Module 7

7.1 Lesson Objectives and Goals

When planning a lesson, you first need to decide on your lesson

objectives, which are steps towards your overall achievement goal.

Your achievement goal is your final goal, your ultimate achievement, your
destination. This means your learners have learned what you set out to
teach them. You will have set this for some time in the future – a specific
date when your intended end goal is achieved. It may be the next day, or
in a few days or it may be several weeks ahead. It all depends on how
much content needs to be covered.

Objectives are the steps you take to achieve that goal.

Example of objectives and achievement goal: Running a marathon

For example, let’s imagine you have never been a runner. But you wake
up on October 1 and decide that you are going to run the Tokyo Marathon
on March 1. Good!

So, running the Tokyo Marathon on March 1 is your final destination, your
achievement goal.

But how do you get to your achievement goal? You need to set down
several steps – objectives – to achieve this.

Objectives such as:

 seeking advice from those who have run a marathon before

 reading a good running book, written by a successful marathon

runner

 researching and buying the right equipment, again with the help of
a regular marathon runner

 deciding on a realistic timeframe for completing your training

 drawing up a training and body strengthening plan and so on.

These are your objectives, the steps you need to take, which will help you
to achieve your achievement goal on March 1.

Here is another brief example in the classroom arena:

Example of objectives and achievement goal: Teaching comparatives and

superlatives

Your achievement goal for your first term with your beginner class
is: To ensure that my learners can utilise a wide range of
common comparatives and superlatives, in speech and writing, relative to
their age and level, by 20th December.

Here is your objective for the first lesson: To introduce my learners to the
comparative form of 2 adjectives (bigger, smaller) and to ensure by the
end of this lesson that they will be able to utilise these forms in speech
and writing.

Notice that your first objective doesn’t mention superlatives. Your learners
need to grasp the comparative form before they move on to the
superlative form. So, you’ll set other objectives on other later days, taking
you step by step to achieving your goal.

SMART Objectives

Your objectives need to be tight.

An effective way to test whether your lesson objective is tight enough is to

use the mnemonic SMART.

This is an aide-mémoire for:

 Specific: Is it clear what I aim to do?

 Measurable: Is it measurable?

 Achievable: Is it achievable?

 Realistic: Is it realistic?

 Time-based: Is it time-based?

A syllabus and a course textbook, if you have one, will give you a general
direction for planning your teaching. However, if there is no syllabus or
coursebook, you will still succeed if you stick to all the practical advice we
offer in this Module.

To decide on a specific objective for a particular lesson, you always need

to think about your learners’ specific learning needs at that time and the
stage they have reached in their learning.

To decide on your objective, you will need to say to yourself:

What do I want my learners to be able to do by the end of the lesson,

assuming they are ready for this?

Your answer, then, will be the objective of your lesson.

Then you must write it down. Your objective might say something like
this: By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to use 3 prepositions
of place (at, in, on) in speech and writing.
Alternative writing might be: To enable the learners to use 3 prepositions
of place (at, in, on) in speech and writing by the end of the lesson.

Don’t get too hung up about the wording. Just make it clear, concise, and
SMART.

So, your objective describes what your learners will be able to do with the
language by the end of the lesson.

One way to verify that an objective is effective is to ensure that the

outcome can be assessed. That is, after the lesson, will you be able to
assess the learners on 3 prepositions of place by correctly forming
questions or answers relating to these 3 prepositions and they will be able
to demonstrate form, meaning and usage. Reflect on all of this – it will set
you on the right path.
7.2 Various Lesson Objective

Objectives may focus on a range of learning needs. They could focus on,
for example:

 A function (e.g. refusing a request)

 A grammatical structure (e.g. the comparative)

 A particular topic or theme (e.g. ordering a meal)

 Developing a language skill (listening, speaking, writing, reading,

pronunciation)

 Listening to a story for pleasure

 Identifying different English accents or dialects

 Encouraging a positive attitude to learning the foreign language

In reality, you may include more than one of these objectives in your
planned lesson plan.

For example, the lesson is set in a train station (situation); the language to
be learned could be making requests (functional language); the specific
language structures could be: I would like a timetable for trains going to
… Please can I have …? Do you have …? All four language skills may be
practised during the lesson.

But stick to one overall (main) objective in the lesson or learners may get
confused. Don’t attempt too much. So, the overall objective of this lesson
could be: By the end of this lesson, my learners will be able to request in
speech a train timetable in the station, using the appropriate language
structures.

Note that you could have more than one objective in a lesson, but these
are likely to be secondary objectives – perhaps a personal objective for
yourself: By the end of this lesson I will also be able to reduce my TTT
(Teacher Talking Time) by using a range of gestures.

Perhaps your Head of Department has suggested to you that you try out
some gestures to reduce your TTT. So, while you are working on the main
lesson objective, you may also have this secondary personal objective
going on in the background. You would still note this on your lesson plan.

This is your personal objective that you are hoping to achieve in addition
to the main objective of: By the end of this lesson, my learners will be
able to request in speech a train timetable in the station, using the
appropriate language structures.

Remember! Some lessons may be introductory, some may continue work

from a previous lesson, some may build on and develop work from an
earlier lesson, some may practise skills learnt in previous lessons, some
may be designed to enrich and extend points made and concepts studied
in previous lessons, some may complete a unit of work and some may be
used for diagnostic assessment. So, your objectives will differ from day to
day and week to week.
7.3 Purpose and Principles of Lesson Planning

The key purpose of a lesson plan is to guide you through your lesson so
that successful learning takes place.

It is a blueprint, a roadmap for success. Put simply, it is a set of notes that

help you to think through what you are going to teach and how you are
going to teach it. It also guides you during and even after the lesson when
you reflect and evaluate how your lesson went.

Time to reflect

Even although you have just started this Module, you will already have
some lesson planning knowledge, reaped from what you have already
covered during this course.

Also, you have already been through many years of schooling in the past.
Think about one of the teachers you had. What do you think your teacher
needed to take into consideration when planning a lesson?

The points are not complicated. They are just common sense. And they
are all practical points.

So what do you think are the key points you need to take into account
when planning a lesson?

Try and do this without looking at the next Section.

Take some time out to make a drink or sandwich and reflect on this.

Then you can return to check your thoughts with what we think below.

Well done!
Here are some practical lesson planning tips. If you follow these, you
won’t go wrong:

1. Plan carefully

To become a competent and effective teacher, you must commit to

planning all your lessons carefully. Plan, plan, and plan again. If you don’t,
it won’t work out well for you or your learners.

2. Don’t wing it

Some teachers go into a classroom without a lesson plan, thinking they

will be able to ‘wing it’. Oh really! As the adage goes, however, If you fail
to plan, you’ll plan to fail. Never get too big for your boots – treat your
learners with respect and fairness.

