Lesson Planning . •
AIMS To demonstrate the importance of a proper well-thought out lesson plan. • To ensure that the students feel the lesson is well – structured. • To help the teacher remain student focused. • To ensure a smooth, successful class.
EXAMPLES Read through the two following lesson plans . SLE 2A Lesson 9 For better or for Worse a) Deborah Challenger Aims
To have the students recognize and discuss the difference between
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western and Korean weddings.
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For students to understand and use the first conditional when talking about possible future plans.
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To learn and use the idioms about weddings when discussing their dream wedding.
To learn and use new vocabulary to describe the people and things
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seen at a wedding.
Materials Warm Up
Chapter 9, P56 of the coursebook. Visuals of an American wedding and Korean Wedding. Short article about wedding services and discussion questions.
• I will give each pair of students a picture of a western church wedding and a Korean traditional wedding, they must a) brainstorm what they see and b) discuss the differences between the two pictures. • I will write the topic on the board and listen to the suggestions from the students.
Presentation
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The vocabulary ( bride, groom, bouquet etc) will be written on the board and I will have a visual on my laptop to show each one. Students will then do activity A I will give the students an advert about wedding planning which uses the first conditional to talk about possible plans, give them a few questions to discuss then highlight the first conditional on the
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Activities
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• Wrap up
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board, highlighting if and when. Students will then do Activity 1 on Page 58. Teacher monitors and corrects mistakes. We will look at some common mistakes together on the board with the first conditional and vocabulary. I will then ask the students to discuss how confident they are about getting married. Then instruct them to do Activity 2 on page 59, in pairs they role play a couple getting married and will plan their wedding. A: Fill in the blank, context sentences, in pairs students choose best answer from vocabulary. Then share with class. 1: In pairs, using if/when + first conditional students discuss the reasons to get married. Answers shared with class after. 2: Role play activity, using the vocabulary and first conditional students in pairs plan their wedding, 2 pairs will act out for the class. BACK UP: if we have extra time we will look at questions 1,3,6 + 9 On the board we will go through some more corrections from the exercise and then discuss as a class the perfect wedding / worst wedding. b) Linda LaHughes
Aims
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For the students to learn about Western weddings and describing their perfect wedding.
Materials
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Coursebook and whiteboard
Warm Up
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Students go through the language points and fill in the exercise on page 56. I will tell them the answers.
Presentations
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I will define the language points, students ask me questions if they don't understand. I will write any new words on the board. I will show them corrections at the end.
• • Activities
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Students will do the activities on Pages 58,59 and some discussion questions on page 60.
Wrap Up
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Corrections of mistakes in the class.
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What do you think is the main difference between the two lesson plans? Why do you think the first one is more student focused? Why would it be more successful in advancing the student's language skills? It is important to consider what will the students have achieved by the end of the class, in the first one the ability to discuss a topic, in the second some new words. However many teachers find themselves more likely to use the second style of lesson plan in an SLE lesson, so let's take a look at how to get the best out of books without the lessons being stale or less useful than they should be.
IN PRACTICE
What is the purpose of a lesson plan: •
A lesson plan helps you remember what you intend to do or intended to do. Some experienced teachers use the 'jungle path' method, meaning they
have taught the level / book before and they have more or less of an idea how to organise and teach the lesson DON'T FOLLOW THEIR LEAD! Usually even they would admit these are rarely their best lessons and can become quite boring to teach. Use the plan to keep you on track.
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Planning helps you think out ideas for the future. We often realize during a class that there is a better activity, a better way to present or that we would like to change something about the topic/subject that we didn't know before the class, add these ideas to the lesson plan so next time it's even better.
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A plan gives the lesson a structure and gives the students confidence that you know what you're doing and have put thought into the lesson. We all remember the teacher who was under-prepared, the silences, the staring at the paper or worse having to stare at his or her back as she wrote on the board, these lessons were chaotic or worse boring. A good lesson plan helps you transition between presentations and activities smoothly.
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Most teachers go on preparing lesson plans throughout their careers. No matter how informal the lesson plan might become all teachers, good teachers keep on planning to keep their lessons relevant, topical and useful.
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LESSON PLANS ARE ESSENTIAL WHEN YOU ARE BEING EXTERNALLY ASSESSED.
TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Common Mistakes
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The book has it's own lesson plan why can't I just follow that? Unfortunately there isn't a coursebook in the world that appeals to everybody, it was created as a general guide to the level and language. You must consider your students; is the book always relevant?, interesting?, does it properly cover their language needs?, what do you like/dislike about it's content? The book might be the same for two classes but the students can be completely different and THEY are your priority. You need to add to the book.
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The book contains all the essential language needed for the topic. The books will contain a lot of language, however you need to consider your class and the time available. Normally it is not possible to cover everything in 50 minutes! This is the point then of your syllabus, choosing the language that you consider essential for your class. It is not always highlighted, you need to do some BACKWARDS PLANNING.
