Writing lesson, Writing focus-organising ideas
Intermediate level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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By the end of the lesson, Ss will be able to organise their ideas to practise writing a description of a place in the context of last visit to a mall/market
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide practice of language used for describing in the context of last visit to a mall/market
Procedure (60-45 minutes)
The teacher will show pictures of her at a mall/market: street food, clothes, crowds and stalls. The teacher will say that in our last class, we went to Chatuchak; today, we are going to describe it to a friend. Imagine you are standing right here; what can you see, hear and smell? Ss look at the images, think individually for 30 seconds, and shout out descriptive words (e.g., hot, noisy, grilling meat, colourful, huge). The teacher will write their vocabulary suggestions on the board under three headings: Sight, Sound, Smell/Taste. Ss will help categorise the words on the board by indicating where each belongs. "Great job. Look at all these amazing words we have. But if we just throw all these words into a letter to a friend in a random order, our friend will get very confused! We need to organise our ideas. I have a description written by a traveller who visited Chatuchak. Let's see how they organised their visit from the outside to the inside."
The Teacher distributes a short, 3-paragraph model description of Chatuchak Market (cut and mixed) • Para 1: General impression & location. • Para 2: Walking through the narrow alleys (clothing, art, food). Para 3: Final sensory summary (the heat and the vibe). The Ss read the model text quickly to get the general meaning (skimming). The teacher will ask the students to look at the paragraph blocks and answer: In pairs, discuss "How does the writer guide us through the market? Do they mix everything, or follow a path?" The Ss analyse the structure in pairs. Realise that Para 1 is the "Outside/Big Picture", Para 2 is "Moving Inside", and Para 3 is "The Final Feeling".
The teacher will direct students back to the model text. Ask them to underline words that show where things are or how we move. Ss will underline transition markers and prepositions (e.g., as you enter, deep inside the maze, to your left, in the heart of, surrounding the clock tower). Teacher will highlight these structural "signposts" on the board and briefly explain how they prevent a text from sounding like a messy laundry list. Ss will copy the key spatial transition expressions into notebooks.
Distribute a blank 3-box paragraph planner template: 1. Introduction: Name, location, overall vibe. 2. Body (The Journey): Moving through specific sections (Fashion-> Food). 3. Conclusion: Final recommendation/feeling. The Ss will work in pairs or small groups to select which details from the initial lead-in brainstorm fit into which paragraph box. The teacher will monitor the room, ensuring students are focusing on the order of their ideas rather than writing full sentences yet. Ss will complete the structural map, ensuring thoughts flow logically from the outside environment into the internal details.
The teacher will set the task: "Choose a place. Write a 3-paragraph description of it for a travel blog using your planner. Use the Q to help you organise your text Ss will write their descriptive draft individually, using their planning maps and the signposting vocabulary written on the board. The teacher will circulate to offer on-the-spot guidance, targeting students who are struggling to transition smoothly between ideas. Ss will focus on structural transitions rather than getting stuck trying to find perfect vocabulary.
The teacher will pin their paragraphs on the classroom walls (Gallery Walk) and provide a tiny sticky note to everyone. Ask them to read at least two peers' drafts and write down one thing they could visualise clearly. Ss will walk around the room, read classmates' descriptive blogs, and leave positive visual feedback on sticky notes.
T will ask Ss what they observed in the work they read. Did their work have the three structures? Ss will share their observation.
T will write 2 or 3 common errors collected during the monitoring phases on the board (focusing on scrambled structure or incorrect prepositions of place) for class correction. T will praise everyone for the excellent work and feedback to their peers. T will elicit the errors Ss will read the board errors as a group and collaborate to fix them together. T will upgrade their language. T will say thank you and bid farewell.
