistic
4. Lesson rationale
For module 2, I chose to deviate from the book and craft the lesson around a TED Talk listening task, as many of the students had expressed
a desire to improve their listening and speaking skills, but were often uninterested in book listening samples. This group of students tended
to be intimidated by words they didn’t know and had a low tolerance for risk in both reading and listening, as well as speaking. They often
wanted to resort to their dictionaries whenever possible.
Roman Mars’ TED Talk, “The Worst Designed Thing You’ve Never Noticed,” was linguistically quite challenging for the students, but thanks to
Mars’ clear pronunciation, effective use of visuals and sound effects, and use of a numbered list, students were a) still generally able to follow
the gist of the talk and b) entertained and interested, distracting them from the stress that they would normally experience when faced with
such a high-level task.
For all of the above reasons, it was very important to direct their focus to the two basic main ideas questions. I did not follow up with a detail-
listening question for fear of frustrating the students and undoing the confidence they gained in successfully completing the gist-listening
activity. Instead, I concluded the lesson with a fun group activity and informal presentation, along with written homework.
5. Lesson rationale
MODULE 2 (90 minutes):
● Warm-Up and Contextualization: Students are invited to describe their own flags and give an opinion of it using vocabulary they
already possess.
● Vocabulary Pre-Teach: This activity uses vocabulary words that are used in the listening and presented in terms of opposites.
Students were placed into pairs or groups of three and permitted to use their dictionaries only after consulting their partners for
assistance.
● Flag description: Students practice using their new vocabulary by describing the flags that would subsequently be used in the TED
Talk. This also exposes them to the images for the first time, rendering the talk itself more accessible and familiar.
● Listening: Students are introduced to the topic of the talk and are directed to the two main questions. The talk may be segmented
with comprehension checking questions throughout or repeated, depending on time, although I would recommend leaving the list
segment intact.
● Oral Production: Students are directed to work in groups of 3 or 2 to create a flag using the principles of design mentioned in the
talk and informally present their flag to the class.
6. Warm-up What is
design?
What is the best designed
[...] you can think of?
- Object
- Building
- Airline
- Car
What is the worst designed
[...] you can think of?
- Object
- Building
- Airline
- Car
7. Reading
↝ On page 70, take 2 minutes to quickly read “WHAT IS DESIGN?”, just
looking for the main ideas.
↝ In which extract does the writer mention…
1. incorrect ideas about design?
2. the essential element in good design?
3. what design is?
4. the restrictions on designers?
5. what designers do?
8. Reading
↝ Read again. Correct the statements below:
1. Designers are the same as scientists and engineers.
2. Magazines don’t make mistakes when talking about design.
3. Design is all about appearance.
4. The secret of good design is to be new and different.
9. Describe this design ● elegant
● functional
● futuristic
● handmade
● innovative
● mass-produced
● retro
● simple
● streamlined
● stylish
● traditional
● up to date
10. Describe this design
● elegant
● functional
● futuristic
● handmade
● innovative
● mass-produced
● retro
● simple
● streamlined
● stylish
● traditional
● up to date
11. Describe this design
● elegant
● functional
● futuristic
● handmade
● innovative
● mass-produced
● retro
● simple
● streamlined
● stylish
● traditional
● up to date
12. Describe this design ● elegant
● functional
● futuristic
● handmade
● innovative
● mass-produced
● retro
● simple
● streamlined
● stylish
● traditional
● up to date
13. Describe this design ● elegant
● functional
● futuristic
● handmade
● innovative
● mass-produced
● retro
● simple
● streamlined
● stylish
● traditional
● up to date
14. Flags
↝ What does your country’s flag look like? Describe it to a partner.
↝ Do you like your country’s flag design?
16. Describe this flag meaningful
simple
crude
distinctive
attractive
powerful
refined
complex
ugly
bland
ridiculous
meaningless
tacky
tasteful
17. Describe this flag meaningful
simple
crude
distinctive
attractive
powerful
refined
complex
ugly
bland
ridiculous
meaningless
tacky
tasteful
18. Describe this flag meaningful
simple
crude
distinctive
attractive
powerful
refined
complex
ugly
bland
ridiculous
meaningless
tacky
tasteful
19. Describe this flag meaningful
simple
crude
distinctive
attractive
powerful
refined
complex
ugly
bland
ridiculous
meaningless
tacky
tasteful
20. Describe this flag meaningful
simple
crude
distinctive
attractive
powerful
refined
complex
ugly
bland
ridiculous
meaningless
tacky
tasteful
21. Describe this flag meaningful
simple
crude
distinctive
attractive
powerful
refined
complex
ugly
bland
ridiculous
meaningless
tacky
tasteful
22. TED Talk
↝ Roman Mars is the host and producer of a podcast and radio show called
“99% Invisible”.
↝ This episode is about vexillology (the study of flags).
↝ First time listening: Don’t worry about things you don’t understand! Listen
for the following main ideas:
❖Does he agree with you about the flags you just saw?
❖What are his 5 rules about designing a good flag?
23. TED Talk: Roman Mars, 99% Invisbile
➔ Does he agree with
you about the flags
you just saw?
➔ What are his 5 rules
about designing a
good flag?
24. Design a flag
↝ Think about the 5 rules about designing a good flag and design a new flag
for New York City.
↝ Negotiate with your group over what it should look like.
↝ Present your idea to the class, using at least 5 descriptive adjectives that
we learned today.
25. Homework
Choose a flag! It can be a country flag, a city flag, or a state flag.
Write a paragraph of 5 sentences about:
Do you like the way it looks?
Does it follow or break the Roman Mars’ five rules of good design?