The Real Work Of A Lesson Plan
Let’s agree on being sensible teachers entering classrooms with a notebook or a sheet of paper with some appropriate notes scribbled on them. The question is not to plan or not to plan. That’s out of the question. The questions that I would pose are how detailed should these notes be? What part do they play in the lesson? Should every step of the plan be followed? Should you allow yourself to be guided by the plan or should you allow your lesson to flow according to the plan? That is, should you allow yourself some room for improvisation? I do.
Still, what I know about lesson planning comes from the methodology classes that we had at teacher training university where I studied. Let’s face it – the knowledge is rather basic. We were given the big picture of what a well-structured lesson should look like. Hence, I publicly admit that I have never written a lesson plan in such a detailed way as to note timing of every section, let alone write up my exact words for introducing these sections. Frankly speaking, I’m rather scared of going on a CELTA course for this very reason. Dissecting a lesson will not appeal to me and I might as well fail, and of course failure is something a teacher fears so much. I have a feeling that this skill of writing in-depth lesson plans could be very helpful, so, to my regret, I’m held back from further development due to my unwillingness to welcome change.
Having worked in the profession for almost eight years, I have shaped an image of what a perfectly suited lesson plan is for me. This perfectly suited lesson plan reminds me of a to-do list. There are points mentioning activities I plan to do, along with explanations of how to conduct this or that activity, as well as NB (nota bene) points I want to remind myself not to forget or want to remind students to pay attention to — and that’s it. The one core principle that is an absolute must for me to stick to is meaningful connections. Logic, consistency and clear-cut structure are crucial. In an ideal lesson plan, tasks are interrelated and help meet lesson objectives. It’s also important that a lesson aims at practising several skills rather than just one, thus providing multifaceted language experience and loading. Yet the lesson itself could be a flow of activities, pre-planned or spontaneously arising in my mind. In the class itself, students’ reactions play a great role as well. A teacher needs to be sensitive to this emotional aspect of a class and easily adjust.
Maybe it’s not planning that I would speak of as being important, but rather an ability to structure a lesson in such a way that at the end of it, students have a clear and complete idea of what the lesson has just been about. Additionally, students should be able to see how the teacher has managed to interweave this particular lesson into the pattern of lessons that make up a course.
A lesson plan can be long or short, detailed or sketchy, but it should do its work.
Hi Anna!
I agree with you that the essence of a lesson plan is not the plan itself, but rather the thinking that takes place to make it, the ability of structuring a lesson and knowing where you plan to go and how you plan to get there.
I think it’s also good to keep in mind that it’s important to keep your “plan” open and flexible to unexpected teaching opportunities in class. Just as it is important to be able to do a lesson plan, it’s important to be able to drop it if it doesn’t work or if something more interesting comes up in class.
Great post!
Hugs,
Ceci
Hi Ceci!
I echo every word of yours. Flexibility is such an important quality for a teacher. I think that once a teacher feels at ease at a lesson, it is bound to come round!
Thanks!=)
Hugs,
Ann
Hi Anna,
I agree with this comment as wll.. you know, there are times when a teacher would spend hours timing each section of the class time very intricately, but is compelled to diverge from that when starts teaching!
It could be because of a new idea or a method that would best suit the learning situation, or simply you discover that some students struggle with a point or woulld ask for an alternative methodology.. so yes, flexibility is a key! and a must!
So yes for logical connections between methodology points and no for long, unrealistically-timed lesson plans.. I think this achievable through enough experience in the field..
Mahmood
Hello Mahmood,
you’re right, experience play such a great role in this!
Thank you for visiting the blog and leaving your comment. I can say that it’s truly wonderful to see that your views (my views) are being shared by other teachers, too!
Best,
Ann
Hi Anna
Love your post!
You have made me found a new perspective in planning a lesson! So lucky to have you as one of my PLN.
