Page 159 - Teaching English at Primary Level: From Theory into the Classroom

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Lesson Planning

Chapter Objectives
• Exploring the reasons and benefits for planning lessons
• Identifying clear and efficient learning objectives
• Examining the ingredients of a lesson plan
• Understanding the importance of planning and scaffolding teacher talk

Teachers plan lessons all the time even if they are not always consciously
aware of it. They think about what they will teach, which activities and ma-
terials they will use, how much time they will need for different parts of the
lesson, how they will divide a unit into different lessons, and most impor-
tantly, what they expect their learners to be able to do at the end of a lesson
or unit. There are different reasons why lessons should be planned. First of
all, designing a lesson plan helps us define the objectives of the lesson more
clearly and systematically and see to what extent the objectives have been
achieved. It also helps us predict what will happen in the classroom, what
kind of language and behaviour we can expect from the pupils (Brewster et
al., 2002). Secondly, a lesson plan is also a useful record for future reference.
It may save us precious time when we have to teach the class again the next
year as adding or changing an activity takes much less time than designing
a lesson from scratch (Jensen, 2001). Lesson plans from previous years also
help teachers reflect on their own work and change things that did not work.
Finally, a lesson plan gives the teacher confidence and a sense of direction
which is especially important for pre-service and novice teachers.
Lesson planning involves both macro and micro planning. At the macro
planning stage, the teacher decides on the methodology, the syllabus, and
the course materials to be used, while micro planning refers to a specific
lesson and an actual lesson plan (Jensen, 2001). A lesson plan has been de-
scribed in different ways, for example a road map, blueprint or game plan
(Ur, 1999) or more generally as a tool which reflects the teachers’ teaching
philosophy (Jensen, 2001). Every lesson plan should give clear information
about the aims or objectives (what we intend to do) and the procedures
(how we intend to do it) (Moon, 2005). Although lesson plans come in differ-
ent shapes and formats, they usually have some common features, such as
the objectives of the lesson, the language skills and functions, the resources
and materials to be used, and the description of activities and their duration.

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