Lesson planning

An outline of the content

1. Introduction
2. The definition of “lesson plan “
3. The purpose of a lesson plan
4. What to consider while planning
5. The components of a lesson plan
6. The principles of good lesson planning
7. What we should put on a plan
8. Lesson plan template

1-Introduction
Lesson planning is one of the most important principles of good teaching. I strongly believe
that:

Fail to plan = Plan to fail

Planning a lesson helps a teacher to be more organised, efficient and effective.

A lesson plan is like a road map for a trip that you and your students take. The final
destination can’t be reached without carefully planning each step along the way. The final
step is found in the lesson objective.

2-What is a lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a teaching tool that helps a teacher achieve the specific objectives and meet
the time lines associated to the delivery of the lesson content.

A lesson plan is a document which a teacher refers to while working as it tells them where
they should be going. Moreover, it forms a record of what has been taught.
3-The purpose of a lesson plan
For teachers:
1. It is used as a guide for teachers. It provides directions for them to make them clear
on the procedures to follow.
2. It creates a logical sequence of a lesson.
3. It helps teachers keep good class management.
4. It gives a sense of security and confidence to teachers.
5. It shows a level of professionalism and commitment of a teacher.
6. It can be used for “covering”.

For learners
1. It creates a structured lesson for the learner.
2. It creates an image of credibility for the teacher.
3. The learner enjoys the well organised work.
4. Learners realise they are taken good care of.

4-What to consider while planning

Before you start planning a lesson, one should consider the following questions in order
to achieve their task as expected.

1.4 Who am I teaching?

A teacher should tap into the prior knowledge of the students to be able to put the
objectives of the lesson into a measurable and observable frame and connect the
content of the new lesson to previous knowledge.

2.4 What am I teaching?

The question is related to the objectives of the lesson. An objective consists in the
specific measurable performance of the students. It is what teachers expect their
students to be able to do in a way that they can see it and test it. In other words, how
the students can use the language, not what they will know about the language.
The teachers’ objectives must be:
2.4 a- Specific: i.e. clearly defined and they specify what the learner should do with
the content.
2.4 b-Relevant: Aligned to the learning standards, appropriate for the age group and
the ability level of the students.
2.4 c-Attainable: It means that they can be achieved.
 2.4 d-Measurable: The teacher can assess what the students can do with the content
and how they use the content, not what they know. We cannot measure knowledge.
2.4 e- Time bound: They can be completed within the allocated time.
Focused: They should not be introduced along with other contents.

3.4 How shall I teach it?

There are many aspects one should bear in mind while dealing with this question:
3.4 a -Motivation: How you will get your students excited about and keen on what
they are learning. In other words, how you get them hooked in the lesson.
3.4 b- Accommodation: to what extent you can make them feel comfortable in class
and enjoy the lesson.
3.4 c-The teaching approach: How you are going to convey the message. This
includes the teaching techniques and the learning styles or differentiation strategies
(All learners are not the same).Variety in teaching is the key to engagement.
3.4 d-The material used for teaching: The various teaching aids used in the
classroom cater for the needs of different students.
3.4 e-Procedures: It is the process of sequencing the steps a teacher takes to deliver
the content. Sequencing describes what will happen during the lesson, the order in
which it happens, and how it will transition between activities. It tells us when is the
best time to do an activity and what is the logical but meaningful way to organize a
lesson. The common aspect of a good sequencing follows this structure:

Warm up Introduction Presentatio Practice Evaluation Application

to the class n of activity of the to a
topic material practice relevant
activity

3.4 f- Class engagement: That means whether a teacher is targeting the whole class
or a small group or groups of 3 or 4 pupils etc.
7-Timing: The time allocated to the whole lesson in general and to each activity in
particular.
3.4 g- Outside/previous factors: The weather conditions/the previous class/the time
of the current class.

4.4 How will I know if my students understand what I have taught them?
After class, we need to know if our students understood the lesson. To know how far
they absorbed the content and if the objectives are met, we conduct an assessment.
For a good and reasonable assessment, we should adopt a learning style menu. This
means to use multiple forms of assessments.

-Gap filling – Matching – completion – multiple choice – identifying –unscrambling..

4.5 How will they use it in daily life situation?
To achieve this goal, teachers must focus more on guided practice. They should give
the student a chance to practice what they have taught them under their supervision
i.e. a chance to explore the content and apply their learning.

5-The components of a lesson plan

The previous questions along with their answers outline and define the components of a
lesson plan. The required components of an effective lesson plan are as follows:

1- Clear learning objectives

2- Timing
3- Required material
4- Anticipatory set

5- Direct instruction/ Procedures

6- Student practice
7- closure
8- Independent practice
9- Assessment

6-The principles of good lesson planning

6.1-Variety: A lesson should contain several varieties in terms of content, activities,
interaction modes and material to:

-meet different learning styles.