Big Hug
Icha
Oh Icha, you’re the ever-shining aza-aza part of my PLN!!=)
Happy you’ve found some of my thoughts useful!
Hugs,
Ann
Sounds to me like you’ve got the perfect lesson plan, Ann! Congratulations on a fabulous post!
Thanks Chiew, you’ve made me blush=) All I did was being “brutally honest”)
Hello Anna!
Thank you for your post, concise and to the point!
As a CELTA graduate, I must assure you that the lesson planning though toilsome at times isn’t a really big problem. In fact, what it teaches you is the better timing skills, and this is valuable. I should admit that throughout the course it was timing not the lesson planning that was my biggest challenge. And actually this was the reason why I got grade B not A.
However, you shouldn’t postpone taking CELTA on the ground of your fear of detailed planning. CELTA is a really good course that will help you to shape and summarise your rich teaching experience. Moreover, let me reveal a secret to you: all CELTA graduates and even CELTA trainers drop these tiresome lesson planning and do something like you have just described. So go ahead and take CELTA. It’s great fun and good help! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
Good luck!
Hi Sasha!
You know, I can always think of as many obstacles preventing me from getting on a CELTA course as I can, and I will, until I feel YES, now’s the time!) Somewhere very deep I’m sure I will manage lesson planning with little effort, having had some experience, knowing the basics..The ultimate reason for finding minor hurdles is the fact..that I probably don’t like formal learning that much any more..I know, I know, CELTA will be different, but I need the time and right amount of motivation.
I will go ahead and get it. One day=)
Many thanks for reading and commenting!!
Hope to see you some time in June, right?)
Ann
Hi Anna,
Well put. You clearly like thinking on your feet in class, and I would think that is essential for teaching physicists, who have to live in a world of imagination. I observe inflexible teachers sticking to their plans all too often. They remind me of an orchestral conductor who must continue until the end of the piece despite the fact that the musicians got lost and stopped playing near the beginning. Continue your spontaneity and improvisation and everyone will get to the end.
Cheers,
Gareth
Hi Gareth,
You’re right, would-be physicists are big thinkers and also very smart and inquisitive, it’s amazing to learn together with them and from them. It’s crucial to be open-minded in all senses in our class, and I”m teaching them this flexibility and openness along with the language.
Thank you for this wonderful comment! =)
Best,
Ann
Spaceba, I agree that the ability to balance all elements of learning,especially the connections are key. Beginning teachers perhaps need more structure and guidance, while master teachers continue to seek creative strategies and have a deep knowledge of what has already worked. Less road map, more driving!
You’re so right,Kelly! Novice teachers,just like those more experienced but in a bit more intense way, have to feel confident in a class. Structure, in the meantime, is key for all!!
Love the Russian bit) Pojaluista!)
Cheers,
Ann
Nice article! Thanks for sharing your experience in this website. There are lot of ideas found in your website.
Thank you, Jennifer, for checking the blog,reading and commenting!
Hope will find a lot of useful ideas here!
Stay tuned.
Ann
Totally agree! This kind of rather anal rettentive obsession with timing and OFSTED enforced bureacratic detail is what has smothered creative teaching in the last decade or so. There’s an art to teaching but you won’t find it in a 4 page lesson plan.
Creative teaching is what I vote for.
Thanks, David, for being honest in return to an honest post!)
Hi, Anna,
I feel the same way. Take a look at this blog posting from the TESOL blog and the subsequent comment thread. I think the key is really for new teachers just getting established in routines . . . TESOL Blog posting on Lesson Planning
Hi Joe,
thanks for the link – and again I see that so many teachers around feel the same way, more or less..There should be some teachers though, I”m sure, who believe in the necessity of very detailed lesson planning – and I would love to read their comments and viewpoints.
“at the end of it, students have a clear and complete idea of what the lesson has just been about”
Hear Hear!
As a counselor I’ve seen lessons full of “special effects” but at the end the students didn’t really know what it was about!
GREAT!
