A good lesson plan
Will set out the context and structure of the lesson.
The Context of a Lesson Plan
Who you are teaching (including age, level,
... [Show More] size of class, and students' backgrounds)
Practical information, such as the timings and place of the lesson
How the lesson fits into a syllabus or course of lessons
The aims and outcomes of the lesson
Any anticipated problems and suggested solutions-- these should focus on problems your students are likely to have with the language you are teaching
The Structure of a Lesson Plan
The timing for each part of the lesson
The stages of the lessons
The specific activity/activities that you will be delivering for that stage
Who will be involved in each activity or the 'interaction pattern'
The resources that you will need to deliver each activity
An analysis of the vocabulary or grammar point you're teaching
You may also be asked to provide a rationale explaining why you chose to teach your lesson in this way
The First Page of the Lesson Plan
Context
Practicalities of Your Lesson
The timing of the lesson
The length of the lesson
Where the lesson is being held
Setting out the practicalities of your lesson means that you can check that you do have all the information that you need, reminds you to choose suitable activities for your lessons, and helps you refer to the material in the future.
Who You Are Teaching
How old are your students?
What level are your students?
How many people are in your class?
What are your students' preferred learning styles?
Relevant background information, such as whether all your students have the same native language, and why your students are learning English
Teaching Young Learners (up to 12 years old)
They usually don't think about learning language consciously but they want to actively participate in the things they see around them and then learn language as part of that process.
Learn best when they're active especially if it's part of a game
Include activities based around actions, songs, movement, and/or story telling
Be sure your lesson will be (1) varied, fun, bright, and interactive (2) fast-paced (3) include lots of different material as they tend to have very short attention spans and (4) highly organized
Teaching Teenagers (13-18)
They want to take responsibility for their own lives and will form views about their education.
They can be very self-conscious and worry about how they appear which can make students anxious about making mistakes. Focus on positive feedback and never single out an individual for making a mistake.
Ensure that your lesson will (1) give students responsibility and independence (e.g. allow them to develop their own set of classroom rules or decide what topics to cover in future lessons) (2) have lots of opportunity for the class to demonstrate their knowledge of the world and what's of interest to them and (3) acknowledge that students are likely to have a whole host of things going on in their lives that you have no idea about, and may be prone to occasional mood swings, shyness, and over-exuberance
Teaching Adults (18+)
Longer attention spans
Can be embarrassed about making mistakes, making them reticent to produce new or difficult language
Can get frustrated when they are not able to say exactly what they intended.
Previous experiences with education will impact their attitude
Generally like to learn through discovery
Ensure that your lesson will (1) provide a supportive and encouraging learning environment (2) include activities that are relevant to their lives (3) deliver information to confirm or reassess their knowledge and (4) offer ways to further their knowledge and follow up on areas that are of interest
Generally, this age range will want to apply new information or skills to real situations and do not wish to learn what they will never use. Use a variety of teaching strategies such as small group problem solving and discussion.
Adults
Give concrete instructions and use activities that focus on classification, ordering, and location of specific objects. Sensory input and game-like activities are an essential part of teaching this age group
Children
Motivation and commitment to learning are becoming conscious decisions made by the student. It is therefore important to gain their cooperation by using teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges
Teenagers
Beginners
You can see progress in each lesson, as vocabulary and grammar take root
Students may have unrealistic expectations and may give up quite easily
It's important to plan and structure lessons to help keep students' confidence and motivation high
Ensure that they will leave the class having learnt at least one new thing -- whether this is an item of vocabulary, a new phrase, or how to conjugate a verb
Include quick reviews and activities to help students see the progress they are making
Intermediate
Learning at this level is less obvious than with beginners who can leave the classroom able to point to specific things that they have learnt
Students can feel that they have reached a plateau and are no longer progressing. As a result, more students give up at this level than at any other
Use a clear structure, showing what you will be teaching each week, month, term, and year. This will help students see where they are going and reflect on how far they have progressed.
Set your students challenges: give them short tasks to see if they have learnt enough to analyze and manipulate a piece of language
Advanced
Help the students explore the depths of the meaning and the subtleties of the language such as turns of phrase, inflections in the voice, colloquial expressions, and inference in what people say and write.
Spend time exploring their interests. You can then build quite complex activities around these areas. For example, you could set up a political debate, review a specific piece of medical research, or discuss whether a player should move to a new football team
Use sound recordings and film to introduce students to a range of different accents and colloquial expressions
Why Might you Teach Mixed Level Classes?
Small schools may not have enough students to form two distinct groups
You may be teaching secondary/high school where students are grouped by age rather than ability
Spiky Profiles
Students who have strengths in some skills but weaknesses in others
Ways to Teach Mixed Classes
Mix it Up
Same House -- Different Floors
What are Friends For?
Mix it Up
Identify the stronger and weaker students in the class, then use different materials for the different groups of students
Same House -- Different Floors
Use the same material with different levels of students, providing that you adjust the outcomes to suit the level
Example: Task could be for students to write what happened yesterday. Beginners could use Simple Past structure such as "I was in the cinema" while higher level students could use Past Continuous structure such as "I was leaving the house when..."
What are Friends For?
Have students help each other
Set up tasks which enable the stronger students to help the weaker ones
Works best in short bursts to avoid strong students from feeling that they are being used at the expense of their own development [Show Less]