Week 8 Lesson Plan

Teacher/s: Soo Hyoung Joo, Melinda (Chenya) Zhang, Parkorn Wongsiri, Yuchen Liu
Level: TOEFL Prep Date/Time: April 10th, 2015, 3-6pm

Goal: To review TOEFL reading questions formats and do more in-class practice
To Simulate Integrated TOEFL Speaking (listening/reading/speaking) Task
To learn more about TOEFL Integrated Writing: format and strategy
Objectives (SWBAT):
Students Will Be Able To
1. listen for the key phrases of the TED talk about why sitting is bad for you.
2. take notes about the key phrases of the TED talk on padlet.
3. read the article for main idea and take notes on padlet.
4. categorize the key phrases on padlet.
5. express their ideas on whether the lecture support the reading material through oral
production on SoundCloud.
6. comment on the topic sentence of the peers recording.
7. comment on the supporting details of peers recording.
8. comment on the transitional words in peers recording.
9. re-record the task reflecting the peers comments.
Theme: Reading question formats review, Integrated Speaking Task (Read/Listen/Speak) using
technology, Integrated Writing
Extensions: Students can upload their integrated speaking task on the class blog.

Aim/Skill/
Microskill

Tech
tools

Review or
Preview (if
applicable)

PPT

Activity 1:
Reading

Activity/Procedure/Stage
Linking & Transitioning to rest of lesson:
These are the objectives todays lesson.

Interaction
T-Ss

Time
5mins
3:05

1.1 Pre-Stage:
[TOEFL Reading Challenges Brainstorm]
Do you still remember the reading strategies we
share during the class? Have you ever tried any
in your homework? What are some of the
challenges you encountered?

Ss-Ss

40min

1.2. During Stage:

Review TOEFL Reading Question Formats 7-9
3 Question Formats
T Q&A (lecture key points and answer
questions)
Ss Practice (finish within a limited time)

T-Ss

Ss & T Discussion (explanation & further

extension)
1.3 Post-Stage:
{TOEFL Reading Strategies Brainstorm}
1) Ss discuss about the general reading
strategies they know in small groups
2) Ss share their strategies on the whiteboard
and explain to the whole class
3) T share reading strategies with Ss and make
comparisons
Transition to
#2: Lets try
writing now.

Ss-Ss

Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:

T give Ss handout to take notes and answer
more questions
3:45

Activity 2:
Writing
Transition to
#3: Now,
lets start
practicing
speaking.
Today we
will
integrate
technology
into our
speaking
task, and
we have
two
observers
who are

2.1 Pre-Stage:
[TOEFL Writing Strategies Discussion]
TOEFL Integrated Writing
Peer evaluation of homework assignment
Class discussion of common problems

40min
Ss-Ss

2.2. During Stage:

T-Ss
TOEFL Integrated Writing Strategies & Practice
T Q&A (lecture key points and answer
questions)
Ss Practice (finish within a limited time)
Ss & T Discussion (explanation & further
extension)
2.3 Post-Stage:
Ss-Ss
{TOEFL Writing Strategies Brainstorm}
1) Ss discuss about the general writing strategies
they know in small groups
2) Ss share their strategies on the whiteboard

here to
assist you.

and explain to the whole class

3) T share writing strategies with Ss and make
comparisons
Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:
T give Ss handout to take notes and answer
more questions
4:25

Activity 3:
Listening
to TedTalk
(with note
taking)

TED
Talk
Padlet

3.1 Pre-Stage:
T leads Ss into the first part of the activity:
listening of TedTalk on Why sitting is bad for
you and asks Ss to take notes while they listen
by using Padlet
Now, Id like you to listen to TedTalk on why
sitting is bad, and try to get as much information
from the listening as possible.
While you listen, I want you all to take notes of
the listening on Padlet, and we will have a followup on our note-taking after the listening.

T-Ss

2 mins

T-Ss

5 mins

3.3 Post-Stage:
T-Ss
T asks Ss to see other Sss notes on padlet and
check if there were any disagreements, unknown
vocabulary or misunderstandings of the talk.

3 mins

3.2. During Stage:

Ss listen to TedTalk on Why sitting is bad for
you and take notes on the 3 main points using
Padlet.
T plays Ted Talk on Why sitting is bad for you
and walks around the room to monitor all the
students.
Transition to
#4: Now we
are going to
read a
paragraph
with a
similar
topic.

Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:

Notes from TedTalk on Padlet
4:35

Activity 4:
Reading

Padlet

4.1 Pre-Stage:
T asks Ss to quickly scan the short article.
4.2. During Stage:

T-Ss

2 mins

T asks Ss to post the main idea of the article in

one sentence on the same padlet wall within 1
minute.
Transition to
#5: Now
lets move
to the real
speaking
practice!
We are
going to
use
soundcloud
to record
our voice.

