Lesson Planning Rachid Najar January 2023

Before we start! Let’s remember

Objective At the end of the session we will be able to • Define lesson plan • Describe the contents of lesson plan • Describe the principles designing a lesson plan • Find out the advantages of lesson plan • Outline of lesson planning process • Prepare a lesson plan (???)

Metaphors for a lesson • A menu • A conversation

• Doing the shopping • A football game

• A symphony • A consultation with a doctor

Why Lesson Planning Is Important • The Importance of Lesson Planning to Effective Curriculum Delivery • The Importance of Lesson Planning to Student Assessment

• Better Lesson Planning Creates More Student Success • Why Lesson Planning Is Important for Classroom Management

• Better Lesson Planning Is Important for Teacher Success

Good planning “shoulders much of the burden” of teaching by replacing “on-fly-decision making” during a lesson with careful investigation into the what and how of instruction

before the lesson is taught (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999).

POOR PLANNING • Frustration for the teacher and the student • Aimless wandering and Disorganization • Unmet objectives • No connections to prior learnings • Lack of needed materials

• A waste of time • Poor management

Teacher without plans

GOOD PLANNING • • • • • • •

Keeps the teacher and students on track Achieves the objectives Helps teachers to avoid “unpleasant” surprises Provides the roadmap and visuals in a logical sequence Provides direction to a trainee / novice teacher Encourages reflection, refinement, and improvement Enhances student achievement

Teacher with Plans

A lesson plan is like: • an instruction leaflet • a story

•

a road map

•

a series of road signs

GREAT TEACHING starts with GREAT PLANNING Characteristics of great lesson plans • Clear instructions, explanations, timelines, expectations, and assessment • Interactive; hands on activities • Engaging and FUN!

• Allow students to feel a sense of shared exploration and discovery

WHAT IS A GOOD LESSON PLAN?

Is there an ideal lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a step-by-step guide that provides a structure for an essential learning. Before planning a lesson, it is essential to classify the learning outcomes for the class. It is important because it helps the teacher in maintaining a standard teaching pattern and does not let the class deviate from the topic.

• A lesson plan gives the teacher a framework for the lesson and guides classroom management, student participation, and interaction patterns. A lesson plan also helps the teacher with the timing of activities to ensure the students receive a well-balanced and time-managed lesson.

What is a Lesson Plan? • A written guide for achieving the intended learning outcomes or aims. What? Aims: main, subsidiary and personal

How? Equipment, materials

How? Methods of presentation

Why? Discuss 3 important reasons for lesson plans

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A learning objective is defined as "a statement that specifies behavior that a learner should exhibit after instruction."

OBJECTIVES

• A description of what the student will be able to do at the end of the lesson • Provides alignment with curriculum goals • Use behavioral verbs to describe the expected outcomes (ACTION)

The detailed lesson plan has several parts: • Lesson Objectives. • Related Requirements. • Lesson Materials. • Lesson Procedure. • Assessment Method.

• (Assignment) • Lesson Reflection

What is a good lesson plan? • Teaching is much more likely to be successful when guided by a clear and complete lesson plan. The key elements of a good lesson plan include: objectives, timing, sequencing, differentiation, assessment, and materials. • The heart of the objective is the task that the student is expected to perform. It is probably one of the most important parts of the lesson plan because it is student centered and outcomes based. Objectives can range from easy to hard tasks depending on student abilities.

Steps involved in lesson planning • Preparation or Introduction

• Presentation • Comparison or association • Generalizastion • Application • Recapitulation / Closure • reflection

Tips for a successful & efficient planning • Always plan with students in mind • Keep the same overall structure every time

• Set SMART objectives for each lesson (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.)

• Plan a variety of classroom activities BUT Leave room for flexibility • Leave room for discussion / Gather (and listen to) feedback

Here are some more tips on developing effective lesson plans: • Incorporate student interests into your lessons. ...

• Select purposeful activities and assignments. ... • Make your lessons relevant. ...

• Share lessons with your colleagues. Trainer, ... • Refine lessons based on feedback.

Lesson Plan Content • Lesson Objective/s: • What you would like your students to know or be able to do by the end of the class.

• Tasks and Activities: • How you are going to deliver the lesson content to enable your students to meet the lesson objective. You may want to consider the timing/duration of each task or activity. This will ensure that you have enough, or not too much, content for the duration of the lesson.

• Materials / Equipment: • Books, music, software, clothes, presentations etc. to be used in the lesson that enable you to deliver, and your students to undertake, the lesson tasks and activities. • Take Home Tasks: • In other words home work - however I think this sounds to academic. Plan what your students could do at home to help with their understanding or that enables them to pratice an activity.

Components to consider in a lesson plan • Pace • Quick moving, or slow for reflection • Interaction patterns • Individual, pairs, small groups, whole group

• Level of difficulty • From non-demanding to highly challenging, in 1 class for differentiating your classes: what will you expect from your different students, from the lower level to the higher achievers under the same objectives? 34

• Content • Cross curricular, relate to real life, authentic

• Skills and how to cover them • Which skills, which tasks reflect which skills, what is your objective???????

Parts of a lesson plan

WARM-UP AND INTRODUCTION • Grab the attention of the students • Provides the interest/motivation factor

• Sets the tone for the lesson connected to the objective • A question • A story • A saying • An activity • A discussion starter BE CREATIVE

PRACTICE APPLYING WHAT IS LEARNED • Provide multiple learning activities • Guided practice (teacher controlled) • Use a variety of questioning strategies to determine the level of understanding

• Independent practice • Practice may be differentiated

• BUILD ON SUCCESS

REFLECTION • What went well in the lesson? • What problems did I experience? • Are there things I could have done differently? • How can I build on this lesson to make future lessons successful?

General Recommendations • Never go to class unprepared- you may lose face in front of your students. • Think ahead: imagine the learners’ reaction and expect the unexpected. • Focus on interaction when planning your tasks. • Keep asking yourself: “How am I going to learn that my students have learnt?” • Conceive follow –up activities / remedial work to compensate for the shortcomings you noticed in your plan.

• Keep improving your plans –even during your lesson ( Be flexible)

•Keep improving your plans by getting rid of the weaknesses you noticed during its implementation. •Make the language fit in with the level of your class. •As you write your plans, allocate appropriate time for each activity or task. •Include humour in your plans whenever possible.

•Make your lessons as motivating as possible.

« Nothing is so fatatal for a teacher as unpreparedness » Davis

If you fail to plan, …

… you plan to fail.