Spending more time planning a coherent and cohesive lesson before the
lesson will make it easier for you in the classroom (perhaps over several
lessons) as you will not be expending any extra effort trying to figure out
what to do next. This will allow you to attend to your learners in-depth.

Also, the more you teach using effective lesson plans, the less time you
will have to spend intensively planning in the future.

3. Keep your lesson plan tight

Don’t write pages and pages of detail that will be difficult to refer to in the
classroom.

Remember! Don’t describe every step or procedure in intricate detail or

your eyes will be focussing on the plan and not your learners.

4. Keep it clear and simple

Try to make your lesson plan clear and straightforward so you can easily
refer to it. The various steps must be numbered clearly.

Later in this Module, we will introduce you to our full 5 Step Lesson Plan,
where all the steps are numbered. Don’t sub-divide the steps into several
further steps because this is likely to be confusing for you.

A lesson plan should be clear and easy to read during the lesson. Assorted
colours, boxes, and underlining are useful. Use abbreviated notes or bullet
points.

Remember this! Always imagine that if you are ill, you may have to give
your lesson plan to a colleague to teach, so make it clear and
straightforward so that your colleague can teach from your plan if
necessary.

5. Don’t depend on your memory

Incorporate examples of language that you are introducing or practising
within the appropriate step. This will help to remind you as you teach
because it is easy to get a little bit confused.

6. Add variety

Your learners will likely have different strengths and different ways of
learning. Some will learn better by speaking, while others will learn faster
by reading or looking at pictures. Some of them may learn best by
speaking and writing.

By providing your learners with a variety of activities, you will maximise

their opportunities for learning.

In any case, all your learners will benefit from a change of activity during
the lesson. A switch from listening to speaking will immediately invigorate
your learners and give them something new to do.

However, if the speaking goes on too long, they may start to wilt. A switch
to a writing activity will provide the spark to get your learners actively
involved again.

You will soon discover that one activity can be utilised in a variety of ways.
For example, you might start by asking the learners questions, then move
them on to look at a table, then get them to listen to a recording based on
the table and, finally, you might give the learners a writing task based on
the recording/table.

This integration provides variety and a much more interesting and

engaging lesson for your learners.

Some coursebooks seem to concentrate on particular skills. For example,

you may find that your coursebook, if you have one, has a large number
of speaking activities. However, even the most ardent learner does not
want to spend consecutive lessons speaking in pairs and groups.

So, if this is the case with your coursebook, it is essential to supplement it

with your additional activities that cover all the language skills. The
language skills are mutually reinforcing, and it is vital to provide your
learners with practice that includes all the skills as much and as often as
possible.

Your lesson may last 40 minutes, 60 minutes or even longer but, whatever
the length, try to ensure that there is variety. It is normally challenging to
concentrate on learning a new language for 40 minutes if the lesson
consists of only one activity.
A much more successful approach is to divide the lesson into different
portions so that the learners can practise the target language in different
ways.

7. Don’t attempt too much

And remember this: You must not attempt too much in one lesson. If you
do, you will lose your learners. Keep it simple. Focus on the key
points/steps in a logical and sequenced structure; leave subsidiary points
for another day. Don’t add in any new points/steps you haven’t planned.

8. It usually turns out fine

If you haven’t had any teaching experience, lesson planning may seem a
bit challenging. After all, it’s hard to know what to expect, particularly
concerning everything that could potentially go wrong.

It must be said, however, that lots of things will go wonderfully right. The
good news is that even a little bit of practice and experience will bring the
lesson planning process into sharp focus for you.
7.3 Purpose and Principles of Lesson Planning

The key purpose of a lesson plan is to guide you through your lesson so
that successful learning takes place.

It is a blueprint, a roadmap for success. Put simply, it is a set of

notes that help you to think through what you are going to teach and how
you are going to teach it. It also guides you during and even after the
lesson when you reflect and evaluate how your lesson went.

Time to reflect

Even although you have just started this Module, you will already
have some lesson planning knowledge, reaped from what you
have already covered during this course.

Also, you have already been through many years of schooling in

the past. Think about one of the teachers you had. What do you
think your teacher needed to take into consideration when
planning a lesson?

The points are not complicated. They are just common sense. And
they are all practical points.

So what do you think are the key points you need to take into
account when planning a lesson?

Try and do this without looking at the next Section.

Take some time out to make a drink or sandwich and reflect on

this.

Then you can return to check your thoughts with what we think
below.
Well done!

Here are some practical lesson planning tips. If you follow these,
you won’t go wrong:

1. Plan carefully

To become a competent and effective teacher, you must commit to

planning all your lessons carefully. Plan, plan, and plan again. If you don’t,
it won’t work out well for you or your learners.

2. Don’t wing it

Some teachers go into a classroom without a lesson plan, thinking they

will be able to ‘wing it’. Oh really! As the adage goes, however, If you fail
to plan, you’ll plan to fail. Never get too big for your boots – treat your
learners with respect and fairness.

Spending more time planning a coherent and cohesive lesson before the
lesson will make it easier for you in the classroom (perhaps over several
lessons) as you will not be expending any extra effort trying to figure out
what to do next. This will allow you to attend to your learners in-depth.

Also, the more you teach using effective lesson plans, the less time you
will have to spend intensively planning in the future.

3. Keep your lesson plan tight

Don’t write pages and pages of detail that will be difficult to refer to in the
classroom.

Remember! Don’t describe every step or procedure in intricate

detail or your eyes will be focussing on the plan and not your
learners.

4. Keep it clear and simple

Try to make your lesson plan clear and straightforward so you can easily
refer to it. The various steps must be numbered clearly.
Later in this Module, we will introduce you to our full 5 Step Lesson Plan,
where all the steps are numbered. Don’t sub-divide the steps into several
further steps because this is likely to be confusing for you.

A lesson plan should be clear and easy to read during the lesson. Assorted
colours, boxes, and underlining are useful. Use abbreviated notes or bullet
points.

Remember this! Always imagine that if you are ill, you may have to give
your lesson plan to a colleague to teach, so make it clear and
straightforward so that your colleague can teach from your plan if
necessary.

5. Don’t depend on your memory

Incorporate examples of language that you are introducing or practising

within the appropriate step. This will help to remind you as you teach
because it is easy to get a little bit confused.

6. Add variety

Your learners will likely have different strengths and different ways of
learning. Some will learn better by speaking, while others will learn faster
by reading or looking at pictures. Some of them may learn best by
speaking and writing.

By providing your learners with a variety of activities, you will

maximise their opportunities for learning.

In any case, all your learners will benefit from a change of activity during
the lesson. A switch from listening to speaking will immediately invigorate
your learners and give them something new to do.

