120-hour Course | Unit 9

Planning lessons Lesson Planning Unit 9

This lesson planning unit is based upon the ESA methodology, so you may want to review previous units regarding what should be included in each phase before proceeding.

Should we plan lessons?

There are various schools of thought on this issue. Consider the two extremes:

(i) Plan the lesson verbatim and (ii) Plan nothing at all.

The first would be very restrictive and have us reading a script. In all lessons, questions from the students will naturally arise that should be addressed there and then and a script would not allow the teacher this flexibility.

The second may have us without any planned materials to use in the activities sections with the students and leave the teacher open to 'wandering' all over the place in terms of lesson content, with no guarantee of the lesson objectives being achieved. Most teachers will find themselves somewhere between these two extremes. They will make notes, or complete lesson plan forms, but will build in flexibility

The writing of lesson plans has a number of important functions:

1 An aid to planning

Writing down what you expect the students to achieve by the end of the lesson, and how you intend to make that possible, helps you to think logically through the stages in relation to available time.

2 A working document

A lesson plan helps you to keep on target and gives you something to refer to during the lesson. However, it should not stop you from being flexible and responding to the needs of the class. For example, if the class is really enjoying a particular activity, the teacher will probably want to extend the time allocated to that task and maybe postpone other tasks until a later lesson.

3 A record

A lesson plan acts as a record of what a class has done and which materials have been used. Are you likely to remember what each class did six months ago if you haven't made a record of it? Recording class content will also help if you are ill and another teacher has to cover your classes.

Lesson Planning Unit 9

How should a lesson plan be written down?

There is no special way in which a plan must be written. Some teachers write formal plans, some jot notes, some log details into class notebooks. Each teacher has to find their own way. If you have to change your plan during the lesson for whatever reasons you should also make a note of those changes so that you will have an accurate record.

Basic principles of lesson planning are:

n Keep it simple. You may need to refer to it during a lesson.

n Do not try to script the lesson.

n Structure it and maintain the same structure.

n Write the anticipated time for each activity in the margin.

n Check for balance.

n Try to make sure activities fit together to give the lesson a smooth flow

n Keep it flexible and open to adaptation.

Being Organised

Before you start the lesson there are a number of practical things you can do to make sure your lesson goes smoothly.

n Check that you have your lesson plan.

n Run through your lesson plan and make sure you have all the necessary aids and materials needed.

n Check that the equipment works!

n Lay out materials and aids so that you can easily find them.

n Arrange the seating as desired.

n Make sure that the board is clean.

n Be ready to chat to the students as they come into class. This will help break the ice with the students and get them in the mood to learn.

What should be included in a lesson plan?

What you include in a lesson plan is very much up to the individual. You will see a sample lesson plan form later. This doesn't mean that you have to use that exact same form, though you are welcome to copy and use it if you wish. Many experienced teachers just write a few brief notes on a piece of paper.

At the start of your teaching careers you are probably going to want to structure your plans more, so that you have a clear guide as to what you want to achieve and how you are going to do it. We recommend including all of the following in your plan:

This is what you want the students to be able to do by the end of the lesson.

What you hope to achieve personally. This should be an area of your teaching that you would like to improve, such as “reduce my teacher talk time”, or “make my boardwork clearer”. This is not about what the students can or should do in the lesson.

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Language point

Teaching aids

Anticipated problems (for the students and the teacher)

Procedure

This shows the theme around which your lesson is based and also how it fits in with past and planned future lessons.

Materials and other aids (cassette player etc) that you will need in the lesson. This will help you quickly check if you have everything at the start of a lesson.

It is very important to try and anticipate any particular problems that the students (or the teacher) may have with the lesson. Anticipated problems are of no use though unless you have thought of a solution for these problems if they arise!

The activities used to achieve the learner objectives.

Engage, Study or Activate (refer to unit 3 for clarification).

It is vital to plan how long each activity is expected to take. You should then be able to see if you have too much content or not enough. Be realistic and flexible with your timing. If not, you will have to either make up for lost time or fill in extra time. This is one of the most difficult areas for inexperienced teachers. How long will it take your students to read a text? Only experience and a sound knowledge of your students will tell you this.

Who will be interacting at each stage of the lesson. Will it be teacher –student (T-S), student – student (S-S) or students working alone?

The level of ability that the class has with the English language.

