How To Write A Lesson Plan
Before any class, in order to have a successful lesson, you need to properly prepare. One of the vital parts of preparing for any class is to write a lesson plan. A lesson plan is a simple document that lays out the overall blueprint for the class. It will help you to stay on topic and ensure that the overall concepts are understood by the students. Some schools and employers may even require you to submit your lesson plan ahead of time. However, when you are first starting out as a new English teacher, writing a good lesson plan can be difficult. Don’t worry, we have you covered! Here is the basic layout for a good lesson plan.
Section One and Two:
The top of the lesson plan should include the basic information: your name, the school, grade level, week, date, subject, and unit. The next section should be the overall objectives (what the students should be able to do at the end of class). For example, “The students should be able to understand the target vocabulary and use it in their daily lives”. In this section, you should also include the target vocabulary (5-10 vocab words/concepts) and the materials that will be used in the lesson.
Section Three:
The third section is the warm-up. What warm-up activity will you use to review the previous lesson? Will this be a fun game or singing a song? Detail the activity in this section and include how much time you are allocating to the activity.
Section Four:
The fourth section will be the majority of the class where you present the concepts and/or vocabulary to the students. What vocabulary/target language are you focusing on and how are you presenting it. As in the third section, you must include how much time you are allocating to presenting the vocabulary.
Section Five:
The next section is dedicated to the remainder of the class time and what activity you are using to further drill the vocabulary. In other words, what fun game you are going to play to reinforce the vocabulary? This can also be videos or songs that the students will watch or sing to. Be sure to detail how the game will be played in detail as well as how points will be tracked. As with sections three and four, write how much time will be dedicated to the game.
Section Six:
The last section of the lesson plan should be focused on how you will be assessing students. Unfortunately, part of teaching is testing the student’s ability and progress. In this section, write exactly how you will be doing this. Will you be calling on students at random to answer questions or will you assess them based on their participation in the game?
Overall, when you write the lesson plan, be sure to remember that it is a guideline. You do not need to follow the lesson plan exactly and do not stress if you go over the time for an activity. Remember, each class and lesson is different. However, by following this overall layout for a lesson plan, you will be setting yourself up for success!
Want some extra help? Be sure to download this PDF with the basic layout of the lesson plan!
Have any specific questions regarding lesson planning? Don’t be afraid to leave a comment below and one of our specialists will be happy to help!
