Components for a lesson plan 7

These features are particularly important in a CLIL lesson plan, because they help ensure that
you have considered the additional language support strategies your learners need. How often
do you take each one into consideration?

The language the learners need

I always take this into consideration and plan accordingly.

I sometimes take this into consideration and plan accordingly.

CorrectI never take this into consideration and don't plan for it.

Components for a lesson plan 7

These features are particularly important in a CLIL lesson plan, because they help ensure that
you have considered the additional language support strategies your learners need. How often
do you take each one into consideration?

The language the teacher needs, including questions

I always take this into consideration and plan accordingly.

CorrectI sometimes take this into consideration and plan accordingly.

I never take this into consideration and don't plan for it.

Components for a lesson plan 7

These features are particularly important in a CLIL lesson plan, because they help ensure that
you have considered the additional language support strategies your learners need. How often
do you take each one into consideration?

Language demands of the lesson and key subject vocabulary

I always take this into consideration and plan accordingly.

CorrectI sometimes take this into consideration and plan accordingly.

I never take this into consideration and don't plan for it.
Components in action 1
In the previous section you considered some of the additional features of a CLIL lesson plan that can
support learners with language demands in CLIL. You’ll now think about what these features involve
in practice. To begin, look at these eight techniques for providing language support in a CLIL lesson
plan.
Do you recognise techniques from your own teaching? In the next activity you’ll see some examples
in a lesson plan.
How many of these techniques do you use? Can you think of practical examples you do for each
technique?

1. Stages within stages, e.g. pre-, while and post-reading tasks

2. Procedures: what the teacher and learners do at each stage in terms of input and output
3. Language demands of the lesson and key subject vocabulary (CALP)
4. Language the teacher needs, including questions to ask
5. Language that learners need (classroom language to complete tasks)
6. Language support strategies for each stage (scaffolding)
7. Variety and balance of receptive and productive skills
8. Different forms of assessment, e.g. observation, portfolio, peer or self-assessment

Learning objectives

By the end of the lesson pupils will:

 know that water and air resistance slow an object down when it moves through water or
air and that the shape of an object affects the size of this resistance
 plan investigations with an understanding of the importance of controlling variables and
of collecting an appropriate range of evidence, observations and relevant data in a
systematic manner
 use simple diagrams and charts to show relationships, chains and processes and to
record observations and conclusions.


 Vocabulary and language



 air resistance, gravity

to spin, to push, to pull, to slow down, to drop, to attach
blade, paper clip, spinner
We will...
The pattern in our results is…
The more… the faster…


  Giving instructions


 Ask children to stand up and turn round, faster and faster. Tell them they are spinning.
 Give the children the instructions for making a spinner. Show them an example of a spinner
or the picture in the book.
 Give them the gyrocopter template on card and ask them what they have to do. Cut along
the darker lines. Then cut down the middle to make two blades. Bend the blades back in
opposite directions.
 Ask the children to work in pairs to help each other to make a spinner each.

Reporting results

When they have made the spinners, tell the children to find out what happens when they are
dropped from a height (standing height is sufficient).
Ask the children to share their experiences. Ask questions such as:

 'What happened when you dropped the spinners?' Provide language in form of closed
question alternatives if you want to help with language – 'Did they stay in the air or did
they fall to the ground?'
 'Why do you think the spinners do not drop straight to the ground?' You are looking for
children to explain the idea of air resistance pushing upwards and gravity pulling the
spinners to the ground.


 Predicting results


 Ask the children to predict what would happen if they put more paper clips on the spinner:
‘What do you think would happen (predict) if you put more paper clips on the spinner?’
 Tell the children to share their predictions with their partner.
 Write the following sentence on the board: ‘We predict that if we put more paper clips on the
spinner it will/would…’


 Setting up the investigation



 Learners read the speech bubble in the textbook and discuss the question:
 'How does the number of paper clips affect the time it takes for the spinner to fall to the
ground?''
 Remind the children about the need to think about what they have to change and measure,
and what they keep the same.
 'What are you going to change?’ (the number of paper clips)
 'What are you going to keep the same?’ (the spinner)
  'What are you going to measure?’ (the time it takes for the spinner to fall)
 Give the children a table to complete with the number of paper clips and the time to fall.  


 Experiment


 Tell the children to talk in pairs and decide how they will carry out the activity.
 Ask several pairs to tell you what they think they will do. Provide a sentence starter if
needed: ‘We will/are going to…’
 Remind them that they must write down their results in the table.
 As the children are carrying out their task, go around and check what the children are doing,
assessing, encouraging and questioning.


 Explaining results


 Tell the children to look at their table. Ask them: 'Do you notice something in your results.
Can you see a sequence? A pattern?'
 Learners share their ideas with the rest of the group.  
 Learners write their sentences on their individual whiteboards.
 Tell them to use the following sentence starter and write it on the board: 'The pattern in my
results is…'

Extending investigation

Encourage learners to brainstorm other questions that they could answer using the spinners.
Examples of questions are:

 How does the length of the spinner affect how fast the spinner falls?
 How does the length of the spinner blades affect how fast the spinner falls?
 Which material makes the best spinner?


 Round-up


 Bring the class to plenary to evaluate the session. Recap on lesson objective and ask
children to draw traffic lights on their mini-whiteboard to indicate how they got on.
 Green = I found it easy.
 Amber = I needed some help.
 Red = I found it difficult and need more practice.

Components in action 3
Look at these extracts from the science lesson plan. Match the extracts with the eight
strategies.

1. Stages within stages, e.g. pre-, while and post-reading tasks

2. Procedures: what teacher and learners do at each stage in terms of input and output
3. Language demands of the lesson and key subject vocabulary (CALP)
4. Language the teacher will need, including questions to ask
5. Language that learners will need (classroom language to complete tasks)
6. Language support strategies for each stage (scaffolding)
7. Variety and balance of skills: receptive and productive
8. Different forms of assessment, e.g. observation, portfolio, peer or self-assessment

Expand Text

Round-up:

Bring the class to plenary to evaluate the session. Review lesson objective and ask learners to

draw traffic lights on their mini-whiteboard to indicate how they got on: Green = I found it easy.

Amber = I needed some help. Red = I found it difficult and need more practice.

 Correct8. Different forms of assessment