You may wish to anticipate how many students will attend to make sure that your activities are suitable for the class size.

This will allow you to keep a historical record of what you have done with a class and when. It will also help teachers who may teach the same class at a later date.

Teacher's and observer's names May be useful if the class is being monitored.

An example of a standard lesson plan format is shown on the following pages. One is completed and the other is blank for you to print and use should you wish.

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Teacher: Peter Smith

Class level: Beginner

Lesson Plan

Observer: n/a

Room: 8

Date and time: 15/02/02

Expected number of students: 12

Language point: Consolidation of animal vocab from previous lesson to bring out new grammar.

Teaching aids: Pictures of animals, drawing paper, board and pens, exercise sheets.

Learner objectives: For the students to be able to accurately produce can and can't when talking about animals, and to use animal vocab appropriately.

Anticipated problems for students: Pronunciation of “can't”.

Solutions: Drilling and mouth diagrams.

Personal aims: To improve my instructions by demonstrating rather than using verbal instructions.

Anticipated problems for teacher: Getting students to participate actively.

Solutions: Fun activate phase activity.

Quick review of animal vocab – brainstorm and use pictures and drawings.

Ask students questions, e.g. where can you see these animals? Do you have these animals in your country? What are your favorite animals? Why? Etc.

What can your favorite animal do? What can't it do? Use the answers on the board to show difference in meaning and spelling. Highlight contracted form of can not = can't.

Drill pronunciation, with attention to /t/ sound in “can't”.

Fill in the blank activity (in pairs).

Example questions: ‘A kangaroo can _______.’; ‘An ostrich can’t _______.’; etc.

Feedback from above activity.

Look at typical verbs of movement for animals (e.g. fly/swim/jump, etc) that weren't known. Use mime and drill for pronunciation. Check comprehension by asking students to mime.

Put students into groups of three. Hand out blank sheets.

Ask students to create a fantasy animal (demonstrate with one I prepared earlier by asking students what it can and can't do). In groups students think of, draw and name a fantasy animal.

Students show the animal to the class and describe what it can and can't do. They should produce structures such as ‘My xxxxxx can fly’ or ‘My xxxxxx can swim but it can’t walk’, where ‘xxxxxx’ is the name of their animal.

Back up activity if time allows:

Students draw animal word from a container, they describe abilities of the animal to the class. The student who guesses it first gets a point (can be done in teams if time allows).

Engage Study Activate 1 Activate 2

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Unit 9

Lesson Planning

Monitoring your lessons

Name:

Date:

A good teacher will want to monitor the quality of his/her own lessons. As teachers we are continually striving to improve our skills and make our classes as enjoyable as possible. An effective way of doing this is for the teacher to evaluate his/her own lessons and make notes of what went well and where the lesson could have been improved. By focussing on each lesson's strengths and weaknesses teachers will be helping themselves to develop.

Sample self-evaluation form:

Self Evaluation Form

Class level:

Number of students:

Extent to which the learner objectives and personal aims were met

Accuracy of anticipated problems and solutions

Modifications made to the lesson procedure; reasons for them and how effective were they?

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Effectiveness of Engage phases

Effectiveness of Study phases

Effectiveness of Activate phases

Strengths and Weaknesses of Lesson

In Retrospect / Areas for Improvement

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Evaluating your lessons long-term

Most teachers start their careers enthusiastically, eager to put into practice the concepts and techniques that were presented to them during their TEFL or TESOL course. Long term though, the teacher’s approach to lessons can change unconsciously. How can we check if we are moving in the right direction? How can we tell if we are developing or getting into a rut?

A self-assessment every now and then can help. This certainly doesn’t have to be every day or even weekly, but answering the questions in a form similar to the one on the next page every few months can be beneficial for some teachers. This is intended for your own use rather than to submit to your school or employer

Here are some points that you can check yourself for, with a useable form on the next page:

My lessons:

Relationships:

I start every lesson with an Engage phase.

I finish every lesson with an Activate phase.

I check learners’ understanding by asking concept questions.

I build on information from previous lessons.

I write a detailed lesson plan for every lesson.

I ensure that every lesson has achievable learner objectives.

I use examples to help students to understand.

I use teaching aids in every lesson.

I elicit wherever possible using a variety of techniques.

I demonstrate rather than explain.

I give out worksheets only after demonstrating the activity.

