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TLE 2: Review Material Lesson Plan

Amber Au
Feb 3, 2015
EDUC 540: Margolis
Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

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Classroom Setting and Background

Teacher: Amber Au
Host Teacher: Cory Stewart
Lesson Title: Reviewing Materials
Topic: Reading comprehension and Patterns of Organization
Learner Level: Advanced Adult ESL
Number of Students: 14
Date: 2/25/2015
Duration: 50-60 minutes
Students in this classroom range from age 18- 25. Most students are looking into gaining
more knowledge of English to further their academic pursuits.
Theoretical Background
Communicative language teaching implies interaction as a means to reach a specific
learning goal. The students are asked to verbally affirm their comprehension of a variety
of concepts through interaction with each other and the teacher. The students are also able
to cognitively check their individual comprehension through teacher and other students
answering questions. Sociocultural theory is also used to allow student to co-construct
meaning throughout the class to increase the amount of communication.
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to review their understanding of key concepts learned in prior
classes. These concepts include reading comprehension skills of scanning, skimming,
identifying the main idea, identifying the purpose of a given text. The students will also

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be able to recognize the construction of 5 distinct patterns of organization: argument,

time, cause and effect, problem and solution, and informative text.
Materials Required
Envelopes
Print out exercise (Appendix A)
Scissors
Medical article (Appendix B)
White board, Markers, Erasure
Instructional Procedure
Teacher will present reading comprehension and ask students to define scanning
skimming, main idea, and purpose:

Reading Comprehension: ability to read text and process it to understand

meaning

Students will offer answers for the following when prompted by the teacher. Teacher will
provide affirmation and examples to exemplify necessary support

Skimming: A method of very rapidly moving the eyes over the text with the
purpose of getting only the main ideas and general overview of the content
Title, intro, subheadings, first sentence of each paragraph, clue words, proper

nouns, qualifying adjectives, Final paragraph

Scanning: rapidly covers reading/material to locate a specific fact or piece of

information
o Key words, proper nouns, numbers,
Main Idea: Most important point that is trying to be communicated
Purpose: reason why the author wrote the passage
o To inform, to persuade, etc.

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Teacher will provide an article for students to read and practice their skills with scanning
and skimming for a main idea and purpose (see appendix B)

Teacher will allow students 1-2 minutes to skim an article about medical lingo
and ask one student to present the main idea and another student to present the
purpose

Teacher will present patterns of organization definition:

Patterns of Organization: Ways a writer chooses to organize his or her

material to help the audience understand the relationship between ideas

Teacher will ask and choose specific students to define and give examples of the different
types of patterns of organization.

Argumentative: Convincing a case/topic for a specific position. Contains a main

idea and a stance or opinion that is supported by several points. The Author is
trying to convince the audience or the readers of something. Convincing the

reader
Agree, in support of, therefore, persuade, convince, thus
Informative: educate the audience about a topic simply describe, announce or
explain their subject without making a case or taking sides
Time: when ideas or events are presented in the order they occur -Chronological
First, second, third (#)
Dates
Over time, next step, stage, procedure
Cause and effect:
Cause: answers the question why?
The reason why, because, and since
Effect: information that explains results or outcomes
Therefore, a result, subsequently, so, hence, consequently
Problem/solution:
Problem: present a problem and explain in detail the issue that needs to
be resolved

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o Problem, need, difficulty, dilemma, challenge, and issue

Solution: a way of resolving the issue or solving the problem
o Propose, suggest, indicate, solve, improve, rectify, plan, and
respond to the need

Once all the patterns of organization are defined teacher will separate students in groups
of four and give students envelopes

Inside the envelope are ten strips of paper with different sentences and

paragraphs
Students will be instructed to separate the strips into different patterns of

organization.
The teacher will make explicit instruction for the students to justify there
reasons for placing each sentence/paragraph into a category

Teachers and students will check the answers as a class

Teacher will return to the medical lingo article (Appendix B)

Teacher will instruct students to read the article fully (providing 5-7 minutes)
Students will be asked to categorize this article into the authors intended pattern

of organization and justify their reasoning.

Further discussion can ensue on the topic of the article to extend critical thinking
skills.
Informal Summative Assessment

The assessment given by the teacher is informal and summative. The teacher is giving the
students opportunities to show their knowledge by working as individuals and group
work, but with no formal grading system. This assessment is summative because the
lesson is a review on a unit for reading comprehension and patterns of organization.
Extension Activities

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Further the discussion to ask the students to engage in critical thinking process. Ask the
students to take a stance on the medical article and construct an argument paper or use
another pattern of organization and justify your reasons for presenting the paper on the
pattern of organization.
Differentiation
More visuals and changing class dynamics could have been used to accommodate for
multiple intelligences. The teacher could provide the paragraph questions in the
envelopes to the more advanced students, and the easier sentences to the students who are
struggling more. Or if the students seem to be at a very advanced level the teacher could
create all paragraph structures to categorize in the group activity.

