Module 1 : Lesson Planning

WEEK 1:
Section I/ Lesson planning – different views

1. Some metaphors of a lesson

 A musical performance
 Doing the shopping
 A football game
 A wedding
 Climbing a mountain
 Visiting a doctor
 Eating a meal
 A menu
 A conversation
 Your own metaphor/s???

These metaphors emphasise:

 A musical performance & a wedding: ‘performance’-based, or ‘show’, teacher-centered,
emphasizing the ‘steps’
 Climbing a mountain/ visiting a doctor: focuses on leaner problems and ‘hard work’ à
achievement
 Eating a meal: Ss are either passive (being fed) or active (they choose the food they like).
 A football game assumes there is competition between students (in teams) or between the
teacher and students.
 A menu/ Doing the shopping emphasizes students’ choice and the T tries to cater for students’
real needs.
 A conversation assumes an informal, natural relationship between T & Ss, but it may not be
planned.
 Explain your own metaphor???

2. Some definitions of LP

• a written description of how students will move toward attaining specific objectives…(Yinger,
1980)
• a written document which helps the teacher to know what to do in a class with quite specific
activities (EFL Teachers Jargon)
• a systematic record of a teacher’s thoughts about what will be covered during a lesson (Farrell,
2002)
• a writing noting the method of delivery and the specific goals and timelines associated to the
delivery of lesson content (MSDN Academic Alliance Developer Centre)
(taken from ELT 2 Coursebook)

 A lesson plan is the detailed plan of a lesson with its aims, content, activities, teaching aids, and
time allocation for a particular group of learners, prepared by the teacher before the actual
teaching
  A LP is a description of the objectives for a lesson, the procedure of activities and the materials
which will be used to achieve these objectives.
 Your own definition/s???

Section II/ Some reasons for planning a lesson / making a lesson plan (LP)
Why planning lessons? Views from professional educators

1. Farrell (2002): 2 main kinds of reasons

- Internal: a lesson plan is like a “mental map” (Clark & Peterson 1986) that guides the teacher’s
instructional behaviors.
- External: a LP can please supervisors; or be a guide to a substitute teacher.
(Farrell, T. S. C. (2002). Lesson planning. In J.C. Richards & W.A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology
in language teaching: An anthology of current practice (pp. 30-39). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.)

2. Purgason (1991): Lesson planning is useful in 4 main ways:

A LP is…..
- A mechanism for making decision
- A reminder or map in class
- Part of a log of what will be or has been taught
- A guide for substitute teaching, or for observation or course evaluation.
(Purgason, K. B. (1991). Planning lessons and units. In Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed.), Teaching
English as a second or foreign languages (pp. 195-215). Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.)

Benefits that teachers get from planning lessons

1) To make the teacher aware of the aims and language contents of the lesson.
2) To help the teacher distinguish the various stages of a lesson and to see the relationship
between them so that the lesson can move smoothly from one stage to another.
3) Proper lesson planning gives the teacher opportunity to anticipate potential problems that
may arise in class so that they can be prepared with some possible solutions or other options for
the lesson.
4) Lesson planning gives teachers, especially novice teachers, confidence in class.
5) The teacher also becomes aware of the teaching aids that are needed for the lesson.
6) Lesson planning helps teachers to think about the relative value of different activities and
how much time should be spent on them. The teacher soon learns to judge lesson stages and
phases with greater accuracy.
7) The plan, with the teacher’s comments and corrections, provides a useful, time-saving
reference when the teacher next plans the same lesson.
8) Lesson planning is a good practice and a sign of professionalism.
(https://sites.google.com/site/theteachersetofinstruments/home/nine-most-significant-
topics/micro-and-macro-lesson-plan and
http://wenku.baidu.com/view/38402678a26925c52dc5bf00.html)

Section III/ Planning Process: Things to consider

Macro Planning vs. Micro Lesson Planning
 Macro planning is planning over a longer period of time, for instance, planning for a whole
program or a whole-year course.
 In a sense, macro planning is not writing lesson plans for specific lessons but rather helping
teachers get an overall feeling or idea about the course and also get familiarized with the context
in which language teaching takes place.

Macro planning involves:

1) Knowing about the course:

The teacher should get to know which language areas and language skills should be taught or
practised in the course, what materials and teaching aids are available, and what methods and
techniques can be used.
2) Knowing about the institution:
The teacher should get to know the institution’s arrangements regarding time, length, frequency of
lessons, physical conditions of classrooms, and exam requirements.
3) Knowing about the learners:
The teacher should acquire information about the students’ age range, sex ratio, social background,
motivation, attitudes, interests, learning needs and other individual factors.
4) Knowing about the syllabus:
The teacher should be clear about the purposes, requirements and targets specified in the syllabus.
5) Knowing about the textbook:
The teacher should know the textbook well in terms of its philosophy of teaching, organization of
learning contents, major topics, recommended teaching methodology, unit components and ways of
assessment.
6) Knowing about the objectives:
The teacher should get to know what learners are expected to achieve and able to do after one
semester or a year’s learning.
Macro planning provides a general guidance for language teachers, but it is not enough for good
teaching. Teachers still need to plan each unit or lesson in detail in order to teach effectively and
confidently in the classroom.

