LESSON TITLE: _Brainstorming Ideas for TOEFL Independent Writing_

Lesson #: _1_
TEACHER NAME: __Wenwei Liu____ DATE:____4
th
March, 2014____

Attach any handouts or materials required for this lesson.
Preparation/Planning
ESL Course: TOEFL
Writing

Level

Beginning


Intermediate


Advanced


Multilevel
Topic/Theme:
Brainstorming ideas for
TOEFL (Test of English as a
Foreign Language)
Independent Writing

Objectives
Listening NA
Speaking NA
Reading NA
Writing The development of ideas in TOEFL independent writing will be
supported via brainstorming.
Bridging
What background knowledge
do the students already have?
1. The requirements of independent writing in TOEFL:
Suggested Time: 30 minutes
Response Length: 300+ words
Description: Present a personal opinion or describe an
experience, including details and examples

2. Sample Outline:
Introduction:
Topic
Thesis statement
Body:
Key point 1
Topic sentence
Reasons, examples, and details
Key point 2
Topic sentence
Reasons, examples, and details
Key point 3
Topic sentence
Reasons, examples, and details
Conclusion:
Restatement of thesis and concluding sentence

What will you do to activate
or link students prior
knowledge or experience to
upcoming content?
I will review the requirements of independent writing with students as
part of the initial instructional component before giving them the
writing prompts: Which one do you prefer? One or two close friends or
a large number of casual acquaintances. In addition, I will go over the
sample outline with the students, as the students will be required to
write their own essays utilizing this structure.
Engagement with New Material
What will you do to engage
students in the active learning
of the new material?






In the I Do activity, I will brainstorm ideas on a given TOEFL
independent prompt together with the students as a whole class. The
prompt is Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is
better to have one or two close friends than to have a large number of
casual acquaintances. I will ask students come up with their opinions.
From the prompt, they need to present whether they agree or disagree
with the statement. Using the graphic organizer (See Appendix A), I
plan to write their thesis in the center of the whiteboard. Then students
will be facilitated to associate whatever related to the prompt with their
opinions and presented the key points. The questions I am going to ask
for promoting their brainstorming are: Do you have one or two close
friends? That what did they do for you makes you prefer one or two
close friends to lots of casual acquaintances? How did they help you?
Can you give me an example? I will write down students explanations
and examples from which students will share their ideas with the class.
Since the students did not have ideas in supporting their thesis then, I
will model for them how I develop my ideas from presenting the key
point with general explanation, supported by examples. And I will
write down some brief sentences on the board. After I scaffold for the
students, they are going to be required to developed ideas from key
points, explanations to examples as a whole class.

What will you do to ensure
that all students are engaged?






With regard to the prompt, students may have more interest in
exploring because these topics are related to their daily life and
experiences. Students will be asked questions in order to check for
comprehension as I circulate around the classroom in the group
activity. I will also pay attention to students who may be off-task to
see if there is any reason for this. Perhaps, they are not clear about the
directions or are struggling with coming up with ideas.
Application
What opportunities will you
provide students to practice
and apply their
knowledge/skill to meet the
objectives for this lesson? To
apply to other contexts?

In the You Do activity, students will be required to write an essay
individually by brainstorming ideas and elaborating on supporting
details on another prompt based on the scaffoldings provided in the I
Do and We Do activities: Do you agree or disagree with the following
statement: it is better to spend money on pleasant things such as
vacations than to save money for the future.

Assessment
How will you assess their
learning of the objectives?





I will assess students learning based on the writing assignment from
the You Do activity. I plan to focus on the development of ideas by
using TOEFL Independent Writing Rubric (See Appendix B).
Previously, they did not have enough ideas and examples in their
writing. After this class, I want to investigate whether they will be able
to generate more ideas and examples in their writing.
Closing
How will you help students I will review brainstorming with the students using examples we
recap the learning and link it
back to the original purpose of
the lesson?

discussed in class. it will help students deepen their understanding of
brainstorming. In addition, I will share the sample outline for TOEFL
independent writing, which will support their understanding of the
format of any writing they do.

Technology
If applicable for your context
and your lesson, how will you
meaningfully integrate
technology into your lesson?
I will use PowerPoint to introduce this classs agenda and to show
students the Sample Outline in TOEFL independent writing.
Reflection
What went well? How do you
know?
I think generally the class went well based on the feedback from my
mentor teacher and the performance of the students in class. I was not
appearing nervous and did a good job with timing, students were never
rushed.

What didnt go as planned? In the group activity, some groups finished the task fast but other
groups were lagging behind.

What contingency plan did
you employ?
There were two students being late for the class. I just continued my
lesson moving to the next activity for group work. I walked around and
generally explained what we discussed in the whole class to the
students who were late for class and helped them scaffold in the group
work.

What would you do
differently next time?
Since some groups completed the task quickly and other groups did
not, I would assign those groups who finished fast more practice.

Did your students meet the
purpose and objectives for this
lesson? How do you know?
Most of the students meet the purpose while there are still some other
students who may not. Based on the final writing samples writing in
class, most of them developed more ideas and supporting details
compared with previous writing samples. However, some other
students still had difficulties in generating ideas. They will need
another lesson to practice.

What do your students need
next? How do you know?
What my students need next is more time on explanations of how to
brainstorm with more practice of different topics. According to the
students feedback forms, some would like more practice to reinforce
the strategies of brainstorming since they thought brainstorm and
graphic organizers help them generating ideas and details in TOEFL
independent writing.

What did you learn about your
glows and grows as a teacher?
What can you do to work on
your areas needing growth?
I found I did not check all the students understanding of what I taught
in the whole-class activity and I just heard the voice from the students
who actively answered my questions. I should pay more attention to
these quiet students. This will be my next observation objective.
Appendix A
Graphic Organizer

[Main Point 1] _____________________________
[Explanation]______________________________

[General and Specific Examples]________________
[Summary]_______________________












[Main Point 2] _______________ [Main Point 3] ____________________

[Explanation]____________________ [Explanation]______________________

[General and Specific Examples]__________________
[General and Specific Examples]_______________

[Summary]____________________________________

[Summary]____________________________




Appendix B