Unit 20

20.2 Key concepts

Look at the lesson plan components and the questions below. Which components do
you think should always appear? Which ones may only appear sometimes?

The main components of a lesson plan show us what the lesson is for (the aims),
what the teacher and the learners will do during the lesson and how they will do it (the
procedures). Other components of the plan, for example, the timing of different stages
or the profile of the group, help us to think about possible problems and remind us of
things we need to remember about the learners.

Here are some ways a lesson plan helps the teacher.

Before the Writing down the aims and the procedures for each stage of the lesson
lesson helps us to make sure that we have planned the clearest and most logical
sequence to enable us to achieve those aims.

During The plan can also help us to check timing (the amount of time we plan for
the lesson each stage) and to check that the lesson is following the sequence we
decided on and remind us what to do next.

After the We can keep the plan as a record of what happened, making any changes
lesson necessary to show how the lesson was different from the plan. We can
then use the plan and notes to help plan the next lesson.

When we plan a lesson, we ask ourselves a number of questions.

Lesson plan components

Class profile Who are we planning the lesson for?

from The TKT Course Modules 1, 2 and 3 Online by Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness and Melanie Williams
© Cambridge University Press 2011
Timetable fit How is the lesson connected to the last lesson and/or the
next one?

Main aim(s) What do we want learners to learn or to be able to do by the

end of the lesson?

Subsidiary aims What else do learners need to be able to do during the lesson
to enable them to achieve the main aim?

Stage aims What is the purpose of each stage of the lesson?

Personal aims What aspects of our own teaching do we want to develop or

improve?

Assumptions What do we think learners already know or can already do

related to the aims?

Anticipated problems What may learners find difficult in the lesson? What may they
not be used to doing? What may they not feel confident
about?

Possible solutions What action will we take to deal with the anticipated
problems?

Teaching aids, What should we remember to take to the lesson?

materials, equipment

Procedures What are the tasks and activities for each stage?

Timing What length of time will we need for each stage?

Interaction patterns In which ways will learners work at different stages, i.e.
individually, in pairs, in groups, as a whole class?

Homework What further work will learners need to do before the next
lesson?

Some lesson plans may not include all of these components. But when weʼre planning
lessons, itʼs always important to ask ourselves these questions. So all the components

from The TKT Course Modules 1, 2 and 3 Online by Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness and Melanie Williams
© Cambridge University Press 2011
together give us a good way of checking that we have thought about our learners and
about the lesson, and anticipated any difficulties that might arise. For example, we might
plan a mingle as a way of practising specific question forms, anticipate that students
may find a quick way of completing the task without practising the target language, and
work out some extra instructions to remind them what they have to do.

from The TKT Course Modules 1, 2 and 3 Online by Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness and Melanie Williams
© Cambridge University Press 2011