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Collaborative Description Writing with Images from The New York Times
Details
Activity Website:
Tech Product/Equipment:
Computer and projector, Computer
Activity Description
Protected by Copyright (c) [i.e. screenshot])
Students work together to write a descriptive paragaph about an assigned image from The New York Times Learning Network's "What's Going On in This Picture?"
Preparation
- Check the website to ensure it is not blocked at your site.
- Read through the lesson plan.
- Print and make copies of any handouts.
- Select enough images from the site for students in the class dividied into pairs or small groups to work together to write about one image. Print the images or paste them in a shared Google Doc or Google Slideshow.
- Decide on the target grammar structure or verb tense to focus on. For instance, you may choose students to describe the images in present continuous or simple past or a combination of verb tenses, or you may choose to teach and have students focus on comma usage or transitions, or usage of adjectives and adverbs. Prepare a short lesson on whichever you decide to make the focus.
More Ways
See How to Teach With ‘What’s Going On in This Picture?’ for a guide on using the site's photographs to help students practice visual thinking and close reading skills.
Program Areas
- ESL: English as a Second Language
Levels
- Intermediate Low
- Intermediate High
- Advanced
