Nerissa Yepez 4-7-2017

Observation report- ESL Classroom lesson

ESOL lntermediate/Advanced level

lnstructor: Tanya Conover

lnteraction: Face to Face

https://www.voutu be.com/watch?v=aQusQWP id Mo&noredi rect=L

Obiective:

Students will be able to identify the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentences.

They will also be able to create a paragraph using a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a
concluding sentence.

Notes from observation

1. Students discuss "What is Writing"

- is a set of pictures/ symbols
- Is communication and expression.
- is a toolto write.
- is what you say
- is what you save
- are ideas and information
- talk over time to pastfuture
- gives you a voice
- gives you power
- needs organization

2. Teacher explains the components of a hamburger. She uses pictures to demonstrate her point.
A topic sentence is written on the hamburger bun. A supporting sentence is written on lettuce.
Another supporting sentence is written on tomatoes, and so on. Finally, the concluding
sentence will be on the bofiom hamburger bun. Students were given the strips of sentences and
had to place them in order on the board.

3. Teacher then gives students a list of paragraphs. Students have to identify the topic sentence
and eliminate sentences that do not belong in the paragraph'
 4. Students were given a topic sentence and had to create supporting sentences and a concluding
sentence to complete the paragraph. The topic sentence was "The USA is a country that oflers
many opportunities. They read their paragraph out loud.

What did you learn about teaching or learning from this lesson as it relates to the theory you have
studied in TESOL classes?

I observed an ESOL classroom online which focused on writing a structured paragraph. The

class consisted of a variety of men and woman from different backgrounds and culture. The teacher

conducted the class emphasizing a learner center perspective.

At the beginning of the lesson, I liked how she introduced the definition of writing with a

discussion. Students used prior knowledge on the selected topic. The students discussed the list and

how it made sense to them. They explained how writing gives people a voice and a sense of power.

They also discussed how writing can explain events about the past and the future. The teacher affirmed

their thoughts and expanded on their ideas. She gave positive feedback on their responses.

Next, the teacher explained the components of a hamburger. She asked if cookies or spaghetti

would make a hamburger. The class responded with a "no". She then explained that some sentences,

just like cookies or spaghetti, have no place in a paragraph. The teacher used this hamburger to help

students write a paragraph. Students were given strips of sentences on "hamburger pieces" and placed

them in order. This was a great example on checking for understanding. The teacher assessed their

progress. No clarification or reteaching was necessary.

During independent work, they were given several paragraphs on different topics. They had to

identify the topic sentence, the supporting sentence, and the concluding sentence. They also had to

identify sentences that did not belong. This activity also checked for student understanding.
 The last activity allowed students to create supporting sentences with a given topic sentence.

The topic was "The USA is a country that offers many opportunities." The teacher allowed students to

use past experiences and prior knowledge when creating sentences. According to Richards and Farrell,

this strategy is a great example or learner centered teaching. lt gave students a great opportunity to feel

confident and empowering in their work.

I really enjoyed watching this observation. The teacher used several strategies to teach writing

structure. She used visuals such as pictures to help students understand the relationship of paragraph

writing. I like how she didn't lecture for an hour and allowed students to work in groups so they can

share their thoughts. I also like how sentences were on strips of paper. This gave the students an

opportunity to delete sentences that do not belong in the paragraph and for students to order the

sentences accordingly. Overall, this was a great class to observe.