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What is backwards planning? I'm glad you asked. Backwards planning means looking at the book, selecting the activity that you think is the focus of your class and deciding what essential language (vocabulary and grammar) is needed to complete it successfully. Then look back at the language points, does this match your assessment or do you need to plan to present this. For example; a lesson on dreams and desires may introduce idioms, but you feel the second conditional is also important here, then you can plan a short presentation and practice of this as part of your class.
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Oh cripes and crivens guvnor! I still can't come up with a lesson plan, I feel like a right 'nana and no mistake!* Fret not my fine and upstanding native speaker, we are going to look at what goes into a good, working lesson plan and how these can become a valuable resource for your teaching career. But before we start I would like you to repeat the following 3 words over and over again as a mantra:
• COHERENCY • VARIETY • STT / TTT
* note to Americans: This essentially translates to 'damn it'
Practical Application
COHERENCY: This has a lot to do with the order of activities and presentations and how you move between them.
Presentations – of vocabulary - should be done early in the class and relatively quickly with concept checking.
Definitions, explanations, visuals, acting etc. of Grammar -
Put on board and keep as reference.
should follow vocabulary as a means of structure, clearly presented with examples on the board and a practice.
Order of Activities:
Put the harder tasks earlier that require more study and concentration. On the whole
students are more refreshed and focused earlier in the class. Later tasks should be more controlled and enjoyable for
them now they understand the language Transitions:
points.
Always think about how you move from one
activity to the other, this shows the teacher is in control and aware of where the class
is going. Sum up / conclude every activity with group feedback before moving onto
the next or have a brief transition activity such as describing a visual from a story Pull the class together:
or a topical sentence.
At the beginning and the end, begin with a warm up to the topic, wrap up at the end with a review of what has been achieved. ALWAYS END ON A POSITIVE NOTE
VARIETY: Lesson components should be combined and packaged to present an interesting, varied and effective lesson programme to keep it as interesting as possible as well as educational. • • • •
Lessons comprising one kind of activity do not motivate students and can lead to boredom, irritability and discipline problems. Varied lessons are more interesting and pleasant for both teacher and students. Task variation caters for a wider range of learning styles and learning types. Reduces learning fatigue in long term students.
Ways to vary a lesson. • • • • • • • • •
Tempo
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Fast and moving activities (guessing games) and slower reflective ones such as reading or planning. Organization - working individually, in pairs, small groups or whole class. Mode & Skill - Practicing the four skills ( speaking, listening, reading & writing) Difficulty - vary easier and more focused types of activities. Topic - Check the focus of the activity, is it to test fluency, reading, comprehension of language points, to give an opinion etc. Mood - Is it a fun activity, studious, light-hearted, requires deep thinking Active/passive - So the students need to use their own initiative or are they completing a task, listening to something etc. Fun vs Study - A well-defined game with rules and time limits can spice up a class. Visuals & Media – Something we all understand and engaging to students.
STT / TTT ( Student talking time vs Teacher talking time) It is generally accepted that most educated native speakers of English, speak English quite well
and therefore need the least practice in the classroom. Students at all levels need to be given as much opportunity as possible to practice speaking in English as this is often something that they cannot do OUTSIDE of the classroom. • Ratio 80 / 20 in favour of the students, although of course this can vary depending on level. • Types of interaction – going back to variety a little don't simply give the students endless discussion questions as this can be both boring and difficult, give them different tasks which require speaking such as games and problem solving tasks. • Pair work / group work – Students are often much more comfortable speaking with a partner who has a similar ability to them and not directly to the teacher. Also try to move students around to ensure they do speak with multiple partners where necessary. • Try to model the language/give examples – before activities, students should be made aware of what the teacher is listening for, verb forms, certain grammar, fluency, opinions, practice of certain structures, make it clear. • Positive reinforcement – students need to know how they are progressing. Praise their successes through monitoring and giving valid feedback at the end of each activity. The Teacher should: • • • •
Speak in level appropriate language avoiding too many 'native' expressions unless teaching them. Give clear and succinct instructions, demonstrating where necessary and monitoring. Limit your all class interactions to : Presenting language, giving instructions, clarifying and giving feedback. THE TEACHER SHOULD NOT LEAD EVERY ACTIVITY – you cannot assess correctly if you are speaking most of the time.
IF STUDENTS FIND SPEAKING DIFFICULT THEY NEED MORE STRUCTURE AND PRACTICE NOT LESS. VARY YOUR ACTIVITES!
To Infinitives and beyond! In the next observation we will be looking for evidence of what you have read here, so please read carefully, study Deborah Challenger's lesson plan and see how you can apply it to your lesson.