-keep students focused

-avoid monotony

6.2- Coherence: The components of a lesson should be connected and there should
be a smooth transition from one element to another. Moreover, the activities should
build on the previous ones and prepare for the next ones.
6.3-Challenge: Activities shouldn’t be easy to cause boredom nor difficult to generate
frustration but motivating to create engagement.

6.4-Flexibility: The elements of a lesson should be adaptable and can be changed

according to the conditions and circumstances if it doesn’t suit the needs of the
students.

6.5-Balance: Any lesson is a mixture of ingredients. To keep a good balance of the

ingredients, a teacher should cater for the right dosage for the sake of a savoury
lesson.

7- What we should put on a plan

1-Some general information about the class

2-What should happen during the lesson
3-How it should look like
 8- Lesson plan template
Teacher’s name: Date and time:

Class level: Expected number:

Room: Time:

Context: Focus:

Unit: Page: Lesson:

Teaching aids: Skills:

Learners’ objectives: Teachers’ aims:

Anticipated problems for the students: Anticipated problems for the teachers:

Solutions: Solutions:

Lesson development
Phase Procedure Time Interaction
Independent practice: Due:
Homework:
Type of assessment: Due:

Lesson plan template

Teacher’s name: Mr. Basour Date and time: /09/10/2021 at 10.05

Class level: CE6 Expected number: 16

Room: 21 Time: 55 minutes

Context: Present Continuous Tense Focus: Actions around now

Unit: 3 Page: 28 Lesson: 1 b

Teaching aids: Laptop/data show/cards Skills: Integrated skills

Learners’ objectives: By the end of the Teachers’ aims: Improve my elicitation

lesson, the students should be able to techniques/Help students speak more
identify the PC and talk about actions naturally
happening now

Anticipated problems for the students: Anticipated problems for the teachers:
Using the wrong auxiliary verb Laptop may get stuck

Solutions: Strong study phase Solutions: Plan B=> Tell a story

 Lesson development
Phase Procedure Time Interaction
Warming up Play a song/game 5 minutes
Introduction to Anticipatory set 3 minutes
the class topic (Video)
Presentation of Eliciting answers from 10 minutes T--------->S
material students
(Engagement)

Presentation of Board work 10 minutes S--------->T

material Show structure
(Study phase)

Study activity Matching/Gap filling 10 minutes S--------->T

(Guided practice)

Activate activity Language game 15 minutes S -------->S

S--------->T
Independent practice: Due: Wednesday 11th
Homework: (Give reference)
Type of assessment: 10 minutes quiz Due: In a week’s time

Appendix:
For more details, I would like to elaborate on the components of the lesson plan to give an
expanded explanation for those who are interested to know more.

The components of a lesson plan

1. Clear learning objectives
2. Timing
3. Required material
4. Anticipatory set
5. Direct instructions/ Procedures
6. Student practice
7. closure
8. Independent practice
9. Assessment

Clear learning objectives

The lesson's objectives must be clearly defined and in line with the educational standards.
The reason for setting objectives and goals is to make sure you know what you're trying to
accomplish within the lesson. This helps you determine what the students should take away
from the lesson and how you will go about ensuring that they are successful in mastering the
material at hand.

In the Objectives section of your lesson plan, write precise and delineated goals for what
you want your students to be able to accomplish after the lesson is completed.

The objectives should be the ongoing focus of your lesson. Maximize your effort to create
successful learning outcomes with SMART objectives. SMART stands for specific,
measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

Wording samples of precise and delineated goals:

By the end of the lesson, the By the end of the By the end of the lesson, the
students will be able to do.... lesson, the students students will be able to
will able to use..... write.......

To define your lesson's objectives, consider the following questions:

 What will students accomplish during this lesson?

 To what specific level (i.e., 75% accuracy) will the students perform a given task in
order for the lesson to be considered satisfactorily accomplished?
 Exactly how will the students show that they understood and learned the goals of
your lesson? Will this occur through a worksheet, group work, presentation,
illustration, etc?

By thinking clearly and thoroughly about the goals of your lesson, you will ensure that
you are making the most of your teaching time.

Communicating the learning objectives to your students, both verbally and in writing, serves
to motivate them to work with a clear purpose in mind, and it makes it easier for you and
your students to stay on target throughout the lesson.

After you have modelled some examples, allow your students to participate in the process
with you.

