Don’t we love doing lesson plans?
Posted: November 27, 2011 Filed under: teaching experiences, teaching tips | Tags: aligning instruction, lessono planning, teaching, teaching ideas, teaching tips 5 CommentsWelcome back to our Morelia Mextesol informationa and update posts.
Here is a take on lesson planning for you
Writing lesson plans is an integral part of teaching. Too many beginning teachers and trainees consider lesson plans a tedious and unnecessary chore which they must do for their supervisors. Once they are working, they resort to lesson plans only when they will be observed.
Frustration with lesson plans results from three sources:
1. They do not understand the need: the purpose and rationale, although explained to them, is not felt or shared.
2. Trainees find it difficult to write measurable objectives.
3. Trainees find formats vague or of little help. They struggle to make the plan fit the format instead of the other way around.
To address these frustrations, this post will address these sources.
What will well-planned lessons do for you?
1. Focus you.
2. Provide you with a plan and a back-up plan.
3. Force you to consider the purpose of the lesson and reason for each step.
4. Establish clear golas for the lesson that are understood by you and the learner.
5. Allow you to predict potential problems.
6. Help you design a coherent and cohesive lesson within a framework of a unit or annual plan.
7. Help you make a smooth transition form one lesson to the next.
8. Provide you with a written record of the course.
9. Encourage you to examine the lessons critically and make improvements.
10. Added by Luis Felipe: Having the lesson plan in place helps you stop worrying about what comes next and helps you focus on observing and monitoring to know better how your students are progressing.
11. Add your own in a comment……we welcome your input…
Clip Art courtesy of wiki.itap.purdue.edu
“Teachers success can be measured most obviously by how much their students learn”. From experience to Knowledge in ELT (Edge and Garton, 2009, page VI) There is no substitute for good lesson planning and students rely on their teachers for most of their motivation and success in learning.
Sergio
I agree with you 110%. Without a good plan, teachers can’t improvise, play, have materials ready, differentiate. How can you modify material to students’ needs if you don’t know that material? How can you make it more interesting if you don’t add additional resources, videos, visuals, games, or songs? Your source seems like a good one. Where did you get it? Can you share anything about your book with us?
Hi! I’m new in teaching. I’m a recently graduated as an English teacher, I’m a begginer. I’m going to work with teenagers in very huge groups, 40 or 50 students per group, it’s kind of complicated! I’d be grateful if any of you could help me with some pieces of advices about how can I improve my lessons planning, activities for teenagers, and so on! I’m 23 years old and I feel too young with no experience!!! I hope you can help me. Thank you very much!
Hello Gaby
Being new is hard work!
One thing I do suggest is to take the TKT course when you can at CU, it is definitley worth it, you not only learn about terminology used around the world, you learn how to work with groups, any size, age and how to survive lesson planning.
Meanwhile, create an atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration in your groups to have them training to work in small groups. It’s more fun than acting like a preacher doing dictation in traditional classes.
I wish that the authorities would require this course for all of its teachers…
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