Micro planning
Micro planning is planning for a specific unit or a lesson, which usually lasts from one to two
weeks or forty to fifty minutes respectively.
Micro planning should be based on macro planning, and macro planning is apt to be modified as
lessons go on.

Micro lesson planning – What to ask?

• What are the objectives of the lesson?
• What is the main topic of the lesson?
• What vocabulary do I want to teach them?
• How can I explain the activities?
• What order should I teach the activities?
• How much should I review what they've already done?
• How can I arouse their interest?
• How can I challenge them?
• What problems might I have?
• How much detail do I need on my plan?
• (Please add your own questions)

NOTE: find at least one real lesson plan (from your teachers or in some websites and print it out and
bring to the next class in week 2).
WEEK 2: Components of a lesson plan

Section I/ Components of a lesson plan

Adapted from Thaine, C. 2010 . Teacher Training Essentials. Cambridge: Cambridge and ELT 2
textbook
1. Class Description (level, class or date for reference purposes)
2. Time (overall time for the lesson)
3. Time table fit: (How the lesson is connected to the other lessons)
4. (Aims and) Objectives:
5. Assumed Knowledge
6. Anticipated Problems
7. Teaching Aids
8. Procedure (stages, time allocation, activities, techniques, interaction types, etc.)
9. Evaluation/ Comment (can be added for future reference)

Adapted from Beth Lewis,

http://k6educators.about.com/od/lessonplanheadquarters/tp/8_steps_lp.htm

1. Objectives and Goals: precise goals for Ss to accomplish after the lesson
2. Anticipatory set: what T will present to Ss before the direct instruction of the lesson begins
3. Direct Instruction: how T will present the lesson's concepts to Ss (activities with logical
sequence and suitable time allotted)
4. Guided Practice: Ss are given a chance to practice and apply the skills taught through the
direct instruction stage
5. Closure. This is the brief review of the lesson contents
6. Independent practice: through homework and assignments Ss will demonstrate whether or not
they absorbed the lesson's learning goals.
7. Required Materials and Equipment: the supplies required to help Ss achieve the stated lesson
objectives.
8. Assessment and Follow-Up: The assessment section is one of the most important parts of all

Adapted from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeCWdPZB0Bk

Front page:
① Background information: class description, level of proficiency, assumptions…
② Teaching aims/ objectives: what language components to present, what communicative
skills to practice, what activities to conduct and what materials and teaching aids to be used
③ Language contents: topics, grammar, vocabulary, functions, and skills (listening; speaking;
reading and writing)…
④ Teaching aids: realia, PowerPoint, handouts…
Procedure pages:
⑤ Stages: major steps that language teachers go through in the classroom) and procedures
(detailed steps in each teaching stage)
⑥ End of lesson summary:
⑦ Optional activities and assignments:
⑧ Layout of the blackboard:
⑨ Teacher’s after-class reflection:
Other LP templates can be found at
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LessonTemplate.htm
Section II/ Evaluating a lesson plan and their components
Core components and optional components:
Core components
 Class Profile/ Description
 Objectives
 Materials / Equipments
 Procedures
 Assessment/ Evaluation
 …
 (As you are learning to become a teacher, add other components that you think important)

In short:
T writes the lesson plan as a teaching tool to help him/ her in class, not for ‘show’. Therefore, it
should:
- include all the information which T can’t hold in his/ her head.
- include answer keys, words to pre-teach, clear examples, instructions, checking questions, etc.

Practice: Matching and reading activities

- Match the components of a lesson plan with their descriptions on pp. 29-30 and p.38.

- Read Ben’s notes on p.37 (2.3. Worksheet: LP and components) and do part A and B.)

A. Ben is a teacher-student who has just begun a teacher training course. Look at his notes
below. Has he noted everything down correctly? Make any necessary changes.
1. Decide whether the learners will be working alone, in pairs or in groups for each task.
2. Estimate how long each task will take.
3. Be clear about what you want to achieve.
4. There’s nothing you can do about things going wrong in the lesson.
5. Think about what learners have done in previous lessons and what they’ll do in future ones.
6. Getting tasks in a logical order is really important.
7. Research and make notes on the vocabulary and grammar I plan to teach.
8. Just start teaching from wherever the learners are in the course book. There’s no need for other
teaching aids.
9. Indicate key information on learners – age, national, strengths and weaknesses.

B. Each of Ben’s notes relates to a component in a formal lesson plan. Match the notes from
A with the components below.

A. Aims and subsidiary lesson aims …………….

B. Time table fit …………….
C. Anticipated problems and solutions …………….
D. Materials and resources …………….
E. Language analysis …………….
F. Class profile …………….
G. Procedure …………….
H. Interaction …………….
I. Timing …………….
(Source: Thaine, 2010)