Lecture 9 - 10
Plan: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Introduction Types of the lesson plans Models of a lesson plan Stages of a lesson plan Effective planning of a lesson Getting started writing lesson plans: Using lesson plans
A lesson is an organized and goal –oriented process, which is a set of learning opportunities, a model of cognition and a framework for interaction of participants. Milrood R. P.
Types of the lesson plans According to the structure Traditional Nontraditional
Traditional Types of Lessons 1. Lessons of communication of new knowledge 2. Combined lessons 3. Lessons of fixation of knowledge and of developing skills and abilities 4. Lessons of systematization and revision of knowledge 5. Lessons of verification and control of knowledge.
Non-traditional: Lesson - role-play, Lesson- debate, Lesson-excursion, Lesson-video, Lesson-round table, Lesson—discussion, Lesson- Quiz “What? Where? When? ”, Lesson- Conference, etc.
Types of the lesson plans According to the activities (by R. Milrood) logical line topic umbrella jungle path rag-bag
Logical line lesson • In a logical line lesson there is a clear attempt to follow a logical path from one activity to the next. "Logical line” of activities means that there is a succession of tasks that gradually take the learners to the planned result. The relationship of tasks in the ‘logical line’ is that of “cause and consequences”. E. g. the learners first achieve a general understanding of the text and then move on to work on specific details. In the “logical line” lesson there is in most cases one clear and overall objective.
Topic umbrella lesson • A topic umbrella lesson is devoted to one general topic (e. g. “healthy food”) that is used as the main focal point for all the activities. The teacher might use a variety of activities such as “vocabulary”, “grammar”, “speaking”, “listening”, reading” linked to one and the same umbrella topic. In a topic umbrella lesson there can be a number of related objectives, e. g. to study the vocabulary related to healthy food, to study the expression of future in the “if clauses” (If you eat… you will…), to listen to a lecture episode on healthy diets, etc.
Jungle path lesson • Jungle path lesson is not planned or predicted in any way but is created moment by moment in class. The starting point can be an open-ended activity such as brainstorming but the outcome will remain a mystery until it happens in class. During this lesson a teacher focuses predominantly on the learners and the classroom situation rather than on the materials and plans. E. g. the learners can ask about the language problems they have come across in the reading activity and the whole work will shift in this direction. Thus, the planning is done to the great degree on the spur of the moment by the learners themselves.
Rag-bag lesson • Rag-bag is a sequence of unconnected activities. These lessons are designed to keep the learners entertained and involved. This type of the lessons can be appropriate for young learners with a short attention span. There is no overall objective in such lessons.
Task: In the space provided give the pros and cons of every type of lesson planning. Lesson planning type Logical line Pros Cons Topic umbrella Jungle path Rag-bag
Models of a lesson plan stepping way convergent way divergent way
stepping way • it is a lesson consisting of several logically organized activities as “steps towards a goal”. convergent way • with a variety of different activities (e. g. developing grammar and vocabulary) all converging towards achieving a lesson objective. divergent way • in which many objectives are pursued during one lesson.
Stages of a lesson plan “Three P’s” by J. Harmer (majority lessons) The presentation stage. The practice stage. The production stage. • You have to introduce needed new vocabulary and grammar structure. Scene setting and task assignments are carried out for reading or listening lessons. • You move from controlled practice to guided practice and exploitation of the text. • This stage is also called performance stage. It is the stage where we encourage students to immediate production, at which students are encouraged to use all or any of the language they know.
Stages of a lesson plan 3 -Phase framework by R. Milrood (look at your hand-outs): Lead-in Main activity Follow-up
No two teachers will treat the same topic in the way. Do you agree/disagree?
Principles Every lesson should begin with a greeting in the foreign language and a brief talk between the teacher and the pupils. There should be a variety of activities at every lesson, including pronunciation drill, oral activities, reading and writing. The lesson should be conducted at a high speed when oral drill exercises are performed. The lesson should provide a certain sequence in pupils’ assimilating language, to the usage of the material received in new situations that require thinking on the part of the learner.
Principles (cont. ) The lesson should provide time for the activity of every pupil in the class. The lesson should provide conditions for pupils to learn. The work done during the lesson should prepare pupils for their independent work at home. The lesson should be well equipped with teaching aids and teaching materials that allow the teacher to create natural situations for developing pupils’ hearing and speaking skills in a foreign language.
Advantages: You will be more relaxed and confident if you follow a clear plan A glance reminds of the next phase Enables you to improve your timing (by comparing the estimated time with the actual time taken for different types of activities) An aid to continuing improvement.
• how the teacher knows the program requirements for the lesson • how well the teacher knows the text book and other materials • how well the teacher knows the conditions of the work Effective planning depends on many factors:
There are 3 things which influence the success of the lesson: • motivation • organization • students’ capacity (ability)
The main planning elements Teacher’s knowledge of the students Teacher’s knowledge of TMC Aim and Objectives Time allotted Activities Content Habits & Skills Theme Stages Equipment Types of control Home-task Practical realities The Lesson Plan
Getting started writing lesson plans: Evaluate any school or assignment requirements for the unit and work them into the lesson Brainstorm any immediate ideas you have for activities, assignments, or evaluations. Consider the series of events in your unit and try to think about student needs Look back to your brainstorming of themes or concepts that are important to the unit. Try to create a central question for each lesson plan. Start to apply activities, requirements, assessments, etc. to your schedule.
Using lesson plans Give your opinion: Planning a lesson is not the same as scripting a lesson.
• What we take into the classroom is a proposal for action. • Some sort of student reaction can evoke during the lesson. • We then have to decide how to cope with that reaction and, whether , in the light of it , we can continue with our plan or whether we need to modify it as we go along. Answer the questions: What will you do in this situation? Will you modify your lesson or not?
There are number of reasons why we need to modify our proposal for action. 1) magic moments some of the most affecting moments in language lessons happen when a conversation develops unexpectedly, or when a topic produces a level of interest in our students which we had not predicted. The occurrence of such magic moments helps to provide and sustain a group’s motivation. We have to recognize them when they come along and then take a judgement about whether to allow them to develop, rather than denying them life because they do not fit into our plan.
2) Sensible diversion. • Another reason for diversion from our original plan is when something happens which we simply cannot ignore, whether this is a surprising student reaction to a reading text, or the sudden announcement that someone is getting married. In the case of opportunistic teaching, we take the opportunity to teach language that has suddenly come up. Similarly, something might occur to us in terms of topic or in terms of a language connection which we suddenly want to develop on the spot.
3) unforeseen problems • However well we plan, unforeseen problems often crop up. Some students may find an activity that we thought interesting incredibly boring; an activity may take more or less time than we anticipated. It is possible that something we thought would be fairly simple for our students turns out to be very difficult. We may have planned an activity based on the number of students we expected to turn up, only to find that some of them are absent. Occasionally we find that students have already come across material or topics we take into class, and our common sense tells us that it would be unwise to carry on. • In any of the above scenarios it would be almost impossible to carry on with our plan as if nothing had happened; if an activity finishes quickly we have to find something else to fill the time. If students cannot do what we are asking of them, we will have to modify what we are asking of them. If some students have already finished an activity we cannot just leave those students to get bored. • It is possible to anticipate potential problems in the class and to plan strategies to deal with them. But however well we do this, things will still happen that surprise us, and which, therefore, cause us to move away from our plan, whether this is a temporary or permanent state of affairs.
Questions?
Thank you!!!