Give students an overview of the lesson, offering examples on what paraphrasing is and how it is done. Create handouts for students with an original passage that requires paraphrasing. Ask one student within each group to read and then paraphrase the passage. Next ask each student, in turn, to paraphrase the previous student's version. Allow students within each group to review the original passage and look for changes in the subsequent versions. If the original meaning of the passage has been confused or diminished in some way, have students examine the text in an attempt to find where the meaning of the original passage was lost and why.
Make paraphrasing a game to engage students in becoming more proficient at paraphrasing materials. For this type of activity, it is useful to divide students into teams, whether it is into pairs or fairly small groups. Again provide your students with handouts that have passages from manuals or other sources that they must paraphrase. The premise of the game is simple, in that students that paraphrase a passage correctly win that round. You can also assign points based on the level of difficulty of each passage. The group that has the most points wins the game. Consider offering a prize to members of the winning team.
Begin your lesson by introducing or reminding students of what paraphrasing is and how to go about it. Again, prepare handouts for students or write out passages on the board that are to be paraphrased and instruct students to work on paraphrasing the passages provided. Next, create pairs of students that will compare their work. Ask pairs to draw upon each of their versions of the paraphrased text to arrive at an improved, composite version. Review the final versions in class with feedback that will help students improve their paraphrasing skills.
Write out text on the board, or create slides or a PowerPoint presentation that include passages from different sources, requiring student participation in paraphrasing. Then have a back-and-forth discussion in which you ask students to make suggestions in terms of words that can be changed, the structure of sentences and so on. Offer constructive feedback as the class progresses. Make note of each student's suggestions and then use these suggestions along with your own insights to create a final draft paraphrase. Review the final versions of paraphrased passages presented. End the lesson by summing with final suggestions and an overview as to the success of the activity.