EFL Lesson Plan - Timeline

Lesson Overview

Topic

This lesson helps students understand the textual genre timeline, work with the concept of sequence, numbers and how to pronounce them in dates/years.

Description

Students are introduced to the textual genre timeline in order to reflect about important people's deeds, understand the genre and scaffold knowledge until they are able to create a timeline with the information they collect from a  biography. The lesson is going to take about one hour and 40 minutes, depending on the group size and characteristics. Assessment demands research at home and at least 30 minutes.

Student Characteristics

Student Group

This plan was design for 8th grade students of English as a second language. 

Skill and Language Level

A1: breakthrough / beginner:

- Can ask simple questions about a menu and understand simple answers.

- Can follow speech that is very slow and carefully articulated, with long pauses for him/her to assimilate meaning.

- Can recognize familiar names, words and very basic phrases on simple notices in the most common everyday situations.

Curriculum Alignment with Learning Outcome(s)

Supported Outcomes

Students will learn characteristics of a timeline for discussing and creating their own.

Student Learning Objectives

 Students will be able to:

- Interpret timelines;

- Discuss their purpose and the life of a famous person;

- Learn how to pronounce the numbers and dates;

- Understand the parts / characteristics of a timeline;

- Create a timeline about someone the students know/ appreciate.

Materials

Students Materials

Textbook activities and text:

Way to English Textbook activities (pages 88 and 89)

Worksheet for practice 1 (Match):

Worksheet for practice 6: 

Teacher materials

Slides for practice 3:

Years for practice 4: Running dictation: 

Audio for activity 6: 

Technology Requirements

Speakers for the listening session;

A projector to show students the correct form to say years. 

Lesson Plan

Knowledge Check

1. Teacher asks students questions related to students' life and years. Ex. When were you born? / When did you start going to school? (2-5 minutes)

Introduction/Warm-up

1. Teacher writes the numbers on the board asks "How do you say this year?" to check the students' previous knowledge (3-5 minutes). 

Practices

1. Students do a vocabulary activity in which they have to match words and pictures (5 minutes);

2. Students work with interpretation activities about Mandela's timeline (while-reading and post-reading) (10 minutes);

3. Teacher shows a Slideshow about how to pronounce dates and years (2-5 minutes);

4. Teacher conducts the Running Dictation to practice with numbers and dates. Students in small groups have to choose one of them to go outside of the class, where there are worksheets with years. They memorize the number and dictate to their peers (10-15 minutes). The winner group is the one who gets more correct dates;

5. Teacher reviews questions involving numbers, years and the life of Nelson Mandela (3-5 minutes);

6. Students listen and build a timeline (hands-on activity) about Martin Luther King Jr., focusing on the genre structure. They will have a set of elements that compose a timeline but out of order. The task is to organize the timeline according to the characteristics of it (15 minutes);

7. Teacher instructs students to research about the life of a famous person to create a timeline (5-10 minutes).

8. Students transform a short biography into a timeline (30-40 minutes).

Extension and/or Differentiation

Students who have autism are going to receive a different set for the timeline, with Velcro to be easier to glue.

Assessment

Assessment Methods

Students are going to be assessed on the feedback and production of a timeline.

Grading Criteria and Rubrics