Crafting Effective Lesson Plans: A Teacher’s Blueprint
There was a time in my life when I was a voracious reader and I used to read many books. One day, I read a famous novel written by Lewis Carroll . The name of the novel was “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. In the novel, there was a conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat. Here’s how it goes:
– Alice asks, “Can you tell me which way I should go from here?”
– The Cheshire Cat replies, “That depends a lot on where you want to go.”
– Alice says, “I don’t really care where–”
– The Cheshire Cat says, “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
– Alice adds, “–as long as I get somewhere.”
– The Cheshire Cat says, “Oh, you’ll definitely get somewhere if you walk long enough.”
The dialogue between Alice and the Cheshire Cat gives a message that clarity is very important before starting a journey.
Therefore, I believe a teacher must have clarity before planning a lesson. They must know the outcome they aim to achieve and how they plan to achieve it. For me, clarity is the most valuable aspect of lesson planning.
I also use two analogies when I discuss lesson planning. The first analogy is the road map analogy and the second is ” North Star analogy”. An analogy is a comparison between two otherwise unlike things based on their similarities and resemblance in a particular aspect.
A lesson plan is like a road map for teachers, showing them where to go and what to do. For instance, a lesson plan includes objectives, materials, worksheets, assessments, and desired outcomes.
The second analogy I use when I discuss lesson planning is the North Star analogy. A lesson plan guides teachers, just like the North Star guided navigators in the past. It stays relatively unchanged. That’s why navigators used the North Star in the past for navigation purposes.
Lesson planning is like a guiding star that illuminates the way for teachers, ensuring effective classroom performance and successful outcomes.
In this article, I will give you ten tips that can help you create an effective lesson plan.
Here is my vocabulary lesson plan : A Successful Family Business Vocabulary
Table of Content
Tip 1: Learning outcome of a lesson plan
While creating a lesson plan, it’s essential to create the lesson outcome in mind. Teachers must be clear right from the beginning about what students will be able to do or achieve at the end of the lesson, as well as how they intend to achieve this outcome. The outcome should be clear and concise, and it should have an evaluation process for assessing students’ learning. The learning outcome of a lesson can be found on the syllabus or pacing schedule of the course you are teaching.
Tip 2: Divide the lesson plan into three sections
Next, divide the lesson plan into three sections, and each section has a heading to organize your thoughts. Section headings can be helpful while planning and lesson, and they inform you how much time you will spend on each activity. For example, you might have a section called “Speaking” with headings like “Grammar Basics,” “Vocabulary Building,” and “Pronunciation.”
Here I want to inform you one more thing: how you break up the lesson plan into three sections. Organize your material by breaking it up into small sections. It can help students stay focused on the material, and it will also make it easier for you to deliver a class effectively.
Tip 3: An effective lesson is linked to the student’s prior knowledge
An effective lesson plan is built upon students’ prior knowledge of the subject on the course syllabus and pacing schedule. Questioning can be a great way to get students thinking about your teaching material. It can also help them to focus on the lesson. Start asking a question that will help you to introduce the topic. Try to link it with the previous lesson. For example, ask your students what outcome was achieved in the previous lesson and link the outcome with the present outcome. You need to be creative in order to do this.
Tip 4: Use interesting, exciting, and engaging activities
Activities can be a great way to keep your students engaged in the lesson. They can also help you teach specific skills or concepts. Try this approach when planning your class: Use activities that will require student participation. Engage students in group work and pair work and think about using games in a lesson.
Tip 5: Use a Model Lesson Plan to Get Started
Another way to get started is to use a model lesson plan. It can help you structure the material, and it will also give you an idea of how long the lesson will take. You can find model lesson plans online or in books that are specifically designed for teachers.
Tip 6: Warm-up Activities
It is essential to begin every lesson with a warm-up activity or an icebreaker. You can also use icebreakers or warm-up activities if your students need a break in the middle of the lesson.
How To Grab Students’ Attention?
To grab students’ attention, there is only one pattern that works. Marketers follow the same pattern when it comes to selling their products. The pattern is known as Pattern interrupts, and it always works.
