PLANNING THE LESSON

When you have developed your unit plan, the next step is to plan how to deliver the content in small steps. The learning should build on what learners already know and move them ahead. Decide what the learners should be able to do when they have completed the lesson and how you will know if they can do it. These are your objectives.

Decide what the instructor will do and what the learners must do. Identify the activities and resources you will use for the lesson.

Have a look at the sample lesson plans on the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks website at www.language.ca. Look at the site map and click on “New for Learners: Brochures and Lessons.”

A good way to set out how the lesson will unfold is to use a “time” outline. Let us look at an example of how to do this. We will use the lesson topic: The Family.

Example of a lesson plan

Objectives

The learner will be able to:

8:30-8:40
Welcome and warm-up/review activity. Ask some basic questions.

8:40-9:10
The family. Draw a family tree and identify the different relationships. Find out the family members’ birth dates. Beginning learners will draw a family tree and label it with their own family. Write the birth dates for their family. Advanced learners will role play giving information about family for an application form.

9:10-9:30
Play a game of calendar bingo. The learners will practise reading the names of the months. Have different learners call out the days/ months.

5-10 minute break for conversation

9:40-10:00
Teach the grammar that goes with the topic of identifying family.
Review the use of the possessive pronouns my, his, her, our, your
Teach possessive nouns – My husband’s name is Juan. My mother’s name is .

10:00-10:20
Pair work. Learners work with a tutor on a dialogue about a birthday party for a family member. They read it together. Each person reads each speaker’s part. Learners copy the dialogue.

10:20-10:30
Wrap up with some review questions about who’s who in the family.