However, if the speaking goes on too long, they may start to wilt. A switch
to a writing activity will provide the spark to get your learners actively
involved again.

You will soon discover that one activity can be utilised in a variety of ways.
For example, you might start by asking the learners questions, then move
them on to look at a table, then get them to listen to a recording based on
the table and, finally, you might give the learners a writing task based on
the recording/table.

This integration provides variety and a much more interesting and

engaging lesson for your learners.

Some coursebooks seem to concentrate on particular skills. For example,

you may find that your coursebook, if you have one, has a large number
of speaking activities. However, even the most ardent learner does not
want to spend consecutive lessons speaking in pairs and groups.

So, if this is the case with your coursebook, it is essential to supplement it

with your additional activities that cover all the language skills. The
language skills are mutually reinforcing, and it is vital to provide your
learners with practice that includes all the skills as much and as often as
possible.

Your lesson may last 40 minutes, 60 minutes or even longer but, whatever
the length, try to ensure that there is variety. It is normally challenging to
concentrate on learning a new language for 40 minutes if the lesson
consists of only one activity.

A much more successful approach is to divide the lesson into

different portions so that the learners can practise the target
language in different ways.

7. Don’t attempt too much

And remember this: You must not attempt too much in one lesson. If
you do, you will lose your learners. Keep it simple. Focus on the key
points/steps in a logical and sequenced structure; leave subsidiary points
for another day. Don’t add in any new points/steps you haven’t planned.

8. It usually turns out fine

If you haven’t had any teaching experience, lesson planning may seem a
bit challenging. After all, it’s hard to know what to expect, particularly
concerning everything that could potentially go wrong.

It must be said, however, that lots of things will go wonderfully

right. The good news is that even a little bit of practice and
experience will bring the lesson planning process into sharp focus
for you.
7.4 Deciding What to Present for Learning

How do you decide what to present? The answer to this will

depend very much on the teaching situation that you are working
in.

Three main factors will influence what you present:

1. The needs of the learners: Of course, it’s not always apparent what
those needs are. But very quickly, through involving them in all the
skills areas, you will start to draw up a needs picture based on your
needs analysis.

2. The syllabus: In some schools, you may find a syllabus which can
help you to decide what to do. However, there may not be one.
Therefore, you will have to depend on a coursebook or advice from
colleagues.

3. The coursebook: This will probably be the most practical guide.

Coursebooks rarely follow the same order in presenting new
structures, but at least some thought has been given to the whole
process and, especially where you are starting in the EFL field, you’ll
probably feel more confident if you follow its lead.
You can add your supplementary materials to enhance this. However,
again, there may not be a coursebook, and so you’ll have to rely on advice
from your Director of Studies or Head of Department and other
colleagues.

On our travels, we’ve heard a few new and inexperienced teachers saying
that their decision on what to present was based on their intuition. Wow!

However, as intuition has no place for conscious reasoning, it’s unlikely to

be very successful when planning what to do and how to do it in the EFL
classroom. Intuition is useful in other parts of our lives, but a learner’s
progress and future cannot solely be based on the teacher’s intuition. So,
if you are new and inexperienced, take care with intuition.

7.5 Logical and Sequenced Planning

Let’s step out of the English teaching arena for the moment and reflect
on logical and sequenced planning in another learning arena.

Example – Introductory Lesson on the Second World War

If you were a history teacher, it would be foolish and wrong to leap into
teaching teenagers about the Second World War from 1939 without
addressing the events that led up to this.

It would necessitate going back first to describe the failure of the League
of Nations and the European powers to halt Hitler’s previous
transgressions in rearming and invading other European countries and so
on, without anyone doing anything about it. Germany was fully ready for
war, but other European countries were not.

This would be a logical step which would better enhance the learners’
learning and understanding.

When you get the logical sequencing wrong, learners will become
confused, and you will have to do a lot to get them back on track.
Perhaps the most critical part for you will be the various steps of the
lesson. These will need to be thought through very carefully if your lesson
is to be a success.

You can never omit the lesson steps because this is the core of your plan;
even if the time is running out too quickly, you need to complete each
step in the learning process. You may have to leave a bit until the next
lesson.

If you have thought the steps through with care and logic, your learners
will continuously be pushing the boundaries of their language competence
forwards.

The steps outlined in your plan will include the lesson activities. These will
be the various activities that form a central part of your lesson; for
example: Tell the learners to work in small groups and place the items in
order of importance.

The steps should be clearly defined and logical in their progression, with
each step building on the one before. Next to your plan, you may have the
notes on a game, role-play cards, a gap-filling activity, or whatever else
you want to use in the lesson.

What you need to aim for is a lesson plan with logical and sequenced
steps and a clear outcome at the end.

Example

Let’s imagine that the theme of your work for the week is Family. In the
first one or two of these lessons, you could do the following, in a logical
progression:

 Ask the learners to write a list of words/phrases showing

what Family means to them (e.g. love, fun, being cared for, liking,
sharing, etc.).

 Get them to compare their list with their partner.

 Write Family in the middle of the board and ask learners to come
and write one or more of their words/phrases around the central
word.

 Ask them to agree on the five most important points.

 Listen to a recorded dialogue with two friends talking about Family.

 Complete a writing task – sentence completion activity based on the

dialogue.

 Read a passage on Family.

  Answer questions (factual as well as ‘why’ questions).

A variety of different activities like this would keep the learners engaged
and interested, and consequently learning more successfully. A sequence
like this would provide the learners with practice in listening, speaking,
reading, and writing.

Each language skill would have the same focus (family), and each one
would reinforce the others and build up the learners’ knowledge and
confidence step by step. The different activities would also involve the
learners in working individually, in pairs and as a whole class. The variety
of activities would also help to maintain the learners’ attention and
engagement.

7.6 Main Components of a Lesson Plan

Remember this again: A lesson plan is a blueprint, a road map that guides
you through our lesson.

1. At its most basic level, it’s a set of notes that help you to think
through what you are going to teach and how you are going to teach
it.

2. A lesson plan should be clear and easy to read during the lesson.
Assorted colours, boxes, and underlining are useful. Use notes,
bullet points, abbreviations to keep it tight.

3. Don’t describe every step or procedure in great detail.

 4. In general, though, you won’t go wrong at any time if your plan is
coherent and cohesive, learner-centred, contains sufficient variety,
and has a degree of flexibility.

What it could look like

There is no global, definitive format for a lesson plan. Some schools may
have a template for lesson plans, and you may be asked to follow this.
However, this doesn’t happen often.

We have constructed a lesson plan template for you. This is based on a

format we have used for many years and still serves us well to this day.
We have introduced this format to you already, particularly in Module 6.

