Case 1 Project

By Cameron Frazier, Emily Brite, and Elizabeth Brown

Overview

Description of
learners

The purpose of the lesson is for students to further their

English grammar skills. The students will use written and
digital skills to communicate conversations in English.

The learners are 20 seventh grade students, ages 1213 in Los Angeles, California. There is an even
number of boys and girls. The demographic is 78%
Hispanic and 33% English Language Learners (ELL).
They know basic English vocabulary. Each student
has access to a computer and a student email
address.

Students will have a better understanding of English

grammar and be able to summarize a conversation in
English.

By using email conversations, students will learn how

to converse with each other. They will have to send a
minimum of 10 messages in one conversation. They
will have a total of two conversations, each with a
different person. Once that is completed, they will
trade printed out conversations. The students will then
have to read the email conversation that they are
given and write one paragraph describing what the
conversation was about. They will trade again and edit
the paragraph.

Intended learning
goals
Lesson Content

Learning objectives

Standards

Using email conversations between their peers, students

will summarize conversations in English with fewer than 3
grammatical errors.

W.7.6 Interacting via written English

W.7.2 Writing brief summaries of texts

Required materials

W.7.5 Modifying to add detail

one computer per student
printer available
paper in printer

red pen for each student

Procedures
1.

Group students into pairs.

Label one student to be student A and
the other student B.

2.

Each pair needs to send a total

of 10 emails back and forth, one at a
time in English about student As favorite
animal. Emails need to be in complete
sentences.

3.

Student A needs to print off two

copies of the email thread. One will have
both of their names on it to be graded
and the other will not have their names
on it to be used later.

4.

Now, each student A needs to

pair with a different student B.

5.

Each pair needs to send a total

of 10 emails back and forth, one at a
time in English about student Bs favorite
animal. Emails need to be in complete
sentences.

6.

Student B needs to print off two

copies of the email thread. One will have
their names on it to be graded and the
other will not have their names on it to
be used later.

7.

Distribute one of the printed

conversation that doesnt have students
names on it to each student. Students
should not have their own paper.

8.

Students will type a paragraph

in English summarizing the conversation.
The paragraph should be between four
and eight sentences.

10 Minutes

10 Minutes

9.

Each student needs to print off

two copies of their paragraph. One will
have their name on it to be graded and
the other will not have their name on it to
be used later.

10.

Redistribute the paragraphs

that dont have a name on them.
Students should not have their own
paper.

11.

Using a red pen, students will

edit the paragraph. They need to add a
minimum of three adjectives and should
proof the paper for any grammatical or
spelling mistakes.

12.

Students should write their

names on the top of the paper and turn it
in.

15 Minutes

5 Minutes

Assessment

Students will be graded based on the completion of the

assignment, spelling, and grammar. After each step in the
process, students will print off two copies of their paper.
They will turn in one with their name on it to be graded and
one without their name on it to be traded with another
student. The assignment will be worth 10 points. Use the
rubric below.

Grading Rubric
Criteria

Possible

Conversations
Minimum of 10 email messages in sentence form.

Free of spelling errors.

Fewer than 3 grammatical errors.

Summary
Between 4 and 8 complete sentences.

Written in fluent English.

Free of spelling errors.

Editing
Added 3 adjectives.

No grammatical errors.

Free of spelling errors.

Total

10
References and reference materials

Egel, Ilknur Pekkanli (2009). English language learning and teaching styles in two
Turkish primary schools. Social Behavior and Personality: An International
Journal Volume 37, Number 8, 2009, pp. 1117-1128(12).
Doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2009.37.8.1117

Score

This article is about pairing learning styles with educational needs in Turkey. It
also talks about the effect learning styles have on retention of English teachers. It
is important for teachers to make sure all the needs of their students are met. All
students learn in different ways, when trying to teach something like foreign
language teachers need to find the best way for the students to learn. This article
helps to show us the importance of English teachers in other countries and
pairing of learning styles with teaching needs.
Nowalk, T. (2010). Solving the English-as-a-Second Language Writers' Dilemma.
Inquiry, 15(1), 53-66.
This article describes a four year timespan of writing classes at Northern Virginia
Community College. The author teaches an English as a Second Language
(ELS) class there to help students write academic essays. Most students in this
class plan to earn a degree from that college or another four year school.
Students in this class generally have a very hard time writing what it is that they
mean. This paper first looks at the dilemma from the students perspective, like
using proper grammar with difficult vocabulary. It then goes on to discuss the
issues instructors have teaching to ELS learners. The article then has some
solutions to help with this such as a teaching method known as The Trivium.