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Lesson Plan Template
Background on Lesson
Context: What kind of teaching situation/school setting is the lesson based on?
Young adult learners, most working in the U.S. as au pairs.
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Learner Needs: What do the learners need/want to learn?
Students are interested in improving speaking confidence, getting better jobs and studying in U.S.
universities.
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Objectives/Aims: What will your students know or be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to use connection words expressing cause and effect to write a short paragraph about
overeating.
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Assumptions: What are you assuming in terms of student background knowledge?
Students identified as beginner English students, but they all function at an intermediate level or above.
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Language Analysis: What new grammar and vocabulary will this lesson target?
Grammar: Using connecting words to express cause and effect
Cultural: Knowledge of American Thanksgiving Holiday
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Anticipated Problems and Solutions: What could go wrong? What backup plans do you have?
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Materials: What materials will you use? How will you adapt them?
See attachments for mixer materials, grammar presentation and story jumble.
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Timing/Sequencing: How much time will you need?
55-60 minutes.
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Assessment: How will you measure what your students can do?
Students will write sentences using the connecting words to express cause and effect.
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Reflection: What worked well in this lesson? What should I improve upon next time?
Due to an unforeseen power outage, I conducted this lesson in a student lounge in another building. Even
given the difficulties of that situation, the lesson still went very well. The lounge did cause students to feel a
bit too relaxed and I had to be sure students were not on their phones or having side conversations. I feel
this was due primarily to the situation and not to disengagement with the lesson. The mixer activity went
very well and was well received by the students. Most students were able to work with their partner to
connect their sentences with a cause/effect connection word. The grammar presentation did not go as
planned because I could not project my slide, but in some ways this was good because I had students take
over and provide examples or produce the forms themselves. The story jumble was challenging for the
students. Most groups were able to piece together a story that worked and most that didn’t understood the
reasons their sequence was not coherent. The students produced very good sentences in the assessment,
though most stuck to easier or more familiar forms.
Practicum 4- 22-November-2014
Objective: Students will be able to use connection words expressing cause and effect to write a short
paragraph about overeating.
Stage
Procedure
Materials
Time
Pre-Class activities: Write objective on art paper and post, Write Connecting words on the board, Pre-designate
groups of 3
Talk about Thanksgiving. Elicit what the students know.
Board
5min
Warm up
Explain traditions. (Define: Pardon)
Projector
Posted Objective on
Discuss topic and objective.
Wall
Cause
&
Effect
sentence
mixer
with
a
Thanksgiving
Projector
10min
Activity 1
theme.
(instructions)
Slips of paper
Each student gets a slip of paper with a sentence that is
either a cause or effect. They must mix and find the student
with the cause or effect that matches their own.
Project a list of cause & effect connecting words.
Projector
5min
Activity 2
STS will work with their partner to connect the two
sentences with a connecting word.
Presentation on cause & effect connecting words.
Projector
5min
Activity 3
Grammar Point Sheet
Students work in teams of 3 to put together stories from a
Projector
10min
Activity 4
sentence jumble. Then they connect the sentences with
(instructions)
connecting words.
Sentence jumble
Brainstorm with students ideas about the cause and effects Board
5min
Activity 5
of overeating.
Students write 3-5 sentence paragraph on the cause and
Projector (instructions 10min
Assessment
effects of overeating.
& prompt)
Students share their paragraphs with their groups.
Projector
5min
Activity 7
(instructions)
Thank students for attendance & participation. Remind
2min
Wrap up
them that we will not be here next week.
Cause/Effect Mixer
I ate too much pumpkin pie.
I got a stomach ache.
I have 10 people coming for dinner.
I have to cook a lot of food.
The parade starts at 9am.
I have to wake up on time.
It takes 5 hours to roast a turkey.
I have to put it in the oven by eleven
o’clock.
The pilgrims didn’t have enough to eat.
The Native Americans shared their food.
President Abraham Lincoln declared
Thanksgiving a national holiday.
We celebrate it every year.
Every year, the President chooses one
turkey to pardon.
It doesn’t get cooked for Thanksgiving
dinner.
I don’t have to go to work next
Thursday.
It is a national holiday.
I got very sleepy.
I ate so much turkey.
Connecting Words Expressing Cause and Effect
Because
Now that
Due to (the fact that)
Consequently
Since
Because of
Therefore
So
Connecting Words That Express Cause and Effect
Because
Since
Now that
Because of
Due to (the fact
that)
Therefore
Consequently
So
Because the weather was cold, we
stayed home.
We stayed home because the weather
was cold.
Since the weather was cold, we stayed
home.
We stayed home since the weather was
cold.
Now that the weather is cold, we are
staying home.
We are staying home now that the
weather is cold.
Because of the cold weather, we stayed
home.
We stayed home because of the cold
weather.
Due to the cold weather, we stayed
home.
We stayed home due to the cold
weather.
Due to the fact that the weather was
cold, we stayed home.
We stayed home due to the fact that the
weather was cold.
It was cold. Therefore, we stayed home.
-
-
It was cold. Consequently, we stayed
home.
-
It was cold, so we stayed home.
-
Adverb and preposition phrases
Can come before or after the main
clause.
A comma must be used when the
dependent clause comes first.
Means “as a result.”
Transitions connecting the ideas in
two sentences.
Used at the beginning of a
sentence and followed by a
comma.
Conjunction between two
independent clauses.
Preceded by a comma
The First Thanksgiving: Story Jumble
In the 1600s, the King of England forced everyone to worship only in the official Church of
England. One group of Englishmen, the Pilgrims, did not like the King’s rule.
They left England and set sail for the New World on a ship called the “Mayflower.”
The Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in the middle of winter. They did not know
how to hunt or grow food.
The Native Americans helped by giving the Pilgrims food and seeds to grown their own
crops.
The first year in their new home was hard for the Pilgrims. Many died.
The Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to plant their seeds and care for their crops.
The next harvest was a good one.
To celebrate, the Pilgrims had a feast of thanksgiving.
They wanted to thank the Native Americans who helped them.
The leader of the Pilgrims invited all of the Native Americans who had helped them during
their first year. The feast lasted for three days!