Arabic Learners/ ELLs, what do you think of this teaching strategy?

The ideas you have here are great.

The only suggestion I would make is that the students should have a goal in completing this task. What's the purpose of describing the object? Just describing it? Instead, I would, for example, give them descriptions of items from an auction house or antique fair. Have them match the descriptions to pictures of the objects and discuss what is normally included in a description. Then once they've seen what's expected of them, tell them they will be writing a description of an item.

Put them in pairs for the writing part. When students work in pairs, they teach each other and correct each others mistakes. Trust me though, there will still be plenty of mistakes, but they will be learning as they write. Also, it's less awkward when their mistakes are corrected in front of the whole class if they are working with a partner.

As they're working, make a note of some of the mistakes they're making. Make sure to only have one mistake per sentence. If the sentence is too badly constructed, it gets confusing for the students and can turn into a full on grammar lesson. Instead, focus on the mistakes you want them to learn. Write these sentences up on the board. Emphasize that everyone was making mistakes and that you just chose some of the most common ones.

Have them work with their partner to correct the sentences. This gives all the students the chance to think about the mistakes and try to correct them. If you ask and just one student answers, then only one student had the chance to think and answer. Working in pairs gives them time to really analyze the sentences.

When they're done, go over the sentences with the whole class and answer any grammar questions they (probably) have about the mistakes.

Hey there Cary!

I'm an Arabic student currently residing in Kuwait and I think this would be an excellent idea! I know all about the difficulties of the language barrier and how vitally important it is to convey the right meaning with your words. The language of Arabic is drastically different from English in many different regards. The most prominent I believe, would be the backwards nature of the language. Using your method would certainly point out the difference in sentence structures. A quick example, instead of saying "this is your friends car", in Arabic it would be "this is the car of my friend." The quick and easy method of reordering your words by attaching them via magnets would certainly help with the learning curve. Best of luck to you Cary!