I maximize student talking time (STT).

I say as little as possible to minimize teacher talking time (TTT).

My students work in pairs or groups for all possible activities.

I tailor my lessons to the students’ interests whenever possible.

I know all my students’ names.

I understand the abilities of my students.

I encourage my students constantly

I keep the school updated with regard to students’ progress.

Professional Development:

I research new information about English and teaching.

I work with colleagues to identify and solve problems.

I observe colleagues to develop new teaching techniques.

I attend teacher training sessions whenever possible.

Record-keeping:

What I’m good at:

What I need to improve:

I file my lesson plans and make them available to colleagues.

I follow the curriculum.

I record learners’ progress.

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Name:

My lessons:

Relationships: Professional Development:

Record-keeping:

What I’m good at:

What I need to improve:

Self-Assessment Form

Date:

I start every lesson with an Engage phase.

I finish every lesson with an Activate phase.

I check learners’ understanding by asking concept questions.

I build on information from previous lessons.

I write a detailed lesson plan for every lesson.

I ensure that every lesson has achievable learner objectives.

I use examples to help students to understand.

I use teaching aids in every lesson.

I elicit wherever possible using a variety of techniques.

I demonstrate rather than explain.

I give out worksheets only after demonstrating the activity

I maximize student talking time (STT).

I say as little as possible to minimize teacher talking time (TTT).

My students work in pairs or groups for all possible activities.

I tailor my lessons to the students’ interests whenever possible.

I know all my students’ names.

I understand the abilities of my students.

I encourage my students constantly

I keep the school updated with regard to students’ progress.

I research new information about English and teaching.

I work with colleagues to identify and solve problems.

I observe colleagues to develop new teaching techniques.

I attend teacher training sessions whenever possible.

I file my lesson plans and make them available to colleagues.

I follow the curriculum.

I record learners’ progress.

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Planning a sequence of lessons

Planning a sequence of lessons is more or less the same as planning for a single lesson, but there are a number of special issues which we must consider:

n Flexibility – we will often need to make changes to plans during lessons. This can throw out our sequence of lessons, so we will continually need to update our plans and modify our aims. Therefore we have to be flexible in our approach, and not just stick blindly to our planning.

n Goals – an experienced teacher will build goals for the students into a sequence of lessons. This will give both the teacher and the students something to aim at, whether they are endof-week tests, or major revision lessons.

n Revision – lesson content needs to be continually reviewed over a sequence of lessons to ensure students retain this information.

n Variety and balance – when planning a sequence of lessons we want to make sure all skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) are included and given equal treatment overall. We should also incorporate a good variety and mix of activities.

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Where have you been?

Questionnaire: Places you have been and things you have done

When someone asks you “Have you ever been to London, England?”, do you say “Yes I have, I went there five years ago”, or do you say “Yes I have, I saw Big Ben, the Millennium Eye, the Tower of London and the London Dungeon. It rained every day and people on the trains were upset because they were late”? Some people like to talk about places they have been and some need more questions for details.

Try the questionnaire and find out how many things you have done and where you have been: Answer Yes or No, and give details where possible. Yes with a full explanation = 2 points, Yes with some detail = 1 points, No = 0 points.

1. Have you ever been to the capital of your country?

2. Have you ever travelled to another country?

3. Have you ever flown on a plane?

4. Have you ever been ski-ing?

5. Have you ever been to Japan?

6. Have you ever been to America?

7. Have you ever eaten the national dish of another country?

8. Have you ever eaten frog, dog, shark or ostrich?

9. Have you ever cooked food for somebody else?

10. Have you ever been ill after eating food?

Unit 9

Lesson Planning

11. Have you ever shared your food with a pet?

12. Have you ever been to a major sports event?

13. Have you ever played a sport for your school?

14. Have you ever met a famous sportsperson?

15. Have you ever played tennis?

16. Have you ever run longer than 10km?

17. Have you ever been to a gym?

18. Have you ever won a medal or sports trophy?

19. Have you ever suffered a sports injury?

20. Have you ever scored the winning goal for your team?

30 to 40 points: You have been very lucky to see and do such a variety of places and things or you are very adventurous. You also have a healthy sporty nature. Maybe you should make a photo collection of places you have visited and share it with others who have not been as lucky as you!

