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Standard Lesson Plan Format Guide For ESL Teachers
Standard Lesson Plan Format Guide For ESL Teachers
Teaching English, like teaching any subject, requires lesson plans. Many books
and curricula provide advice on teaching English learning materials. However,
most ESL teachers like to mix up their classes by providing their own lesson
plans and activities.
Sometimes, teachers are required to create their own lesson plans when
teaching ESL or EFL at international institutions that are scattered throughout
the world.
Here's a basic template you can follow to help develop your own lesson plans
and activities.
Generally speaking, a lesson plan has four specific parts. These can be repeated
throughout the lesson, but it's important to follow the outline:
1. Warm-up
2. Present
3. Practice focusing on specifics
4. Practice usage in wider context
Warm-Up
Use a warm up to get the brain thinking in the right direction. The warm-up
should include the target grammar/function for the lesson. Here are a few ideas:
Ask small talk questions about the weekend for a lesson on the simple
past
Discuss a hypothetical situation for a lesson focusing on conditionals
Challenge students to describe others in class when working towards
building descriptive vocabulary.
Presentation
The presentation focus on the learning objectives for the lesson. This is the
teacher guided section of the lesson. You might:
Controlled Practice
Controlled practice allows for close observation that the learning objectives are
understood. Controlled practice activities include:
Free Practice
Free practice allows students to "take control" of their own language learning.
These activities should encourage students to explore language with activities
such as:
Class debates
Creating role-plays and acting them out for others
Games focusing on communication skills
Essay writing
Note: During the free practice section, take note of common mistakes. Use
feedback to help everyone, rather than focus on individual students.
Reading selection
Soliciting students' knowledge about a specific point
Teacher-centered explanation
Listening selection
Short video
Student presentation
The presentation should include the main "meat" of the lesson. For example: If
you are working on phrasal verbs, make the presentation by providing a short
reading extract peppered with phrasal verbs.
Utilizing Feedback
Feedback allows students to check their understanding of the lesson's topic and
can be done quickly at the end of class by asking students questions about the
target structures. Another approach is to have students discuss the target
structures in small groups, once again giving students the chance to improve
their understanding on their own.
1. Materials
What will you need to teach this lesson? This includes student supplies
as well as your own. Don’t forget about technology such as your doc cam
and laptop.
Make sure you have everything you’ll need so you’re ready to roll when
your students arrive.
You don’t want to be scrambling around in the middle of a lesson trying to
locate the protractors which you thought were in that bottom cabinet, only
to realize at the last minute that they’re not there.
Having your resources lined up ahead of time saves valuable class time
and gives you great peace of mind. When your materials are in place, you
can devote all of your energy to teaching the lesson.
Your materials list may look something like this:
Materials: lined paper, pencils, rulers, Kagan chips, doc cam, laptop
2. Objective
What exactly do you want your students to be able to do by the end of the
lesson? This should be clearly communicated to your students orally at
the very beginning of the lesson.
Some teachers write their lesson objective on the board as a frame of
reference for both students and themselves.
Communicating the learning objective to your students both verbally and
in writing makes it easier to stay on target throughout the lesson. The
objective should be the ongoing focus of your lesson!
Your objective should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable,
relevant, and time-bound.
Sample SMART Objective:
Students will complete a Venn diagram to compare two Spanish-speaking
cultures, with five common characteristics and five characteristics specific
to each culture.
4. Direct Instruction
This is the “meat” of your lesson plan. It’s where you present the new
concept which is included in the lesson objective.
Speak clearly and concisely. Less is more as long as you stay on topic.
Model, Model, Model.
Use the board or doc cam as you model what you’re teaching. If it
involves a process, show the process. Speak aloud as you model through
the entire process, explaining each step as you go along.
Involve students.
After modeling a few examples on your own, involve your students in a
few additional examples using the board or doc cam. They will gain
confidence as they go through the process with you!
5. Guided Practice
After you’ve presented the new concept, modeled examples, and involved
your class in a few additional ones, your students are ready for guided
practice.
This is where they get to apply the new concept independently and/or in
cooperative activities.
Circulate the room to check for understanding as students work. Pause to
clarify as needed.
If you notice an area where many students are confused or struggling,
stop and address this particular point with the entire class.
If necessary, go back and model a few additional examples, followed by
additional guided practice. You want to make sure your students are
applying the concept correctly rather than practicing mistakes.
6. Closure
This is where you “wrap it up.” It’s a quick synopsis of the lesson.
You may want to ask students to pair share or to share out something
they learned that period, or to provide an example of the concept taught.
Keep it short and sweet.
Example: “Today we learned about metaphors and similes. Tell your
partner one example of a simile and one example of a metaphor.”