Mary who wouldn't plan! Lesson Planning Unravelled

Teachers act diversely around the globe. Some fund their classroom supplies, others follow coursebooks' patterns, some plan to the letter. Let's unravel the basics of lesson planning!



In my homeland, teachers working for private language schools use sets of books to lead their courses:

•  A student's book to present the content -instead of printing handouts - 
• accompanied by a workbook - mostly used as homework resource - instead of worksheets- 
• plus a coursebook companion booklet - functioning as a pragmatic dictionary -
• sometimes even a test book comes in handy.

Great business to be a publisher around here, right? It goes without saying that students bear the costs. However, it saves time and , yes, teachers are busy and underpaid. So, when told that lesson planning is advantageous for all participants, including the instructor, teachers tune out.


And yet, you CAN plan your lessons in a way that doesn't get to you and is not so time-consuming either! It all comes down to your organization skills. Let's look at this case together:

WHAT AND WHEN TO TEACH

Mary teaches a C2 (CEFR Level) class. She's preparing her students to take an exam at the end of the school year. 

1. Even before the first class had taken place Mary made a list of grammar topics she has must bring up throught the year. 
2. She devided the school year into three parts and 
3. assigned the most topics to the first part, second part for revisions / consolidation and third part for some extras and advanced structures.  

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HOW TO TEACH

Mary's second desicion needs to regard her methods. She can choose from  a variety of alternatives such as 

teamwork in class, projects, lectures, games and interactive tasks, using technology, reading club, regular exercises and so many more.

According to her general teaching style, she'll most probably tend to opt some out, but she should keep in mind what best suits the topic, the class, the age group. She's going to pick her method a few nights before each lesson.   

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HOW TO COMBINE ALL 4 LANGUAGE LEVELS IN ONE LESSON

Admittedly, this is one of the most tricky parts of lesson planning. Mary feels as if it's a hit and miss kind of situation. Here's a technique which works 100%.

1. Make a list of possible topics that suit the age group, their interests, even the exam style.
2. Present them to your class and brainstorm for any other options.
3. Vote their order of appearance in class. (Not necessarily a topic per lesson)
4. Merge your grammatical, structural, lexical, oral goals into these topics.

Mary's plan (abstract)

Topic: Employment

Goals: Introducing work related vocabulary, introducing wish/if only structures, speaking and writing about employment.

Task 1: Reading - Random classified ads (online)

Students acquire new vocabulary 

Task 2: Introducing wish/if only - On the board

Students get familiar with this new structure

Task 3: Discussion in class

Students can speak about their ideal jobs (wish+past simple)

Students can speak about their past regrets related to their dream job (wish+past perfect)

Task 4:  Writing assignment (related opinion essay)

Students improve writing skills and use taught vocabulary.

Join our webinar and find out how a lesson plan is formed and how to manage time in class for speaking, writing, listening, reading, all in one session! 

HOW TO ASSESS

It is desicively important to assess your own plans after delivering the lesson. Your criteria should include: 

• response and engagement of your class, 
• feasibility of your plan, 
• cognitive outcomes, 
• time management

Assessing your students is tremendously different than assessing your plan. Trace YOUR weaknesses and work on yourself! 

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