7 Lessons Learned About Lesson Planning
Transform Your Classroom with Effective Planning Tips
Today, I want to share seven key lesson planning lessons I’ve learned over the last twenty years.
Thinking of ideas, writing, and prepping materials can suck hours of your time. So when you can plan lessons quickly and easily (and they’re really good!), your life changes.
Lesson planning fast and effectively is a superpower.
7 Key Lesson Planning Ideas
A lesson plan has lots of moving parts.
You're using all of your teaching knowledge and experience to create a plan. You’re probably tired after a long day, you might still have marking to do, and you just want to be finished planning. But you’ve got to come up with an idea, outline, write, and find or create materials.
Then re-write when you think of a better idea.
So here are my seven top tips to ensure you plan as fast and effectively as possible.
1. Know your students
Before you even open your coursebook, take time to understand your students.
Consider their age, learning backgrounds, motivations, strengths and weaknesses. This information is essential for selecting engaging and relevant topics and adapting materials to their level.
Even if you don't know your students well (for example, in a new class), you can still incorporate their interests by using local events or news stories.
And once you do know your students, differentiate if you’re able.
2. Set clear and achievable aims
Aims are the backbone of your lesson, giving it direction and purpose. Ensure your aims are:
Required - aligned with your syllabus and curriculum.
Learner-Centred - focused on what students will be better able to do by the end of the lesson.
Specific - clearly define the topic, context, function, and form of the language being practised.
Observable - determine what evidence you need to see or hear to know students are learning.
3. Create engaging contexts
A clearly defined context helps students understand, use, and remember language. Instead of simply presenting language in isolation, consider realistic situations in which the target language would be used.
Don't be afraid to think outside the box!
Imaginary and humorous contexts can be just as engaging. Read more about the four types of context here.
4. Choose and adapt a lesson structure
Lesson structures, such as Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP), Engage, Study, Activate (ESA), or Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), offer a helpful framework for sequencing your lesson.
Remember: no single structure is perfect for every lesson. Familiarise yourself with different methodologies and adapt them to suit your students and lesson aims.
5. Design effective tasks
Tasks are the heart of student-centred learning, offering opportunities for authentic language use. When designing tasks, consider:
Relevance - choose tasks that align with your lesson aims and encourage the use of target language.
Engagement - strike a balance between challenge and achievability, ensuring tasks are stimulating but not overwhelming.
Communicative Gap - structure tasks with information, opinion, or knowledge gaps to give students a reason to communicate.
Cognitive Load - be mindful of the amount of new information being processed. Simplify instructions, remove distractions, and recycle materials where possible to avoid cognitive overload.
6. Select and exploit materials
Go beyond the coursebook and consider supplementary materials that can enhance your lesson.
When selecting materials, consider whether they are engaging, relevant, supportive, and offer opportunities for exploitation (using the same material in multiple ways).
7. Incorporate regular checkpoints
Don't wait until the end of the lesson to discover students haven't understood. Incorporate regular concept-checking questions to assess understanding throughout the lesson. Use formative assessment techniques, such as monitoring, eliciting, and student self-assessment, to track progress and identify areas for improvement.
By carefully considering these seven factors, you can create well-structured, engaging, and effective lessons that cater to your students' individual needs and foster a positive learning environment.
Oh, and don’t forget to evaluate your lesson plans when you’re done!
If you liked this article, you’ll love my books:
📝 Lesson Planning for Language Teachers - Plan better, faster, and stress-free (4.5⭐, 184 ratings).
👩🎓 Essential Classroom Management - Develop calm students and a classroom full of learning (4.5⭐, 33 ratings).
🏰 Storytelling for Language Teachers - Use the power of storytelling to transform your lessons (4.5⭐, 11 ratings).
🤖 ChatGPT for Language Teachers - A collection of AI prompts and techniques to work better, faster (4.5⭐, 12 ratings).
💭 Reflective Teaching Practice Journal - Improve your teaching in five minutes daily (4.5⭐, 16 ratings).
Fabulous and Useful Post. Thank you so much.
Excellent post and a good reminder. Thank you.