It is a clear guide, covering the 5 steps of a lesson. At first sight, it may

seem a little bit daunting but, if you stick with it, you’ll find you can adapt
the content quickly to fit any lesson without spending time on drawing up
new and different templates.

Here is a copy of our 5 Step Lesson Plan Template. It contains solid,

reliable guidance on what you should be aiming for and thinking about at
each step. Obviously, when designing your specific lesson plan, you will
need to expand the boxes on the template. Let’s explore this until you
feel you have a good grasp of it. Go through this slowly, reflecting on all
the questions under the main heading.

7.7 Step Lesson Plan and Explanation of the 5 Key Steps

Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.

It would be a good idea to print off the template below. You can look at it
while you go through the summaries of all the steps below it.

So, here’s what you need to do:

In this Section, get familiar with the template and at the same time trawl
through the summaries about all the steps which are printed below the
template.

5 Step Template Class:

Level: Date:
 OBJECTIVE
. What
will your
PRE-
learners CONNECTION TO ACHIEVEMENT GOAL.How does the objective
PLANNIN
be able to connect to your achievement goal?
G
do by the
end of the
lesson(s)?

ASSESSME
NT. How
will you
prove that
your
learners
have
progresse
PRE-
d toward
PLANNIN
the
G
objective?
How and
when will
you assess
mastery or
progress
towards
mastery?

LESSON OPENING. MATERIALS.

CYCLE (__
min.)How
will you
engage
your
learners
and
capture
their
interest?
How will
you tell
them what
is about to
happen?
How will
you tell
them how
it will
happen?
How will
you tell
them
about its
importanc
e?How will
you tell
them
about
connectio
 ns to
previous
lessons?

INTRODUC
TION OF
NEW
MATERIAL.
(__
min.) Wha
t key
points will
you
emphasise
and
repeat? H
ow will
you
ensure
that your
learners
actively
absorb the
informatio
n?How will
LESSON
you vary
CYCLE
your
teaching
approach
to make
informatio
n
accessible
to all
learners?
Which
potential
misunders
tandings
will you
anticipate
? Why will
your
learners
be
engaged/i
nterested?

LESSON GUIDED
CYCLE PRACTICE.
(__
min.)How
will you
clearly
state and
model
 what’s
expected?
How will
you make
certain
that all
learners
have
several
opportunit
ies to
practise?
How will
you
scaffold
exercises
from easy
to more
difficult?
How will
you
monitor
and
correct
learner
performan
ce?Why
will your
learners
be
engaged/i
nterested?

LESSON INDEPEND
CYCLE ENT
PRACTICE.
(__
min.)How
will you
clearly
state and
model
what’s
expected?
How will
learners
attempt to
demonstra
te
independe
nt mastery
of the
objective?
How will
you
provide
opportunit
ies for
extension
(more
 practice)?
Why will
your
learners
be
engaged/i
nterested?

CLOSING.
(__
min.)How
will
learners
summaris
e what
they have
learned?
How will
learners
be asked
to
describe
the
significanc
e of what
they have
learned?
LESSON
How will
CYCLE
you
ensure all
learners
have had
opportunit
ies to
demonstra
te mastery
of (or
progress
toward)
the
objective?
Why will
your
learners
be
engaged/i
nterested?

Summary Of The 5 Step Lesson Plan Template

ACHIEVEMENT GOAL SUMMARY

It’s best to start with this. This is your long-term instructional achievement
goal. This achievement goal may perhaps take a day, some days, weeks
or a whole term or school year. You will achieve this by completing a range
of objectives, smaller steps in, perhaps, several lessons which will achieve
the big goal. Write down your achievement goal, as explained earlier.
OBJECTIVE SUMMARY

Do this next. Here you state clearly and succinctly what you hope to help
your learners achieve in the lesson.

Note that a learning item may take more than one lesson. That is, you
cannot possibly hope that your learners will master the comparison of all
common adjectives (e.g. big, beautiful, etc.) in one single lesson. It’s just
not possible.

So, think: What exactly do I want my learners to be able to do by the end

of this lesson (or several lessons)? Try to visualise what it will look like
when your objective is achieved. This is your vision of your learners’
mastery. Write down your objective (or objectives).

ASSESSMENT SUMMARY

Then do this. Once you’ve got a grasp and vision of what you want your
learners to be able to do, you need to consider how and when you will
measure their progress in line with the lesson objective.

It’s wise to think about this upfront in your planning so that at every stage
you can consider if what you are doing will meet your assessment
objective.

Note that there need not be, say, a written assessment in every lesson.
Your objective for a particular lesson may be on pronunciation and
intonation when reading, so a written exercise may not be appropriate at
that time.

Once you are clear about your achievement goal, your objective, and your
assessment instruments (how and when you will assess mastery or
progress towards mastery), you can now focus on setting out the rest of
your plan.

STEP 1: SUMMARY OF OPENING STEP

Remember the gist of Alice in Wonderland: If you don’t know where you
are going, then any road will get you there. Your learners need to know
where you are taking them, i.e. what they are about to learn and why it’s
important to them.

They also need to know how the forthcoming learning event relates to
what they know already and where they are heading on their learning
journey. And your learners need to know and understand how the learning
will take place.

For example, you may have just completed some lessons which focussed
on increasing their knowledge of short one-syllable describing words, i.e.
adjectives (a big dog). Once they have a fair range of these, it would
seem wise and appropriate to move on to comparatives, so that they can
now speak and write about a bigger dog, a smaller pencil.

They will be able to relate the new learning to the previous learning and
will understand how the new learning builds on what they have learned
previously.

However, there’s more to a good opening. It needs to engage your

learners and incite their interest. Do something different, look mystified,
perform a related trick, ask them for their help with a related puzzle, line
them up in different-sized pairs (if you are about to introduce
comparatives) and so on.

When you engage your learners and incite their interest at the start of a
lesson, you are using a ‘warmer’, which we mentioned briefly before.

Once your learners have settled down after any necessary admin, you’ll
get their attention by using a warmer. This will only last a few minutes.

This is very important; more than likely they’ll have just come from
situations where they have been using their native language. So, a
warmer will get them engaged and participating, and into the ‘English
mode’ immediately.

Always try, as best as you can, to make the warmer related to what they
have already been learning; that is, not just using an unrelated warmer
just for fun.

Here are some examples of warmers:

First session warmers: the first time you meet the class

The purpose of these would be fun and engagement.

1. You could choose a multitude of things but select a topic that will
likely apply to everyone. For example, ‘Your favourite sport’ may not
apply to everyone.

 Their ‘favourite food’ would do fine.

 So would their ‘dream trip’ if they had the chance and money
to go anywhere in the world.