T-Ss

4.3 Post-Stage: Categorizing notes

Ss categorize the notes into the following three
Ss-Ss
categories: Reasons we should move, problem of
sitting, and solution to the problem.

2 mins

6 mins

By doing this, the whole class can share their

findings, and Ss can use the padlet page for their Whole
speaking task.
Class
Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:
posts on padlet, list of points into categories
4:45

Activity 5:
Recording

Sound
Cloud,
Class
Blog

5.1 Pre-Stage: SoundCloud learner training

Ss should have signed up for SoundCloud.com
as a homework.
T guides the students through the steps for
recording their own voice on SoundCloud

T-Ss

5 mins

5.2. During Stage: Recording the speaking task

T introduces the Q for the task: Does the lecture

Ss-SS

10 mins

support the new university policy? Why or why

not?
T also introduces the peer assessment criteria for
the recording:
- Where is the topic statement?
Write down the topic statement on the
comment.
- (holistic impression) Comment at
the end of the recording, what did you like
the most about your partners answer?
Find the following details.
- the new university policy
(treadmills or standing desks)
- the health benefits of standing
- transition words (which type?)
Ss prepares the response for 30 seconds.
Ss record their voice through Soundcloud for 1

minute.
Transition to
#6: Lets
give some
constructive
comments
on your
partners
recording.

5.3 Post-Stage: Sharing

T models how we could share the URL of the
recordings. Ss copies the URL and pastes it on
the class blog as a comment.

Ss-Ss

15 mins

Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:

Ss recording, URL comments on the class blog.
5:15

Activity 6:
Peer
Feedback

Sound
Cloud

6.1 Pre-Stage: peer assessment checklist.

T assigns Ss for peer feedback. Each S should
listen to two students recording, and leave
comment on the recording through soundcloud.

T-Ss

5 mins

The commenting function of Soundcloud will

enable students to comment on a specific time of
the recording. Thus, Ss will be able to check if
specific components are included in the
recording.
T shares the guidelines for the peer assessment,
and demonstrates how to comment on the spot.
Listen once, and answer the following questions.
- Where is the topic statement?
Ss-Ss
Write down the topic statement on the
comment.
- (holistic impression) Comment at
the end of the recording, what did you like
the most about your partners answer?

10 mins

Listen once again, and find the following details.

- the treadmills and standing desks.
- the health benefits of standing
- transition words (which type?)
6.2. During Stage: Peer assessment
Ss listens to the first peers recording. Listen
once, to get the main idea and comment on the
holistic impression. Listen again to comment on
the supporting details and transition words.

Ss-Ss

10 mins

Repeat once again for the second peer.

Transition to
Wrap-Up:
Thank you
for your
active
participation
. We will
wrap our
class up
with our exit
tickets.

6.3 Post-Stage: Re-recording

Ss check the comments that they received from
their partners, and give it a second shot by
recording again. Ss posts the links on the class
blog.

Ss

5 mins

Teacher will give feedback through emails after

class based on the peer feedback. Teacher will
focus on evaluating the accuracy and language
use of students.
Tangible Outcome & T. feedback/peer feedback:
Peer feedback, re-recording URL link

5:45
Wrap-up
(giving
homework)

Lesson Evaluation Procedures:

T asks Ss to write an exit ticket to reflect what
they learned in this class.
Ss write an exit ticket.
1. Write two things that you learned
from the comments.
2. Rate your improvement of the
second recording based on the scale of 15 (1= no improvement, 5 = total
improvement)
3. Write one thing you still have
question about after this lesson.

S-Ss

15

6:00

Materials:
TedTalk videos, Padlet, SoundCloud, Weebly Class Blog
Anticipated Problems & Suggested Solutions:
Students might forget to bring their laptops - Teacher prepares extra laptops to lend
Recording function of soundcloud.com does not work properly - Students use default programs
on their laptop and upload the sound file instead (AIFF, WAVE, FLAC, OGG, MP2, MP3, AAC,
AMR and WMA are supported)
Due to the time constraint, students might not be able to complete two sets of peer feedback Complete one, and have the other to be completed at home.

Contingency Plans (what you will do if you finish early, etc.):

Student can listen and comment to one more of their peers recording (total in 3 recording
comments)
Post-Lesson Reflections:
For the reading section, the students are progressing fast, though I can see that they find the
questions not interesting at all. Lol So Im thinking about maybe I should bring something fun for
them during the class. Maybe a video related to the boring topic? But as always, the time is
limited
For the writing section, the strategies I taught them seem to work well, especially when I ask
them to practice the strategy immediately during the class. Some even say cool. But, they
definitely need more practice later! :)
The integrated speaking activity, as a part of a tech project, went quite well. The students
especially like the use of padlet to categorize the ideas, since they could refer to other students
note as well. However, one of the students recording on soundcloud did not save, so she had to
record again. She expressed frustration of the situation, but I had to make her continue. I
believe those unexpected issues on technological breakdown is the hardest to overcome.