<< Ready-to-go class activities for Technology Enhanced Language Learning

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Creating paragraph writing criteria for peer review

Course area: 

 

EAP integrating skills

Level: 

CEFR B1

Technology used: 

Forums on Moodle (LMO)

Target skill(s): 

Paragraph writing, group presentation and peer review

Activity length: 

40-50 minutes

 

Contributed by Ashlee Tai, ELC SoL

Ashlee.tai@xjtlu.edu.cn

This activity adopts an active learning approach by firstly involving students in creating and posting their criteria on to the Forum, then voting for the best one by using the grading method of Forum, and finally by using the criteria  to give each other feedback.

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Aims:

 

 
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Students will be able to

  • create and decide the best criteria for a body paragraph peer review;
  • give a group presentation to explain their criteria;
  • provide feedback for each other’s body paragraph.

Set-ups:

Teacher:

  • Ask students to write a short body paragraph (150-200 words) in advance and bring it to class.
  • Before class, create a discussion forum (choosing a grading method) on LMO.

 

Students:

  • Bring a device to class such as a mobile phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Bring a hard copy of their body paragraph

Procedure:

Step 1: Put students into groups of four. Tell students to discuss the following question: ‘What is a good paragraph?’ They only need to focus on ‘organization’. Encourage students to use the knowledge they have learned before.

Step 2: Tell students to make a list of criteria and show an example (on Forum description) as below:

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Step 3: Guide students to post their criteria onto Forum.

Step 4: Each group gives a short presentation on why a good paragraph should achieve those standards.

Step 5: Students discuss and then vote for the best one by responding to the post on Forum (e.g. using thumbs-up /100%/ giving some brief comments)

Step 6: Tell students to exchange their body paragraphs with each other. Use the criteria created in class as a checklist to provide feedback.

 

Alternatives:

Students can compare their criteria with the summative writing criteria for further activities.

Additional information:

Teachers may create or select instructional videos about writing a good paragraph first and then ask students to finish watching the videos before this lesson to help students build necessary background knowledge.

Updated on 07 March 2022, 9:44 AM; 251 page visits from 26 October 2021 to 3 July 2024