 Or write up any three words that make sense. In this warmer,

you can give them models (e.g. I like coffee, or Can they go?
etc.) to get them started. Encourage them to write another
one or two.
 2. They’ll know what a paperclip is. If not, demonstrate its primary use.
Then demonstrate some silly or ingenious suggestions for using a
paperclip, e.g.

 unclogging the teat/nipple on a baby’s bottle

 a page marker

 snowshoes for mice

Give them time to think of an idea and get them to draw their ideas on the
board.

Warmers with a purpose

Here are some examples to demonstrate warmers with a purpose, and to

show how easy they are to construct.

1. In the previous lesson, they have learned the structure: Would you
prefer to…?

For the start of their next lesson, make up some two-set fun choices,
headed up with: Would you prefer to …

The choices could be anything:

 be a tiger/be a python

 be a singer/be a film star

 receive $100 for doing nothing/receive $10000 for doing a bungee

jump from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (830 metres high)

2. Reinforcing and expanding learning: Word search for alternatives to

‘nice’

Let’s imagine that in the previous lesson when discussing authentic

conversation, you emphasised the need for them to be a bit more specific
and descriptive with the words they use. In this warmer, you are focussing
on the use of vague words, such as ‘nice’, ‘great’ or ‘awesome’. Explain
this to them.

Put up your word search matrix which includes alternatives to, say, the
word ‘nice’. Put the learners in pairs. They have 2 minutes to identify and
write up as many alternatives as they can find in the word search matrix,
e.g. agreeable, attractive, charming, delightful, friendly, good, kind,
pleasant, etc.

Also, this simple warmer can allow you to build in a bit of timed
competition if you feel it’s appropriate.
Before moving on, check their understanding of what’s about to happen in
the lesson by asking clarifying questions and getting them to summarise
in their words what is about to happen.

STEP 2: SUMMARY OF INTRODUCTION OF NEW MATERIAL STEP

This is a crucial moment for you. In your planning for this, you will have
decided what new learning you will introduce. However, it’s equally
important to plan how you will present it.

Here you will clearly and succinctly introduce your learners to the new
learning. It could be a new language form, skill, or concept which you’ll
introduce, explain, model, demonstrate, and so on.

You need to ensure the new learning is taken in by the learners and that
it’s accessible to all your learners. To achieve this, you need to vary your
approach and language.

Remember: If you make it accessible to them, they will remain engaged

and interested.

And remember this: Do not attempt too much at the one sitting. If you do,
you will lose them. Keep it simple. Focus on the key points/steps in a
logical and sequenced structure; leave subsidiary points for another day.
Don’t add in any new points/steps you haven’t planned.

Use different approaches to ensure stimulation and accessibility: visual

cues, vocal cues, written demonstrations, modelling, speaking,
questioning, summarising, and so on. Drive their involvement via
participation: asking clarifying questions, asking them for examples and
using them as realia. By doing this, they will remain engaged and
interested.

Also, you need to keep reminding them of the importance of the new
learning and what they will be able to do with it. Continue to sell the
benefits of this new learning.

Although you will have planned for possible misunderstandings, don’t

assume it’s all going to go to plan for all your learners. Keep asking
clarifying questions and ask learners to summarise the key learning
points, so that you can check their understanding. In this way, any
misunderstanding will come to light.

Finally, ensure you do not go on too long so that there is insufficient time
for the learners to practise in Step 3. Ensure you don’t fall into this trap.

STEP 3: SUMMARY OF GUIDED PRACTICE STEP

Your learners must have sufficient time and opportunity to practise their
new learning. In this step, it will be guided, controlled practice, practice
which is supported by you.

The principal intention of this step is to help the learners internalise the
learning, in a sheltered environment, from their short-term memory
(information memorised in Step 2) into their long-term memory for the
future.

Note (again) that guided practice is not always done via a written
worksheet. It may involve learner role-plays to practise some form or
function, or you may be leading the class in practising substitution drills or
pronunciation.

Your learners must be clear about what they have to do. Give clear and
straightforward instructions and check their understanding of these. Model
the required behaviour. If your instructions are unclear, learning time will
be lost.

You must plan well the guided and independent practice stages so that
your learners know what they have to do. But there’s more to this. It
should also spark thoughts in your mind about your classroom
management.

What will those who finish earlier than others do while others are working
away? If you haven’t planned for this, then you may be providing an
opening for some ‘misbehaviours’, e.g. the early finishers dropping wholly
into their L1 and distracting others. So, build in extension activities
(further activities) for those who finish early.

During this time, you should aim to give all your learners different
opportunities to practise, time permitting. Don’t build this part of the
lesson around one or two learners demonstrating a point at length;
otherwise, some learners will drift off.

Ensure you keep it going at pace, with learners working together and your
questions aimed at the whole class so that everyone is engaged.

Ensure that the guided practice activities are scaffolded, i.e. sequenced
from easy to more challenging. If you set the task at too steep a level in
the first place, things will fall apart. Don’t worry that some of the learners
may find the initial part of the task too easy; they’ll soon come to the
more difficult parts which will stretch them.

Remember: If some learners find an initial part easy, and they have
completed it correctly, you can always get them to help their partner
catch up.
During all this time, you will be moving around, answering questions,
helping to solve problems, and encouraging and praising the learners in
their guided practice. But there’s more to this.

You will be monitoring whether some learners found part of the learning
confusing, difficult, etc. Now’s the time to put it right before they move
into independent practice.

So, you might say: Everyone hold up worksheet 2. Ah, I see some of you
are putting your answers in different boxes. My fault. Silly me. Everyone
look at the board, and I’ll explain it better this time. (Always say the
confusion was down to you. Don’t ‘blame’ them.)

Again, before moving on, ask clarifying questions and ask learners to
summarise the key learning points, so that you can further check their
understanding.

STEP 4: SUMMARY OF INDEPENDENT PRACTICE STEP

This is the step where learners refine the language form, skill, or concept
on their own, without your assistance. It’s generally free, uncontrolled,
and independent practice, but you will still be there to give help, guidance
and support where needed.

It’s also a great opportunity to assess that your objective has been
achieved, i.e. they can demonstrate mastery of the objective or progress
towards mastery.

You will already have determined how you will assess, e.g. a written
exercise, learners using the new spoken form with their partners while you
observe, role-playing, a group activity involving both speaking and writing
and so on. You can try different assessment approaches.

As in the other steps, ensure they know what to do and how to do it.
Model the required behaviour.

Ensure the activity (or activities) demonstrates mastery of the objective

(or progress towards it),

i.e. it must focus on demonstrating achievement of the objective. If the

objective states they will be able to do something both in speaking and
writing, then your activities should ensure that both abilities are
demonstrated.