Naomi
Thanks, Naomi =)
“special effects” – love how you put it! Right, it’s important to know where to stop and not to get too much into it!
Definitely agree.
lesson plan should be flexible.
As we will use it to teach several classes which consist of various types of students.
The point is our students understand the materials.
It’s interesting that I never use the same lesson plans. From year to year I vary activities and resources I use, staying of course within the framework of the syllabus I have to stick to (topics, grammar we need to cover). Very often I find it that activities which work well with some groups of students will just be lost upon others! So indeed, flexibility is key!
Hi Anna,
The topic is really interesting. When I started teaching I was trained to make very detailed plans of my lessons and timing is just a small part of it. My usual plan consisted of the name of teh activiity, the interaction pattern, procedure, ads and timing finally. It took 2-3 pages and I followed every step. I think it helps any young teacher to feel confident in the lessons. No doubt. Later our plans become less detailed and we can skip timing column. I usually plan and save the info on the computer))) When I take another group I find the plan I need and just correct it and sometimes I feel shocked because I will never perform the same lesson again. I can see how my teaching has impoved! so I find writing plans really worth making!
Hello, Oxana,
thank you for your reply! Isn’t it so interesting that all teachers have their own ways of doing things?) Personally, I never save plans on computer, I can save worksheets, texts, quizzes, but I often find out that I don’t very often get back to these=) See my reply to Grego above!
I believe in freedom. Choose what’s good for you, what improves your teaching, what works for your students!
Thank you for sharing your secrets of planning! I so much appreciate this communication that’s going on on this blog!
Best,
Ann
Hi Anna,
While I was studying, I used TES, looking at their Lesson Plans . I got an idea of structure but your point about a ‘to-do’ list is crucial. I couldn’t religiously follow their set-plans but found re-writing someone else’s lesson plan helped me come up with new ideas / a new personalized ‘to-do’ list of my own.
Hi!
Thanks for the link. It’s an interesting angle to view planning from, working on somebody else’s plan and re-writing it. I’d love to try it, actually.
Thanks for dropping by!
Lovely post Anna,
I have always tried to make a short term plan for my lessons, yet it never worked, lack of time, lack of interest, new things on the market or internet, or my passion to create some new material. I must admit I had hardly taught a class without a certain plan in mind, I would have liked to be able to be a little freer, which does not mean I have not been flexible, because I have thrown my plans into the dust bin many times, and we went to walk in the nearby park or went to Starbucks to share some coffee or went to the balcony because the sun was shining and we could not watch it from inside. Now, in this especial moment with the power of sharing and learning from our PLC/N I can only reflect on the class and then see what I will be doing when I see my student again.
I keep worksheets and quizzes and some lesson plans and exam models, videos, podcasts, but I don’t spend too much time planning my class agenda, my students take me to unexpected learning opportunities.
I am working on PC-keeping, reflecting upon best ways to save the resources, so can easily find them when I need them. I would like to find my video, let’s say, about Tom Hanks as easily as I can find my blue sweater on the second shelf on my closet!
Thanks again Anna, my comment is longer than your wonderful reflection! OUCH!
Debbie
Hi Debbie!
I am terrible at keeping materials, both paper and online and ideas – I have like a hundred notebooks (lol u know that)) for that purpose, and files, and folders, and various apps, but I just know it’s all a mess)) every class and every student for me almost always means a new approach and a new resource. There’s always something better out there than what i’ve already tried!)
I hope one day I manage to figure out my one perfect way of storing elt stuff)
Thanks for reply!
Cheers
Hi Anna,
You are right when saying that the important aspect of a plan is not the plan as such but how is it structured to impart knowledge efficiently. Only then i believe learning is made possible for the learner.
Thanks for the post.
Bye. Britto.
Hi Britto,
It’s good to see so many teachers feel the same as I do. It’s great there are teachers who are ready to act along the same lines.
Thanks for your comment!