Making a Lesson Plan

1. Making a Lesson Plan How to make an effective lesson plan

2. What is a lesson plan? • A lesson plan is an organized set of notes that helps teachers to think through what they are going to teach and how they are going to teach it. • A lesson plan generally has these parts: • Aims • Stages • Procedures • Timing • Materials • Teaching Aids

3. Aims • Aims are what we want students to learn or be able to do at the end of a lesson • Aims are generally written in one of two ways: • The student will learn + aim • The student will be able to + aim • For example: • The students will learn how to use canand can’t. • The students will be able to say what they can do and can’t do.

4. Stages • A stage is a section of a lesson. • Lessons plans go through different stages. Some common stages you will see in a lesson plan are: • Warmer– An activity a teacher uses at the beginning of a lesson to give the class more energy • Lead-in – The activity or activities used to prepare students for what they will learn or do. A lead-in often includes an introduction to the topic or task • Presentation – This is where new language is introduced • Practice - When students practice the language; in a controlled way or freer way • Review – When the teacher goes over what has been studied or practiced with the students • Release – The last stage of the lesson when the teacher assigns homework and tells the students goodbye.

5. Procedures • Within each stage, there are procedures. • Procedures are what the teacher and learners will do at each stage. • For example, in a lead-instage, the procedures might include: • Reading aims with students • Introducing new grammar • In a practice stage, the procedures might include: • Listening to a recording • Repeating what the recording says

6. Timing • Timing is – the likely time when stages in a lesson or activities in a lesson take place. • When teachers plan a lesson, they need to think about how long each activity will take and write this on their lesson plan. For example: • Introducing new grammar – 5 minutes • Listening to a recording – 2 minutes • Repeating what the recording says – 3 minutes

7. Materials • Materials are all the educational resources the teacher uses to help improve the lesson. • There are three kinds of materials that a teacher can use: • Reference Materials – dictionaries, grammar books, articlesand magazines. • Textbook Materials – student’s book, teacher’s book, activity book, workbook, worksheets, CDs and CD-ROM. • Supplementary Materials – websites, videos, computer programs and games.

8. Teaching Aids • Teaching Aids are the resources and equipment available to use in the classroom, as well as the resources the teacher bring into the classroom. These include: • blackboard/whiteboard • overhead projector (OHP) • CD player • DVD player • computer • real objects • flashcards • pictures • charts

9. Other parts that are included • Besides the parts already talked about, the teacher should include: • Name • Date • Unit lesson name • Grade • Name of textbook • Lesson language – The grammatical sentences or dialogues that will be used. • Lesson vocabulary – The new vocabulary that will be introduced. • Classroom language – The English that will be used by the teacher and the students.

10. Questions to Ask Ourselves When we plan an individual lesson, we have to ask ourselves a number of questions: • Will the topic be interesting and motivating for my learners? • Are the activities and lesson materials at the right level for all the learners? • Have I planned enough for the time available? Do I need any extra material? • Have I planned too much for the time available? Are there any stages I can cut if necessary? • Have I thought about how I want to start and end my lesson? • Does each step in the lesson help to achieve the aim/s?