Note that this applies to all learners in your class. It may be challenging to
assess this if the learners are working in groups. So, ensure that your
activities provide ‘proof’ for all your learners regarding their level of
progress/achievement.
This is not so challenging as it sounds. The first activity could be a written
piece, filling in blanks on a worksheet. Then the learners could be paired
up to practise the target language. Remember this again: The target
language is the language learners are studying (English). Examples of
individual items of language could be the comparative structures (bigger,
faster) or other structures (If were you …).

From your observations, you may feel that both the stronger and weaker
learners will benefit from some additional work, so you can design some
appropriate extension activity into a homework exercise. Note that this is
in addition to the independent practice and not in place of it.

The stronger learners could attempt a more challenging activity, and the
weaker learners could, perhaps, do further practice on an item that was
causing them a bit of difficulty. Again, you need to take time to ensure
they know what to do and how to do it. Model the required behaviour.

STEP 5: SUMMARY OF CLOSING STEP

This should be a very short step, not much more than 5-7 minutes or so in
a one-hour lesson. Here your focus is on:

 Keeping up their engagement by asking the learners what they have

learned. Ask them: What have we learned in this lesson?

 Keeping up their interest by asking the learners to tell you about the
significance of what they have learned. Ask them: What is the
significance/importance of what we have learned? How will this
benefit you?

 Issuing homework, as necessary.

 Keeping up their participation to the end by allowing them to

demonstrate their mastery, if this hasn’t been done fully with some
learners in the independent practice stage. It’s likely to have been
done in the independent practice stage, but you could also fire out
some rapid questions, giving lots of praise for correct responses
which demonstrate how well they have done.

 Praising them for their attention and effort put in.

That wasn’t too difficult, was it?

Now, let’s try out all of this on a specific lesson plan, using our 5 Step
Lesson Plan.
7.8 Full Example of the 5 Step Lesson Plan in Action, Plus Lesson
Worksheet

Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.

The best way to demonstrate this in action is to take you through a lesson
which we have prepared earlier, as they say. This will be based on the
earlier lesson plan re the comparative of adjectives. There’s no point in us
introducing a new topic because your previous familiarity with the content
will help you so much with this.

Key points
  Note that this is the lesson plan format you should use for planning
all your lessons for all skills areas and grammar and lexis lessons.

 We have completed the lesson plan as if it is you who is completing

it.

 You will find your own way of abbreviating the information in a

lesson plan.

 On this occasion, we have written it out in full to ensure all is clear

for you. In practice, you would shorten the text considerably.

 As long as you understand your abbreviations/symbols, then that’s

fine. Remember, though: another teacher should be able to pick up
your lesson plan and run with it.

 We have put in suggested timings. Whatever timings you allot to the

5 steps of your lesson plans, always ensure that the Guided Practice
and the Independent Practice stages are assigned the highest
proportion of lesson time.

 We have based our timings on a 60-minute lesson. If it were only 45

minutes, we would adjust all the timings pro-rata.

For continuity and familiarity, we have used the same lesson plan idea as
before.

This time, however, note that this final version contains:

 Timings for each step

 Materials reminders (what materials you will be using and when)

 Colours, making it easier to follow

 An additional worksheet in the Guided Practice Step (scaffolded)

 An additional activity in the Independent Practice Step

 An extension reminder in the Independent Practice Step

 Homework activity

It is now a complete lesson plan.

So, here it is. Take plenty of time to explore this. Remember: Effective
lesson planning is the most crucial teacher skill of all.

Background to this lesson plan

This lesson is geared to beginner learners of any age group. It is

an introduction to the comparative form of adjectives (but you won’t use
these words with them).
The learners have already learned and can use all the basic one-syllable
adjectives you will use in your lesson plan, although you will add in others
(which they also know) later for homework to demonstrate that the form
can be applied to most one-syllable adjectives.

Also, your learners know and can use the structures: I am big/small
/young/old, and he/she/it is big/small/young/old, etc.

As this is their very first lesson on the comparative, you won’t bring up
any exceptions or differences; e.g. some adjectives doubling the final
letter in the comparative form, e.g. bigger. Any exceptions, differences or
spelling issues can all be handled in later lessons.

As you trawl through this complete lesson plan, also look at the 5 Step
Template to help you remember what should be included in each step.



 

Lesson Plan Worksheet (2 Pages)



Homework Worksheet

Remember: We changed the word in list 1 to the word in list 2.

list 1

big

small

young

old

Do the same with list 3 and list 4. Write the new word in list 4. I have done t
list 3

fast

great

quick

short

tall

fat

sad

thin

This is now a very solid and very engaging lesson plan.

Remember: In reality, you would shorten this considerably by

using your abbreviations, bullet points, symbols, mnemonics, etc.

Note that we only spent a few minutes constructing the

worksheets. This was intentional. There are no prizes for teachers
who spend hours making up fancy worksheets. Keep them simple.

So, this lesson would not be too challenging for you in terms of
explaining structures, grammar, etc., but it would require a good
bit of thinking and planning so that there are no cognitive
mishaps.

Note that the learners have been involved in speaking, listening,

writing, and reading during this lesson, which is what you should
aim to achieve as much as possible. Remember! Follow our
process outlined above when you start teaching. Follow it, and
you’ll excel in lesson planning and lesson delivery.

7.9 Controlled and Uncontrolled Exercises/Activities

Congratulations! You have passed this lesson.

You are now fully aware that it is during the Guided Practice and
Independent Practice Steps that the learners are involved in
activities and exercises to embed the learning.

In the Guided Practice Step, they practise the target structure in

line with the model you have presented. The aim here is accuracy.

In the Independent Practice Step, they aim to attempt to

demonstrate independent mastery of the objective. They produce
the target structure themselves (usually working in pairs and
groups). The focus here is on fluency.

Use a variety of exercises and activities. But first, please note

these key points:

1. Exercises and activities can be classified as controlled (in

the Guided Practice Step) or uncontrolled or free (in the
Independent Practice Step).

2. A controlled exercise is structured and controlled, with a

learner’s output, or ‘answers’, often limited to either being
correct or incorrect. Exercises are designed to focus on a
specific point or a specific objective, such as fill in the
blanks with the correct verb form, and to promote accuracy.

3. An uncontrolled/free activity is designed to ‘activate’ the

learner’s learning. Activities ask for specific learner
behaviour; as such, they are learner-centred and focus on
promoting learner fluency. Often, there is no single correct
answer or outcome to the activity, but several possible
open-ended responses. In an activity, the learner must
create and negotiate his or her own language.

4. There can be areas of overlap between some exercises and

activities.

We have drawn up a list of examples of activities you could use.

These types of exercises and activities would be utilised in the
Guided Practice or Independent Practice steps of your 5 Step
Lesson Plan model.