The question now is how to interrupt the Pattern as a teacher. In fact, the teachers teach the same way every day. The students don’t see any difference. Therefore, they get bored. As long as the teacher does not create interruptions in that Pattern, he won’t be able to grab students’ attention. Pattern interruption is phenomenal, and it works all the time, and you encounter it every day.
It’s always around you and something that we can’t avoid. You need to take a minute and think about it. All the advertisers who make commercials and posters use this trick to grab attention by doing something unexpected. Even headlines are made juicy, and thumbnails are created to grab attention.
Watch Red Bull commercials or blender commercials made by Blendtec company.
Marketers and advertisers design things to grab attention by breaking the Pattern. You, as a teacher, should also break the Pattern with an unexpected stimulus.
Interesting Hook
The most exciting part of lesson planning is how you create an interesting hook to grab students’ attention. The hook can be an image, video, cartoon, google forms, etc. It would help if you thought out of the box. A teacher should remember that students respect teachers who invest time in them, plan something unexpected, and make it happen. So once in a while, plan something seriously crazy.
Prompts
The “prompt” is an important tool in lesson planning. One of the most exciting ways to motivate students is to use a “Prompt” activity to engage their attention. When we talk about prompts, these can be exciting and engaging stories, pictures, and authentic text. A “prompt” is an opportunity for students to complete an educational activity on their own, with the help of their teacher, or with peers.
Tip 6: A good lesson plan is always in written form
Today, most educators consider a written lesson plan the best way to go. If you are a new teacher and don’t have any experience, it is best to make a written lesson plan.
Tip 7: Time Management
An effective lesson plan is where a sufficient amount of time should be given to the students to complete the activities. Low levels of engagement and participation in the learning process can lead to low achievement, which is not tolerable. A lesson plan should include enough time for students to do the activities and actively participate in the learning process. How much time do you need? It depends on the lesson, but there should be enough time for students to participate in each activity actively.
Tip 8: Anticipated problems
The most challenging part of any lesson planning process is reaching a consensus on addressing the anticipated problems. It is especially true for teachers who often struggle to balance teaching and assessment.
What are the anticipated problems in lesson planning?
Many teachers struggle to balance lesson planning and their teaching duties. They can create a plan before they face difficulties by anticipating the problems.
Individuals employed in positions of teaching, tutoring, and mentoring often face the challenge of planning lessons for one-to-one or classroom settings. Teachers must plan lessons that meet their students’ needs and require various resources.
Tip 9: ICQs and CCQs
ICQS and CCQs are an essential part of lesson planning. Even though ICQs (instruction-checking questions) and CCQs (concept-checking questions) are similar, they test different things. While ICQs are designed to measure instruction understanding, CCQs are used to assess whether students have grasped something relevant to language.
ICQs are designed to test understanding of specific instructions, while CCQs are designed to assess what students have learned. There are different types of ICQs, including: – Inference Checks – Drawing Conclusions – Connecting Information. There are different types of CCQs, including: – Connecting Information- Drawing Conclusions- Constructing Arguments- Reasoning with Contrary Evidence. A CCQ is a question that tests students’ knowledge of something they have read, heard, or seen.
Instruction Checking Questions
In language classes, they are often used to ensure that students have understood the instructions given by their teachers. In such questions, answers are limited to one or two words. Student feedback and understanding can be elicited with the help of ICQs.
- How many of you will work in a group?
- How many minutes do you have to complete this activity?
- What do you have to write?
- How many sentences are you going to write?
- Where does it appear on the page?
Concept Checking Questions
An ICQ is a question that tests students’ understanding of instruction. Concept-checking questions constitute a significant part of lesson planning. If a lesson plan is too complex or obtuse, students may not be able to understand it, and this can lead to frustration and decreased motivation. Concept-checking questions help people identify what students have and have not learned in a lesson plan.
Tip 10: How the students will be evaluated
When creating a lesson plan, it is essential to think about how the students will be evaluated. In most cases, this will involve some sort of assessment or test. However, other ways to assess students may be more personal or reflective of their progress. For example, a teacher might give feedback on a student’s written work or presentation based on what they have learned in class. Additionally, teachers can also use informal assessments to observe how well the student interacts with others in class or participates in discussions. Ultimately, the most effective way to evaluate students is to tailor the assessment to fit their learning styles and needs.
You can create an effective lesson plan that will help your students learn and understand English by following these tips.
