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Student: Good morning. I’m here for our meeting about creating lesson plans.
Tutor: Ah, yes. Bang on time! Come in and take a seat. Now, didn’t I ask you to prepare something?
Student: Yes, you did. You asked me to think of the possible uses for a lesson plan. Here’s what I came up with. First, it helps the teacher with the pace and timing of a class. Second, it creates a focus for the teacher and also for the students. Third, it shows everyone what material is being covered, needs to be covered or has been covered.
Tutor: That’s particularly useful if you have a strict syllabus to follow.
Student: However, there does seem to be a need for a balance between covering material and choosing when to let a class flow and let students carry on an activity if it’s leading to learning.
Tutor: Yes, that’s certainly tree. Anything else?
Student: It gives clear aims to the students and to the teacher. I think it’s worth remembering that there are two perspectives to consider in the learning process. It also serves as a reminder for teachers to put aims, first and materials second, rather than vice versa. Those are the five I came up with.
Tutor: I think that you’ve got the most important, ... the key points. I can add another five. A lesson plan also helps to highlight potential student problems, and creates an opportunity to find a solution. Second, it brings cohesion and coherence to a lesson. Third, it clearly shows the interaction between teacher and student--or at least the expected interaction. As we both know, lesson plans don’t always go according to plan! A lesson plan also clearly shows something else--the distribution of time spent on different skills. This can really show if your speaking or writing class is really about speaking or writing. And finally, it serves to remind you what materials you have to take into class.
Student: Thank you. I’ve made a note of those points.
Tutor: Take a look at this incomplete lesson plan. Do you have any ideas about what could be added to each section?
Student: Let’s see. The students are at low-intermediate level and the lesson will last for 50 minutes. The students are academic ones staying in Australia for three months to improve their spoken English. The aim of the class is to elicit reading comprehension and speaking abilities for story telling, as well as to practice the present simple and the past simple tenses.
Tutor: Can you think of any personal aims that the teacher may have?
Student: Mmm. Perhaps one could be to avoid excessive instructions.
Tutor: That’s a good suggestion. What assumptions would you make if you were the teacher?
Student: Er ... I’d assume that the students could understand the instructions. The topic is extreme sports. Mmm. Perhaps I’d assume that they do not understand some of the vocabulary related to those sports--for example, the difference between mountain climbing and rock climbing.
Tutor: So that would qualify as an anticipated problem.
Student: Ah, yes. Yes, it would.
Tutor: And what solutions would you suggest?
Student: Solutions? Perhaps one solution would be to elicit the difference from students via questioning.
Tutor: Yes, that would work. Given their level, the students should be able to provide some answers to that, using fairly basic vocabulary. At the bottom, you can see a list of aids--textbook, blackboard, chalk, chalk eraser, pictures of rock climbing and mountain climbing.
Student: Ah, the pictures will help to explain the vocabulary. A picture dictionary can be very useful in such situations. By the way, when I write the name of any textbooks I’m using, would you suggest that I add some details?
Tutor: You mean like the publisher and page numbers?
Student: Yes.
Tutor: I would certainly note down the page numbers. It’s probably a good idea to add the author, but probably not necessary to add the publisher. Mind you, if other people are going to see your lesson plan, it might be a good idea, because they might want the book them- selves---knowing the publisher makes it easier for them to find it.
Student: Do you recommend keeping lesson plans?
Tutor: Having stored plans for years it has become clear to me that no two classes are exactly alike and this limits the potential for re-cycling lesson plans. However, one suggestion I can make is that you keep yours ideas, rather than necessarily the whole plan. These can be kept on postcards that are organised by topic--perhaps with crossreferences for level, skill or structure--and then kept for easy access. This is really easy if you do it on a computer.
Student: Can you recommend any books for helping with the creation of les- son plans?
Tutor: My favourite book is Lesson Plans from Nothing by John Davis. You can get it from the bookstore on campus. If you’re interested in knowing how others do their lesson plans or just simply need a lesson plan now, because you have no time, try these websites.
Student: That looks like a useful list. Thank you. Thank you very much.