Examples of controlled exercises/activities (typically used in the

Guided Practice Step)

Here is a list of typical controlled (and sometimes a bit semi-

controlled) exercises that you can use in any lesson:
Cloze: You omit words from a passage at regular intervals (for
example, every seventh word). You give them a list of words, not
in any order, and tell them they must use one word to fill each
gap.

Usually, there are no gaps in the first two or three lines, to help
establish a context for the learners.

The length of the passage and the number of words omitted will
depend on the learners’ competence. Matching exercises

Example:

Matching: The learner is faced with two groups of words, phrases,

or sentences; each item in the first group must be linked to a
different item in the second.

Example:

And more:

 Dictation – for listening or writing tasks

 Information gap – a worksheet activity where learners work

out missing and different information that each has on their
worksheet.

 Extending sentences – part sentence given then learners

complete

 Drills – whole class or individual oral repetition of

pronunciation or structures

 Forming questions for answers already given

 True/false questions
  Matching sentence parts

 Multiple-choice questions

 Spelling exercises

 Reconstructing jumbled lists/notes

 Labelling maps/diagrams

 Making sentences from words given in any order

 Putting jumbled sentences in order

 Matching parts of text with pictures

 Writing headings for parts of texts

 Drawing a picture

 Copying text

 Question-answer – you know the answers learners should

give

 Ordering pictures

 Ordering events in a logical order

 Inferring attitudes/mood

 Completing charts

 Following instructions

 Locating and correcting errors

 Locating differences between texts

 Identifying topics or words mentioned (e.g., checking off

items)

 Story chain (when teacher-generated)

 Reading aloud

And with a bit less control:

 Gapped dialogue – fill in the gaps

 Pronunciation

 Ranking things in order

 Guided discussion

 Questionnaire
  Taking notes

 Writing/answering questions

 Brainstorming

 Question-answer (when you or their partner do not know the

answer beforehand)

 Cued narrative/dialogue

 Preparation (self-study; silent reading; pair planning and

rehearsing)

Examples of uncontrolled/free exercises/activities (typically used

in the Independent Practice Step)

 Role-play/simulation

 Interview – interviewing a partner who is perhaps role-

playing as a famous person

 Survey – surveying the class group on some topic

 Describing a picture

 Short drama/skit

 Presenting an argument (ensure the topic is culturally

appropriate)

 Giving a speech/report

 Debate (ensure the topic is culturally appropriate)

 Discussion (ensure the topic is culturally appropriate)

 Problem-solving

 Creative writing

 Continuing a story

 Games

 Information-gap

 Writing (emails, stories, letters, invitations, or

compositions)

There are so many activities you can use in the Guided Practice
and Independent Practice Steps, to ensure:

 firstly: accuracy in form, meaning and use (Guided Practice

Step) and
  secondly: fluency (Independent Practice Step)

So, you now have plenty to get on with when you take up your
post.

7.10 Evaluate – Check – ReflectJust like any blueprint or roadmap,

you’ll want to evaluate your lesson plan several times before teaching to
ensure it is robust enough to guide you and your learners to achieve the
lesson objective.

1. Evaluate Whether Your Lesson is Robust or Not

Consider these Very Important Points:

1. Is it well planned? (Does it hang together? Do the steps link together

well?)

2. Is the timing right?

3. Will my learners enjoy the lesson? (If there’s enough variety, they
will.)

4. Will my learners learn what they are supposed to learn in the

lesson? (If you have loads of fun or a poorly planned lesson, they
won’t.)

5. Will my learners be active throughout the lesson? (If you limit your
talking, this will lead to more activity. Amend your plan if you are
talking too much. Always try to move things along briskly.)

6. Will the plan ensure that my learners participate actively? Will some
be uninvolved? (Considering interaction in-depth will help you
ensure there’s enough participation.)

7. Are the four language skills being practised during the lesson? (You
should aim for this in every lesson, where possible, not necessarily
in equal amounts.)

8. Will the learners be able to use English communicatively/creatively?

9. Is the class organisation appropriate at different points in the

lesson? (Groups, pairs, etc.)

10. Are the handouts, if any, correct?

11. Are the teaching aids relevant and appropriate?

 12. Will the lesson be too controlled by me or have I ensured
adequate free and uncontrolled activity for the learners?

13. Is there enough material? Is there too little/much? (Always

ensure you have some additional materials in case you finish early.
At the same time, ensure you do not attempt too much in one
lesson.)

14. How do I ensure that learners use English throughout the

lesson?

Re Point 14, here’s what to do:

Free yourself up to walk around the classroom, encouraging those who are
not using English to do so.

Of course, if you ensure you keep your language straightforward and

uncomplicated and geared to their level and ensure the language in the
materials is also straightforward and uncomplicated and geared to their
level, this will reduce any non-English language.

Also, if some pairs finish early, they often strike up conversations in their
native language while they are waiting for other pairs to finish. This is
distracting for others, so always ensure you have some additional
materials/activities (extension materials) for those pairs who may finish
earlier than others.

2. Check if Everything is in Order

After evaluating your lesson and making any adjustments if necessary to

ensure it is robust, check to see that everything is in order.

It’s easy to miss out on some vital reminders for yourself or miss out on
some instructions or explanations for your learners.

This happens to us all, even experienced lesson planners.

So, imagine you are at the receiving end. If you were one of your learners,
would you need any further input to get through this lesson seamlessly?

3. Reflect

Take time out to reflect on your lesson plan. Make this a habit. A period of
reflection will activate deeper thinking and will tell you if you are good to
go – or not.

You’ll soon recognise that feeling of satisfaction, a feeling that you’ve

done everything you can to ensure you’ve planned the lesson well.

Also, in your early days as a teacher, do not be afraid to ask your

colleagues to look over your lesson plan. They will often come up with
some suggestions or comments which will add to the success of your
lesson.

In addition, we have developed a Lesson Evaluation Form for you, for

evaluating your lesson after you have taught it. We’ll come to this in a
moment. You could also use this as a spur for reflecting on your
lesson before you teach it.

7.11 Following and Adapting Your Lesson Plan

Should you always follow your lesson plan at all cost?

Although you should do your best to follow your plan, in practice it may
have to be modified because of what occurs during the lesson.

This is not something we would encourage inexperienced teachers to do

as a matter of course. Do not be tempted to modify your plan unless you
have excellent reasons for doing so, and you are sure about what changes
to make.

Reflect on this scenario: You come into a classroom and find that several
learners have questions about work that was done during the lesson the
previous day. Their questions are perceptive and indicate a clear need that
deserves to be addressed.

