Planning a Lesson

of skills (see the next slide for diagnostic tools)
MAIN AIM

(how it is connected with the MA of the previous lesson and the next lesson + what outcome you want)
Subsidiary aims ( split the MA into smaller aims)
Sequence of tasks (from easy/fully facilitated to difficult/half or not facilitated) + interaction pattern (individually, in pairs, in groups, whole class) + timing (how long each activity will take)
Anticipated problems + possible solutions
Ice-breakers/warming-up activities (in connection with the previous lesson)
Stirring (lively) and settling (calming down) activities (balance of physical activities, how often, how many)

vocabulary for describing people + oral fluency practice
To introduce

an interrogative form in Past Simple Tense + practice of dialogue speech (“what did you do yesterday? – I went/saw/swam/played/did/met…”)
To present new l-ge for describing a picture + written accuracy practice

grammar/vocabulary should be introduced AFTER actualising students’ knowledge on the

topic
Practice should be various (from easy to difficult; balance stirring and settling activities)
Production should be meaningful (making a crossword for a partner/sub-group; working out a travelling route for a partner/sub-group; making up a story about a partner/sub-group members for them to assess/ to do true-or-false task; etc.)

language as a tool which helps them to solve an

interesting problem/participate in a game/ discuss a topical issue):
At the lesson new language should be used for solving an interesting problem/playing a game/discussing a case/etc.
Home-work should be connected with a problem/game/discussion which will take place at the next lesson (PROMISE students to have an interesting activity if they come prepared!)

1 minute/5 minutes/10 minutes + additional games as timesavers (in

case you finish earlier or some tasks fail)
Examples:
Caterpillar (repeat what other’s have just said word by word)
Opposites (say the opposite: wet-dry, green-white, cat-dog, a nice white fluffy puppy – an ugly brown prickly hedgehog)
Hangman (BUT hang him by a foot)
“What can be black/hot/metal/stupid/pleasant… ” (students need to give as many variants of nouns for one adjective, each of them gives just one answer and passes the ball to the next student, the one who cannot give a variant must say “a crocodile” and pass the ball to the next student who must make up the next questions “what can be…”; set a rule that a student can think for not longer then three seconds and if there’s no variant must pass the ball to another student)

Work out a list of funny unusual questions and short tasks for students to answer quickly
Examples:
What would you give as a Christmas gift to Santa Clause?/ Rank the following singers/actors/politicians by their coolness / What super-power would you like to have?/ etc.
You may set a rule of “one funny question a day” and let students bring their own variants, make a poster with a collection of funny questions and students’answers.
For small children it can also work but with more support: let each of them complete a question “What animal has the biggest…? What cartoon character is the most…? What is the fastest…? Etc.” At home they should also find the answer. At the next lesson each of them ask their questions, other (you as well) try to guess the answer.

its continuation at the next lesson (DON’T let them go

without a h/w, promise that you will need it for an interesting activity)
Example for teens: at home put down three/five/ten rules which you’d like to have at our lessons, start sentences with “I want/I don’t want/ I would like/ I would hate/I will be happy if…” (at the next lesson you may discuss and set a list of rules for both students and a teacher)
Example for small kids: (hand out black-and-white pictures of a dragon for each kid and a copy with five questions about dragon’s daily routine) at home colour your dragon and write answers to the questions (at the next lesson you may role-play dialogues, make up a list of dragon’s favourite meals and open a café for dragons)

you need to know how large the gap is between

their level and what they must learn this year. Think of activities which you will introduce at the first lesson to check what they already know. Examples:
Speaking (pair work: to choose/put in the correct order pictures and tell a short story; individually: ask them unusual funny questions; in sub-groups: ask students to make-up five questions for the person they want to know better, when they are ready tell them that four of these questions they pass to another sub-group but the fifth question is for the teacher (i.e. you!), they choose – which one and ask)
Writing (grammar and vocabulary: hand out copies with grammar/vocabulary task which contains material of the last year’s book, the task should contain not more then 10 sentences)

HAPPEN THAT…

a lot of facilitation and support (i.e. additional materials) and

plan every lesson so that you have time for extra tasks and for the tasks from the school curriculum. It also means that you will probably have to cut down on some tasks and you should plan ahead – what tasks you can skip with the class.