Timing
Here, we could speak about the time we should spend on the lesson as a whole or the time
allotted to every step of the lesson. The time when the lesson is taking place is also of great
importance when we consider the general atmosphere of the class. The first hours in the
morning take a different dimension, pedagogically speaking, compared to the last hours in
the afternoon.

Required material

Here, you determine what supplies are required to help your students achieve the stated
lesson plan objectives. Make sure you have everything situated so you’re ready to roll when
your students arrive.

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 your energy to teaching
the lesson.

Your materials list may look something like this:

 Flash cards/handouts/markers/data show/loud speakers/laptop.........

In the Required Materials section, consider:

 What items and supplies will be needed by both the instructor and the students in order
to accomplish the stated learning objectives?
 What equipment will I need in order to utilize as many learning modalities as possible?
(Visual, audio, tactile, kinaestheti, etc.)
 How can I use materials creatively? What can I borrow from other teachers?

Keep in mind that the use of hands-on materials is especially effective in demonstrating
concepts and skills to students. Look for ways to make the learning goals concrete, tangible,
and relevant to students.

Anticipatory set
Before you dig into the meat of your lesson's instruction, it's important to set the stage for
your students by tapping into their prior/ knowledge – previous life experiences, prior
learning, or both – to prepare them for the new concept you’re about to introduce by giving
the objectives a context.

In the anticipatory set section, you outline what you will say and/or present to your
students before the direct instruction portion of the lesson begins. This is a great way for
you to make sure you're prepared to introduce the material and can do so in a way that your
students will relate to easily.

The point is to make connections between what your students already know and what
you're going to teach them. For example, if you’re about to present a lesson on the simple
past, start out by asking your students what they did yesterday or last holiday.

Involve your students by asking them to share their thoughts based on their experience. Be
sure to model plenty of examples as part of your direct instruction.

The purpose of the Anticipatory Set is to:

 Provide continuity from previous lessons, if applicable

 Allude to familiar concepts and vocabulary as a reminder and refresher
 Tell the students briefly what the lesson will be about
 Gauge the students' level of collective background knowledge of the subject to help
inform your instruction
 Activate the students' existing knowledge base
 Whet the class's appetite for the subject at hand
 Briefly expose the students to the lesson's objectives and how you will get them to the
end result

To write your Anticipatory Set, consider the following questions:

 How can I involve as many students as possible, piquing their interests for the subject
matter to come?
 How should I inform my students of the lesson's context and objective, in kid-friendly
language?
 What do the students need to know before they can delve into the lesson plan itself and
direct instruction?
Anticipatory Sets are more than just words and discussion with your students. You
can also engage in a brief activity session to start the lesson plan off in a participatory
and active manner.

Direct instructions /Procedures

If your lesson plan were a hamburger, then the Direct Instruction section would be the all-
beef patty. This is the “meat” of your lesson plan. It is the section where you explicitly
delineate how you will present the lesson's concepts that is included in the lesson objectives
to your students. Your methods of direct instruction could include reading a text, displaying
charts, showing real-life examples of the subject matter, or using props. It's important to
consider the various learning styles within your class to determine what methods of teaching
will best resonate. Sometimes creativity can work well in engaging students and helping
them understand the material. 

Prepare your students for success by pre-teaching key vocabulary words that are essential to
understanding the concept or text you will introduce to them. When students know these
key words in advance, they can focus more of their energy into learning the concept or
understanding the text.

Direct instruction is the stage of the lesson development .Speak clearly and concisely. Less is
more as long as you stay on topic. Use the board or visual aids as you model what you’re
teaching. If the lesson involves a process, then show the process. Speak aloud as you model
through it, explaining each step as you go along.

Be sure to take your time. Modelling is a critical part of direct instruction. When students
watch and listen to you apply the concept, they are much better able to understand what
you're trying to teach them. It is important to model multiple examples of the concept
you're introducing!

When you teach, the key is to gradually release your students from watching you model the
correct application of the concept to allowing them to apply the concept independently. It's
a process!

When determining your methods of Direct Instruction, consider the following questions:

 How can I best tap into the various learning modalities (audio, visual, tactile, kinaesthetic,
etc.) to meet the learning style preferences of as many students as possible?
 What materials (books, videos, visual aids, props, etc.) are available to me for this lesson?
 What relevant vocabulary do I need to present to my students during the lesson?
 What will my students need to learn in order to complete the lesson plan's objectives and
independent practice activities?
 How can I engage my students in the lesson and encourage discussion and participation?
Think outside the box and try to discover fresh, new ways to engage your students' collective
attention to the lesson concepts at hand.

Avoid just standing in front of your students and talking to them. Get creative, hands-on, and
excited about your lesson plan, and your students' interest will follow.

