Mind Mapping

Objectives: To help students develop the main body of their composition; to build up vocabulary; to deal with potential errors

Steps:

1. On the board, write the title of the composition in a circle. Draw lines out from the circle.
2. Elicit from your students the different topics that they could write about. Write these topics inside smaller circles around the title.
3. For each topic, elicit from your students expressions or words that they might use. If you hear an error, note it in red next to the topic to remind the students not to make the same mistake in their composition.
4. Ask the students to work in pairs and decide which of the topics they are going to write about in their composition. Ask them to number the topics in the order in which they would like to write about them. They may also delete some ideas.

Example: The following example is for New Interchange 1, Unit 11: "It's a Very Exciting City!" The Writing exercise appears on p. 68 of the Student's Book.

Example of a Mind Map (On the Board):

Variation: To help students produce a composition with a good introduction, middle, and conclusion, continue to use this mind map. After working on the body of the composition, elicit some ways to introduce and conclude the composition. Write helpful expressions on the board.