References
Nunan, D. (2003) Practical English Language Teaching. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Some review materials found here:
http://learn.midsouthcc.edu/learningObjects/devrdg/pdf/Patterns_of_Organization_U5.pd
f
Medical article found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-secemsky/lets-ban-theterm-studies_b_5807976.html

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Appendix A
(Argumentative)
1 Using animals in laboratory experiments and research is cruel and
unnecessary. Animals suffer a lot in these experiments. They are forced to live in small
cages, and sometimes do not have enough room to move. The experiments often are
painful, uncomfortable experiences for the animals. The animals are often afraid or
forced to take dangerous drugs and medicine. They can even involve killing the
animals. Much of the research done on animals could be done in other ways. Researchers
could use cell samples or virtual computer simulations to do experiments instead of using
animals.
(Cause and effect)
2 Survey, question, read, recite, and review lead to good comprehension.
(Time)
3 The market for electric cars has evolved significantly in the years between its invention
in the late nineteenth century and the mass production of electric cars today.
(Cause and Effect)

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4 A mothers use of alcohol during pregnancy can lead to birth defects in her unborn child
(Informative)
5 A psychic is someone who claims to have paranormal or supernatural powers that he or
she uses to answer your questions or make observations about you. The psychic might
simply look you over and start talking, or they may use props or aids such as tarot cards,
astrological charts, your palm, or pieces of jewelry or metal that have been against your
skin. Readings can focus on issues of the past, present or future and are offered in various
degrees of detail and complexity
(Time)
6 In US history Abraham Lincoln became the president in 1860. After his election into
office the civil war began in 1861.
(Time)
7 During the election the candidate will make a number of campaign stops throughout the
United States. The first stop is Washington D.C. After finishing activities in U.S. Capitol
the candidate will visit his or her hometown.
(Problem/Solution)
8 There is a lot of traffic in Houston and this creates a problem when I am driving to
school. I do not like to sit in traffic because it makes me frustrated and I cannot
concentrate during class. Last semester it took me 40 minutes to get to school, but this
semester I chose classes at times where I could avoid traffic. Now it only takes me 20
minutes to drive to school. I am very happy that the driving situation is better.
(Cause and Effect)
9 High fuel costs result in higher food prices, loss of jobs, and individual hardship
10 It was raining and I missed my ride; therefore, I got soaked and missed my test.

Appendix B

Let's Ban the Phrase 'Studies Show' From Medical Lingo

Come onWe've gone through four dreadful pre-medical years of learning everything
from the composition of atoms to how an apple exerts force when falling off a tree. We've
taken a massive exam full of content mostly unrelated to our future field only to be put
through four more years of intense medical education (and several additional massive
exams). We've managed to earn a medical degree and have gone through at least some
postgraduate training. We've gone through too much academic rigor to sell ourselves
short. So when I hear medical trainees in passing debating clinical management or listen
in on a young clinic doc explaining treatment options to a mutual patient, I cannot help
but cringe every time I overhear the phrase "studies show." Used together, these two
words should be banned from medical vernacular.

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The Problem: When uttering this lackluster phrase, the clinician is declaring:
"There may be a study out there that I haven't read or critically analyzed that may or may
not pertain to you and your specific health issues." Simply put, it's poor form. Medical
professionals need to do better in communicating our confidence (or lack thereof) when
questioned about why we decide to do the things we do. If a patient or colleague
questions a clinical assessment, we should be clear about how we have come to our
conclusions. If we've read evidence supporting our management decisions, let's own it by
truly referring to the literature. But if we are only vaguely aware of research that supports
a questioned decision without first taking time to read the evidence and/or supporting
editorials and guidelines, let us not sugarcoat our lack of due diligence. Not all evidence is
good evidence. Published clinical studies may have poor methodology, relate to a cohort
different from the patient being cared for or may be superseded by more compelling
evidence that demonstrates different outcomes. By simply declaring that "studies"
support our clinical decisions, we run the risk of being misleading to both our patients
and our colleagues.
The Solution: There are simple and much more honest ways of communicating our
clinical reasoning when being questioned by those around us. Whether we like it or not,
many medical decisions made daily by clinicians are not evidence-based, but rather
learned through training and experience. When patients or colleagues question a medical
decision of mine that has not been subject to rigorous study, I often refer to my medical
training as the guiding source of my clinical judgment. More seasoned clinicians may
similarly use their extensive clinical experience as reasonable justification. It is
impossible to read every journal article, and excessive for one to expect all physicians to
be reputable experts in critically appraising clinical research. So when I have skimmed an
abstract of a specific study published in a highly regarded medical journal, I am not afraid
to bring up its existence and the possibility of it supporting my medical decisions. But I
am equally careful not to overstate the extent of my knowledge, and often will return to
the literature before furthering a discussion with a patient or colleague.
Take Home Point: Those of us in the medical field have worked incredibly hard to get
to where we are today. We've successfully tackled an entire new language full of medical
jargon and have crammed our heads full of medical knowledge. We are good at what we
do, but we are not experts in every aspect of clinical research. So let us all stay candid
when defending our clinical reasoning by knocking out ambiguous and potentially
misleading phrases such as "studies show."
Brian Secemsky