Before you move on to the Guided Practice section of the lesson, check for understanding to
ensure that your students are ready to practice the skills and concepts you have presented
to them.
Student Practice
Student practice consists of 3 steps: guided practice, collaborative practice, and independent
practice.

This 3-step process allows you to gradually release your students from watching you model
the correct application of the concept to allowing them to apply the concept independently.

A/ Guided Practice

Quite literally, this is the time when you oversee and guide students in practicing what they
have learned so far. Under your supervision, the students are given a chance to practice and
apply the skills you taught them through direct instruction. For example, students might
work together in small groups to solve word problems similar to a word problem you
explained during the direct instruction portion of the lesson. 
Guided practice activities can be defined as either individual or cooperative learning. 

After you’ve presented the new concept and modelled a few examples on your own, involve
your students in a few additional examples using the board or smart board. They will gain
confidence as they go through the process with you!

Converse with them through the process as you maintain your role as leader. At this point,
they're still "under your wing" as you walk them through the process, but you're allowing
them to participate in the process with you.

B/ Collaborative Practice

This is when students get to apply the new concept in cooperative activities. This includes
working with a partner, in small groups, or in larger groups.,

Circulate the room as the students participate in collaborative activities. Pause to clarify if
needed. Offer assistance as needed. If you notice an area where many students are confused
or struggling, stop and address this particular point to 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.

Independent Practice
Once students have had the opportunity to apply and practice the concept with their
classmates through collaborative activities, it's time for them to apply and practice the
concept on their own! This is where you can see if they really "got it."
Continue to circulate the room to check for understanding. You will notice which students
have really grasped the concept and which students need you to take them a step back, offer
more guided practice, and then gradually release them again to independent application of
the concept. Now, the students should be able to perform the task and be held accountable
for the lesson's information.

Through homework assignments or other independent assignments, your students will

demonstrate whether they absorbed the lesson's learning goals. Common independent
practice tasks include take-home worksheets or at-home group projects.
Through independent practice, students have a chance to reinforce skills and synthesize
their new knowledge by completing a task on their own and away from the teacher's
guidance.

In writing the Independence Practice section of the Plan, consider the following questions:

 Based on observations during Guided Practice, what activities will my students be able to
complete on their own?
 How can I provide a new and different context in which the students can practice their
new skills?
 How can I offer Independent Practice on a repeating schedule so that the learning is not
forgotten?
 How can I integrate the learning objectives from this particular lesson into future
projects?
Get creative. Try to capture the students’ interest and capitalize on specific enthusiasms for
the topic at hand. Once you receive the work from Independent Practice, you should assess
the results, see where learning may have failed, and use the information you gather to
inform future teaching. Without this step, the whole lesson may be for naught.

Closure
It is not enough to simply say, "Are there any questions?" in the Closure section.

In the closure section, outline how you will wrap up the lesson by giving the lesson concepts
further meaning for your students. Closure is the time when you finalize the lesson and help
your students organize the information into meaningful context in their minds. The closure
process could include engaging the students in a group conversation about the lesson's key
topics or asking individual students to summarize what they have learned.

Similar to a conclusion in a 2 or 3 lines paragraph, 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.

This is how you “wrap it up.” It’s a quick synopsis of the lesson.
Example: “Today we have learned ............................

Assessment
A lesson plan is not complete without the final step of Assessment or The demonstration of
learning (D.O.L.) assessment. This is when you assess the final outcome of the lesson and to
what extent the learning objectives were achieved.
Learning goals can be assessed through quizzes, tests, independently performed worksheets,
cooperative learning activities, hands-on experiments, oral discussion, question-and-answer
sessions, or other concrete means.

The demonstration of learning (D.O.L.) assessment evaluates whether or not your students
met your lesson objectives. It aims to provide you with valuable feedback which should drive
your instruction. Make sure the D.O.L. accurately reflects the learning objectives and allows
your students to apply what they learned during the lesson.

The D.O.L. should always be completed independently without any teacher assistance. It
should take most students no longer than five to ten minutes to complete, and can be a
simple written assignment. Some teachers call it an “exit ticket" to indicate that students
must complete it before they exit the classroom.

Student performance on the D.O.L. tells you if you need to go back and teach again the same
lesson the following day, or if your students are ready to move on to the next lesson

Keep in Mind
Lesson Plans provide you and your students with a clear sense of direction in the classroom.
Remember that they don’t have to be extensive, drawn out plans. They're meant to guide
and assist you in maximizing classroom time.

Avoid the urge to cram excessive amounts of information into one lesson. Remember that a
lesson can be spread out into several days if necessary. Your students will thank you for not
overwhelming them.

Don't forget to use humour as you teach. A sense of humour goes a long way in keeping
students engaged in the classroom!