Writing a Definition Paragraph Created by Ryan Salvador, Spring 2012; Transition Activity created by Cassandra Rosado, Fall 2010

Objectives: Students will be able to... Define objects, concepts, and ideas using description, examples, and comparison Recognize definition strategies Organize a definition paragraph Preparation: Bring an object (basketball, camera, musical instrument, book, DVD, anything really) for the opening activity. Teacher Instructions and Tasks: [5-7 minutes] Warm-up Show students an object, for example a basketball. Have students try to describe it orally. Tell them to describe it both physically and in terms of what it does or what a person does with it. Students should be forced to say things that have not already been said. See if everyone in the class can say something about the object without repeating. [10 minutes] Definition Strategies Explain to students that the next paragraph pattern they will learn about is Definition. There are many ways to approve the task of definition, and that todays class will discuss several of them. Print out two sets of the Definition Strategies Activity Sheet, ideally with each set having its own color. Each sheet contains 8 excerpts (so if you have more than 16 students you may have to print off an extra copy. Half o the excerpts describe the word cool and the others describe the word box. Distribute one excerpt to each student. Studentsjob is to read their excerpt and determine what strategy is being used to define the word. They then have to find the person with the same strategy from the other word. (Tip: If you want to make the task easier, you can write down the names of strategies on the board at the beginning of the task. To make the task harder, do not go over the strategies until they get into groups.) Once students have made their groups, ask them to give a one sentence definition of their strategy. Afterwards, review the definition strategies as a class. Description: talk about the details that make up the concept. These can be physical, historical, conceptual. Examples: Describe someone or something that represents the topic at hand. Comparison: Define something by show how it is like or unlike something else. Classification: different classifications within the concept (Defining love: Within the general definition of love, there are three main types of love.) [8-10 minutes] Transition Words/Phrases

Print one copy of the Transition Warm-up Activity and cut out the 20 transitional phrases on the first page. Students are already familiar with most connecting words/transitional phrases. Use this warm-up activity to remind them of how many synonyms there are for each of these transitions and when to use them in their writing to connect their ideas better. You can give them a copy of the Transitional Phrases Handout before or after this activity, depending how challenging you want to make it. [10 minutes] Reading/Outlining Sample Paragraphs Break students up into three groups. Give each group copies of the same paragraph (2 paragraphs are definition paragraphs that use 1 technique, and the 3rd is a paragraph that combines techniques). [8-10 minutes] Outline Comparison Split students into new groups where group has as at least one representative from each paper. Ask students to share what their outlines looked like and what strategies are used in each paragraph. Elicit from them the main difference between the three paragraphs: two paragraphs use mainly one strategy, while the third uses a combination of strategies. [2 minutes] Homework and Debrief Distribute and assign the reading (article #) for the next class. Homework: Assign Source Article #3 to your students to read before the next class. They will be using this article as the basis for a definition paragraph on the articles topic (due the next week). Additional tips or modifications: Supplementary materials: Definition Strategies Activity Sample Paragraph I Sample Paragraph II Sample Paragraph III Definition Article Transitional Phrases Warmup Activity Transitional Phrases Activity Transitional Phrases Handout Student Instructions: Warm-Up Take turns describing the object that the teacher has brought to your class. You have to say something that another student has not already said. Be sure to think of both physical descriptions and ways the object is used or what it does. Description Strategies

Definition techniques fall into different categories. Read the excerpt your teacher has handed to you. Try to describe what the writer is doing in order to define the topic. Next, compare your strategy with your classmates and try to find the person whose excerpt is an example of the same strategy. Transitional Phrases You are already familiar with the many different transitional phrases in English, so this activity is just for a refresher. You may be using the same ones in your writing over and over again, or you may forget to use them sometimes when you need to. This activity will remind you of all the synonyms there are for each transitional action, so that you can connect your ideas better in your paragraphs. Organization Patterns Read the paragraph that your teacher has assigned to you. Pay attention to how the author organizes the subjects and details. What kind(s) of definition strategies does the author use? With a partner, write out an outline of the paragraph. With your second group, discuss how your paragraph was organized and try to describe the different patterns. Afterwards, we will share our observations with the class. Sources: Rosado, C. (2010). Transitional Phrases. ESL TA Resources. Retrieved from http://esl114ta.blogspot.com/2011/09/transitional-phrases.html