This is the second part of my B1 Preliminary writing series, this time focusing on one of the Part 2 writing options: an article. Click here to find my lesson plan on writing an informal email.
The writing paper is probably the most alienating part of the B1 Preliminary exam for teens in particular - most of them have not once written a letter or an email, let alone an article. Many B1 coursebooks ask students to think about where they read articles, referencing reading them in magazines - again, something the teenagers I work with have no personal experience of doing!
So in this lesson plan, I've tried to help them focus on the content they need to include and provide some clear suggestions of what an article should look like, rather than asking students to think about real life examples they may (not) have encountered. They enjoy (!) some jokes and discuss what they find funny before reading a sample article and assessing its success, making suggestions for possible improvements before planning and writing their own articles discussing what makes people laugh.
Topics: Discussing jokes and what we find funny
Level: B1
Timing: approx. 1 hr 30 mins (including Writing practice of approx. 20-25 mins)
Original source: the writing task is taken from the Cambridge B1 Preliminary for Schools sample test, free to download from www.cambridgeenglish.org
Learning outcomes:
discuss things Ss find funny
discuss laughter and the benefits of laughing
examine an example B1 article writing task and identify key points to deal with
read and evaluate a sample article - propose improvements
plan and write an article, appropriately responding to the example task
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