You have a choice; you can respond to their questions immediately, or you
can tell them that you will do so in the following lesson. Both responses
are appropriate but, in practice, most teachers want to respond to their
learners’ questions as soon as they can. This gives a more flexible feel to
the classes.

However, the disadvantage of responding immediately may be that you

cannot cover everything that you have planned for your lesson.

Under these circumstances, you may decide to modify your plan to some
extent.
And reflect on this: You have reached the halfway point in your lesson but
have become aware that your learners are struggling with the pair work
activity that you gave them because they appear to have forgotten a
conditional construction that you taught them a few weeks ago.

You know that if you can spend some time revising this construction, your
learners will be able to complete the pair work successfully.

Under these circumstances, you may decide to switch over to a revision

activity before letting the learners return to their pair work. Making a
change like this to your lesson plan is not uncommon.

7.12 Planning Time

Planning will take up some time, of course, but it should not come to
dominate your life!

Some teachers find it helpful to plan for the first two or three days of the
next week’s lessons on Sundays and then plan the remaining days during
mid-week. Some teachers find it best to plan in the evenings, while others
believe that it is better to get to work early in the morning and do the
planning then.

It doesn’t matter when you do your planning but when you first start
teaching you should be prepared to spend, say, an average of about an
hour to one and a half hours for the delivery of a one-hour lesson.

Sometimes, you will spend less time, but there will undoubtedly be other
times when you’ll need more time than this, particularly when preparing
to teach some complex grammatical point, e.g. phrasal verbs, or
coherence.

Some teachers mistakenly see planning as an inconvenience that takes up

too much time. They believe that five minutes before a lesson is quite
sufficient. Oh, really?

They forget that a successful teacher doesn’t prepare a lesson plan only
for an inspector or a headteacher to evaluate; she prepares it for herself
because it provides her with the support she needs during the lesson. And
with that support, she will deliver an effective and engaging lesson that
will benefit her learners, time and time again.
It can sometimes be challenging to find imaginative approaches, but a
carefully planned lesson can provide both you and your learners with a
great deal of satisfaction and enjoyment.

A well-planned lesson gives you great confidence when you walk into the
classroom, knowing that you have plenty of material to use and you are
prepared to answer any questions on the target language of the day. Just
imagine what would happen if trainers who are training doctors, airline
pilots or train drivers didn’t take time to plan their daily lessons
thoroughly. It’s a sobering thought.

7.13 Post-Lesson Evaluation and Reflection

When you come out of the classroom, you must always try to find time to
evaluate the completed lesson. Make this a habit, too.

Try to be open-minded and honest with yourself. Sometimes, some

aspects don’t go off as smoothly as you would have liked. At other times,
you’ll feel elated that everything just clicked.

Evaluation is a habit; an excellent habit. As you progress and become

more experienced, it will become second nature to you. In your early
stages, however, you need to focus on this and discipline yourself to do it
after every lesson.

Learn from any glitches and ensure they don’t happen again. Also, identify
what went well and build these aspects into your future lesson planning.

This will help you to grow in your new career.

Ensure you do not confuse fun and laughter with successful learning. It’s
good that the learners enjoyed the lesson, but the critical question is: Did
they learn what they were supposed to learn?

Sometimes fun and laughter will lead to solid learning, but there won’t be
too many occasions where this happens. It’s good that learners enjoy
themselves, but you need to ensure your objective is achieved within the
time allotted.

Remember! It doesn’t always have to be you evaluating yourself. With

adult classes, you can ask some of the learners how they felt the lesson
went. You can ask your Head of Department or Director of Studies or
another team member if they have time to sit in on parts of your lesson
and give you feedback. Make use of these experienced people!

Now you know the reasons for evaluating your lesson, what areas, skills
and traits should you consider?

Criteria For Evaluating A Lesson, After You Have Presented It

Here’s an evaluation form we have prepared for you. The form contains
the key areas, skills, and traits you should consider when evaluating your
lesson after you have presented it. Use it well.

Time to reflect

So, what do you think are the key areas, skills, and traits you should
consider when evaluating your lesson after you have presented it?

Try and do this without looking at the next Section.

There are so many points to consider, so don’t rush this!

Take some time out to make a drink or sandwich and reflect on this.

Then you can return to check your thoughts with what we think below.

Well done!

Here’s what we think, in the table below:

Lesson Evaluation Form (1) Lesson: Introduction to Comparatives: Class 7b – 16 Decem

Skills and Traits

Objective(s) achieved satisfactorily? Learners learned what they were supposed to lea

Active learners at all times?

Attention: Learners attentive at all times? Equal attention given to learners?

Content Knowledge: Any issues or questions that proved a little bit difficult for them or

Control: Was the lesson too controlled by me? Did I allow them enough free and uncon

Communicative Language: Did the learners use English communicatively throughout?

Correction and Feedback: Immediate feedback given to learners on questions and erro
what to ignore?

Cultural Awareness: Displayed at all times?

Engagement: Engaged learners throughout? Were learners engaged with the L2 throug

Enjoyment: Did learners enjoy the lesson?

Flexibility: Adapted to new situations that arose?

Lesson Evaluation Form (2)

Skills and Traits

Homework: No homework assigned, or assigned at the last minute?

Instructional Examples: Adequate, meaningful, clearly illustrated and varied?

Language Skills: Were the four language skills practised during the lesson?

Materials and Aids: Relevant, appropriate, welldesigned? The right amount or not?

Organisation: Was the class organisation appropriate at different points in the lesson?
 Planning: Well-planned structure? 5 Step Plan: Adhered to at all times?

Teacher Talking Time: Minimised?

Techniques: Variety, e.g. print materials, drills, roleplays, small group/individual work?

Timing: Started and ended on time? Adequate time for each stage?

Topic: Stuck to topic?

Visuals (including board): Clear and appropriate?

Voice, Body Language, Cues, Gestures: Effective?

All this should be pretty clear. You can add to this if you feel there is some
additional element you should evaluate.

Learn from your lesson evaluations!

You must utilise what you’ve learned for your future lesson planning.

This is what a competent and capable teacher does. Just like a learner, to
be effective you must continue to learn, sift out the good criteria from the
bad, and move from strength to strength in your career.

Every day is a school day for the teacher, not just the learners.

Well done! Another Module completed! What you have learned here will
help you better plan and present your lessons. When you get your
planning and presenting right, you will feel more relaxed and motivated,
as will your learners. For us, lesson planning and presenting is the
greatest skill of all.

And there’s lots more good practical stuff to come!

Time for a little break. Then, come back and have a go at Quiz 7.

It’s not so difficult. Good luck!

After that, we’ll move on to Module 8, where we will focus in-depth on

Critical Teaching Skills you must master. Take your time and absorb all the
practical guidance. This will ensure that you get it right first time.