This curriculum plan outlines a Teaching and Learning Cycle (TLC)-based unit for English as a Second Language (ESL) high school students in Saudi Arabia. Centered on the scientific topics of genetic engineering and in-vitro fertilization (IVF), the unit integrates reading, discussion, and academic writing activities across five instructional days. Students progress from field building and text analysis through joint and independent writing tasks, culminating in a video presentation and written argument. The plan draws on genre pedagogy theory to develop students' literacy in scientific and academic contexts, preparing them for the demands of higher education.
The students targeted by this curriculum plan are learners of English as a second language (ESL) enrolled in a high school in Saudi Arabia. The unit is designed to develop both scientific knowledge and academic literacy simultaneously, using the Teaching and Learning Cycle (TLC) as its guiding pedagogical framework.
The learning objectives of the unit are as follows:
Learning resources for this unit include newspapers, journals, articles, and textbooks related to genetic engineering and IVF. Students will also create video presentations and compose written texts based on each video.
Assessment and evaluation are based on a cumulative summary of the unit, which focuses on in-vitro fertilization and genetic concepts. Each day's activities carry specific assessment tasks, detailed in the lesson sequence below. The final presentation and written project account for ten percent of the student's final grade in the subject.
Activity 1: Subject Orientation. The instructor begins with an introductory session on the topic. Students read the relevant chapter from the textbook to facilitate better understanding. A question-and-answer session follows in which the teacher assesses students' existing knowledge and scope of learning pertaining to the subject.
Assessment: Questions drawn from the first lecture and the teacher's question-and-answer session with students.
Aim: Familiarization with the theme and subject matter.
Activity 2: Orientation of Discussion. The teacher focuses on the text and material needed for discussion. A session is conducted on why people require IVF and on the IVF procedure itself. Students record their own ideas about IVF following the discussion.
Assessment: Teacher's notes on student understanding.
Purpose: Discussing the theme of IVF in detail.
Activity 3: Text Scanning. The class conducts a reading session to locate data on genetic engineering. Students also read a text related to inheritance, after which the teacher initiates a discussion on text-scanning strategies.
Assessment: Writing assignment on how inheritance material can change, and identification of relevant information.
Aim: Developing individual skills in reading and comprehending the texts under review. Students learn to read challenging texts and extract meaning from their content.
Activity 4: Detailed Text Reading — Genetic Engineering (Text A). The teacher initiates a reading of the text. Students produce a summary diagram and analysis of the writing, then compose short texts relating to the reading.
Assessment: Summary diagram, thorough text analysis, and a short written summary.
Purpose: Strengthen English vocabulary and establish a modeling-texts perspective.
Activity 5: Detailed Reading — Sex Determination and Surrogacy. The instructor initiates reading of a second text. Students draw a comparison between both texts and analyze the source material critically.
Assessment: Comparative text analysis.
Purpose: Study the writings from a critical standpoint and identify their main points.
Activity 6: Merging Different Opinions. Students voice their opinions about IVF, including its merits and demerits. The class examines texts by authors who hold differing opinions on the subject.
Assessment: List of merits and demerits; teacher observation of student participation and analysis of the writing while engaging with differing viewpoints.
Purpose: Argue and openly discuss the subject. Contrast two diverse views and examine how opinions are constructed and related.
Activity 7: Familiarizing with the Aim of Social Dialogue. Students list the merits and demerits from Module Text 1, identify the text type and its objectives, and participate in a teacher-led discussion on social aims — including dialogue, description, and text type.
Assessment: Text-type matching, identification of purposes, and listing of merits and demerits.
Purpose: Detect the aim of dialogue.
Activity 8: Familiarizing with the Stages of Discussion. The teacher demonstrates a discussion and conducts an analysis of Model Text 1, "Genetic Engineering." Groups label the phases of the text. Groups then rearrange a scrambled version of Model Text 2, "Sex Determination," and record its stages.
Assessment: Stage labeling and detailed analysis of Model Text 2.
Aim: Identify the phases of dialogue — such as problems, arguments for and against a thesis, and recommendations — as a key concept in the student's final work for the unit.
Activity 9: Language and Generic Construction Features of Discussion. The teacher leads a discussion on generic construction and features of writing, including potential language features that emerge during discussion. Student groups identify the language features and generic structures observed in Model Text 2, "Sex Determination."
Assessment: Key language features labeled and analyzed independently in Model Text 2.
Purpose: Identify visible language features in discussion — for example, projection, internal conjunction, and generic construction.
Activity 10: Planning and Composing a Joint Discussion. The teacher leads the class in constructing a shared debate centered on the language features and generic construction observed in the model texts.
Assessment: Teacher evaluates the level of student involvement and construction on the basis of conversation.
Purpose: Collaboratively contribute to arguments about IVF and genetic ideas present in the world today.
Activity 11: Individual Planning and Writing — A Discussion. Students complete their final project over the weekend. They compose a text drawing on their own selected materials — newspapers, journals, articles, textbook materials — and also produce a video presentation explaining the relevance of those sources to their written text. Students present their work each Monday.
Assessment: Independent composition and project exhibition.
Purpose: Compose an argument on IVF and genetic ideas; deliver a presentation based on student-produced texts.
The final presentation project evaluation includes a video component. The video must demonstrate that the student composed the presentation from their textual work, must be two minutes in duration, and must reference a scientific source. Sources are approved by the instructor and presented in front of the class. The written text must be three pages in length, not including the title page and citation page.
"Resources and tasks for collaborative and independent writing"
"Genre pedagogy theory supports TLC unit design"
You’re 43% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.