ESL Hero Research Project Paragraph Writing and Oral Presentation

In this week-long project, Beginner to Intermediate ESL students write about and present their heroes. Their hero can be someone in their personal lives, like a family member, someone who is from their country, or someone who is well-known internationally. First, students read a text about Jesse Owens and identify the topic sentence, details, examples and concluding sentence. Students deconstruct the Jesse Owens paragraph in order to help them in writing their own paragraphs. Then, they conduct internet research on their own heroes. They must find 3 reasons (details) why this person is their hero, then provide more information (examples) about these reasons. Both of the topic and concluding sentences are scaffolded, but I provided a blank copy of the paragraph writing outline for students to construct their own topic and concluding sentences if desired.

Included in this product are:

1. Jesse Owens text

2. Guiding research questions

3. Paragraph-writing outline

4. Writing templates for rough and final drafts

5. Grading rubric

6. Writing checklist

7. Peer evaluation forms

8. Teaching Tips