Lesson Planning

Lesson Planning

A lesson plan is a way of communicating, and effective communication is fundamental to teaching. It is key to organizing context, materials, and subject methods. Developing lesson plans helps the teacher own the material they are teaching (Kizlik). For the inexperienced teacher, a lesson plan is a guiding light through troubled waters. It serves as an aid, a reference, and a record. Many teachers fill out detailed lesson plans, while others jot down a few notes on a piece of paper or put their thoughts in an outlined form. Either way, a lesson plan helps the teacher stay organized, focused, and on target. For a more structured lesson plan, there are a few items that should be included. The learner objectives are listed to give an idea of what you want the students to gain by the end of the lesson. The context or theme of the lesson helps show how it fits with previous or future lesson plans. The procedure should be described in detail with the amount of time each activity and lecture will take. For the plan to act as a record of the day’s events, the date and time should be added. Any personal aims that you wish to work on can be listed. And of course the amount of students and the teacher’s name should be included. This helps in case another teacher needs to teach your lesson (Unit 14). Whether the lesson plan follows a more structured formula as described above, or is a loose outline of ideas, there are some basic rules to follow. First, try to keep the plan simple in order to reference it during class with ease. Second, maintain the same method for the structure of the plan. Third, writing the anticipated time for each activity ensures adequate time management for the class period. Fourth, make sure the plan has a smooth flow, and all activities work well together. Finally, even if the structure you choose is very detailed, do not try to script the lesson. This makes for an inflexible plan, and the plan should bend for adapting to the students needs (Unit 14). In summary, a lesson plan can be an effective tool for inexperienced and experienced teachers alike. It helps the teacher communicate the material in the most thorough way possible. It keeps the teacher on the objective, and serves as a notch in the class’s timeline. And the more practice you have in developing and writing lesson plans, the more confident you will be in your teaching ability.