10 to 30 points: You have already achieved a long list of adventures and seen interesting things in your life. You have possibly been involved and succeeded in some way through sports. If you want to be in the 30 to 40 points category you will have to plan some more trips and sports matches!

Fewer than 10 points: Maybe you aren't interested in some of the places and activities you have been asked about, or perhaps you are but haven't had the time or opportunity to do them. You still have plenty of time to do something new, so don't worry!!

Lesson Planning Unit 9

task2 materials

The present perfect is used to talk about actions which happened in the past at an indefinite time. Often, it is used to describe experiences using ever and never.

Have you ever visited the City of London?

( = Do you have any experience of visiting London)

Yes, I have.

( = Yes, at some indefinite time in my life and the specific time is unimportant.)

No, I haven't. I've never visited the City of London.

( = At no previous time have I ever visited the City of London)

Note!

When you ask for and give more information about these experiences such as how, when, why and how long, you use the past simple.

When did you visit the City of London? In 2001.

Has/have + past participle = present perfect.

Have is often contracted to -'ve or –'s

I've eaten octopus. He's played football.

Negative ( - )

I haven't had any problems. I've never had any problems.

Question ( ? )

Have you ever had any problems?

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Present Perfect Tense

Write the past participle of the following verbs:

Example: eat = eaten

play sell love meet wear visit think

win swim have understand be see teach work know drink live eat wear try

Exercises A B

Rewrite the following sentences using the past simple or the present perfect of the verb in brackets:

Example: (see) you ever the Pyramids in Egypt?

Have you ever seen the Pyramids in Egypt?

1. (buy) you ever flowers for someone else?

2. What (eat) you for breakfast this morning?

3. (meet) a famous sports-star?

4. (eat) you ever Spaghetti Bolognese?

5. (go) you ever to Tokyo, Japan?

6. When (be) the last time you (go) to the

Grammar

Possibilities

Might and May – expressions of possibility

Might and may are modal auxiliary verbs. These take the same form for all persons and don't use the auxiliary do in question and negative forms. Possible future events are expressed by using might or might not + base form.

It might snow tomorrow There might not be any rain.

May or may not can also be used and may is slightly more certain than might

It may snow tomorrow. There may not be any rain.

Note! You should use will or won't to predict the future.

It'll be windy and cloudy in the North of the country

There won't be much sun.

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Exercises

Might and May

AChoose the correct form of the verb:

Example: I'm going to/I might win the lottery. I bought a ticket this morning.

1 I'm coming/I might come home on 24th October It's your birthday, so it's very important!

2. I'm going/I might go to the Czech Republic next Tuesday. I've got my plane ticket.

3. I'm going to/I might go to the beach for a swim today or perhaps I will go to work, just to please my boss.

4. I'm going/I might eat lunch with the Prime Minister today I accepted the invitation and reserved the table a month ago.

5. I'm going to/I might save some money this month. I am not going to buy anything because my boyfriend will pay.

6. I've booked/I may book tickets for the big football match next week I've promised my son I would take him for his birthday

Unit 9

Lesson Planning

BImagine your friend would like to visit your country, but needs some advice. Use because and might with the following sentences:

Example: Drink lots of water – because it might be very hot every day.

1 Wear gloves, scarf hat and thick jumper

2. Bring medicine for snake bites

3. Wear mosquito repellent

4. Buy lots of sun-tan lotion

CLook out of the window, and describe what the weather may, may not, might or might not be like:

Example: In two minutes' time there might be a storm with lightning.

Lesson Planning Unit 9

Task sheet

Check your knowledge before attempting the unit test.

Please note that this task sheet is solely for checking that you have understood the course unit content. You do not need to submit this task sheet – just use it to check you have understood the major points.

Task 1 –

Why do teachers plan their lessons? Why is planning important?

Task 2 –

Using a blank lesson plan similar in format to the lesson plan form on pages 5 and 6 of this unit, plan a straight arrow ESA lesson from the materials on pages 12 and 13. The materials are entitled ‘Where have you been’. You should include your aims, language point, expected number of students, and all the other boxes at the top of the blank lesson plan form, as well as the procedure.

Task 3 –

Using another blank lesson plan form, plan a patchwork style ESA lesson using the materials on pages 16 to 18. The materials are entitled ‘Possibilities’. Again, include your aims, language point, expected number of students, and all the other boxes at the top of the blank lesson plan form, as well as the procedure.