Lesson Planning and Skills Lesson

8/2/2019 Lesson Planning and Skills Lesson

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Present, Practice, Produce: A Basic Lesson Structure

by Sara Davila

Lesson Plan Elements

A typical lesson plan has several common parts. These areas will be seen in all lesson plans

regardless of the type of format or framework a lesson plan follows. Lesson plans for EFL can

follow several frameworks including PPP, R-PPP, Hunter Style, PDP, EIF, and the IOF. Whilemany frameworks for lesson the mostly widely used for planning EFL lessons is the PPP. The

elements of the lesson include key indicators to guide teachers who may be following a lesson

written by another professional.

First there is the opening area of the lesson which typically includes a title, objectives, andmaterials to be used in the lesson. The title is a quick set of keywords that when read easily

summarize what the content of the lesson will be. This includes title such as Hobbies PresentTense or Things from My School Practice. Titles clearly describe the types of materials thatwill be introduce or reviewed during the course of the lesson.

Lesson plan objectives are also included in the opening area of the lesson plan. The objectives are

designed to clearly state the goals of the lesson that is planned. These goals include linguistic goals

as well as communicative goals, goals for group or pair work, individual work goals, materialcompletion goals, and goals of usage. In general teachers are encouraged to write objectives for

lessons that are either observable or demonstrable by students while working in the lessons. For

example teachers may be tempted to write Students understand present progressive sentences.While this objective states what students will do in the lesson a teacher cannot know or observe

student understanding of present progressive sentences. To create a clearly observable objectivethe previous could be rewritten as follows Students will answer a question using a present

progressive sentence. Now the objective is demonstrable and a teacher watching can observesuccess while working through the lesson. This is especially useful when teachers begin to plan

internal assessment in the lesson plan.

Also included in the opening area of a lesson plan are areas for list of materials. The materials listincludes all items used in the lesson or parts that need to be prepared for a lesson. For example

materials might include: paper, pencils, erasers. For a lesson where students need to use pre-

created materials the list might include: 12 inch circles pre-cut. Materials allow for easy planning

of a lesson and smooth completion.

Sometimes included in an opening area are anticipatory issues sets. This spaces allow teachers to

think about potential difficulties with lesson and present possible solutions or items to prepare to

prevent or address issues as they arise during instruction. This area can be filled out by a teacher

completing the lesson the first time or they could be written after a prior experience with the lessonand provided to assist understanding and planning of the lesson by new teachers.


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After the opening area teachers will next see the procedural area. The procedural area is broken

down to follow the framework of the lesson being taught. While the details will vary from

framework to framework the procedural area will usually include the different steps of the lesson,an estimation of the time of completion for each parts and a description of how to assess lesson

success. The procedural areas may also include teacher scripting or potential teachers/student

student/student conversation and group staging or planning.

In the assessment area of the procedural section teachers will find information on what questions toask or what actions/responses to observe while students are working to know if students are

processing and learning the information of the lesson. These assessment tactics generally address

how teacher will know that students are meeting the objectives and are based closely on the statedobjectives of the lesson.

What follows is information on the procedural breakdown of a PPP lesson plan framework.

Types of Lessons

There are two types of lesson plans that can be conducted in the English language classroom, these

types being based on the kinds of skills that students are expected to work with during the lesson.

The two types of lesson plan are broken into receptive skills (reading and listening) and productiveskills (speaking and writing). In the EFL classroom both types of lessons are beneficial to the

learner and allow students to develop strengths in the respective areas. While the type of plan

suggests the specific focus and objective of the lesson it does not eliminate the need for otherskills. Indeed a productive lesson will incorporate a great deal of listening and reading, and a

receptive lesson can call for a high amount of speaking and writing. While the focus is on the type

of skill teachers should always keep in mind how all skills can be incorporated into the lesson plan.

When talking about production, particularly speaking production, it is important to keep in mindthat demonstration of productive skills in a lesson is the use of time for student to student speaking.

Direct communication with peers it the best use of productive speaking time and works towards

the goals of EFL teachers as facilitators of communication. Using in class time for teacher tostudent communication is important, however when students are responding directly to the teacher

or engaging the teacher in one to one conversation, this speaking production is controlled practice.

Production is when students are allowed to speak freely, engage each other, use the languagecomfortable, and be free to make mistakes or errors. Free production is the backbone of EFL

communicative education and the role of the classroom teacher.

The PPP framework for constructing lesson plans works well for both productive or receptive

skills lessons.


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Productive Skills

In a productive skills lesson imagine the PPP as a triangle :

The triangle allows the teacher to visualize the time used in the lesson. In a productive lesson the

time for student to student production of language is the greatest use of in class time and resources.

Generally the time breaks down as follow:

In a productive skills plan the Presentation time is used to introduce new language and key

phrases. This can include use of power point, flash cards, vocabulary pictures, chanting, repetition

drills, direct elicitation from the students, posters and information on the white board.


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During the Practice phase of a productive skills plan teacher have students practice with controlled

activities. This can include: A worksheet, teacher presented questions that students answer, teacher

asking a question, having one student answer, and then the entire class repeat, questions withcorrect and incorrect answers, a patterned dialogue, peer to peer flashcards, or reading and

repeating with the blackboard or white board. The key to remember with practice in a productive

skills plan is the use of correct or incorrect answers. During the practice phase there are clearlydefined correct or incorrect uses of language. This is also the phase in which the teacher listens and

corrects for errors. This allows the students to practice and learn correctness.

The Production phase of the productive skills lesson is when students have the opportunity to

speak in pairs or in groups with peers without too much structure being provided by the teacher.Activities can include students writing questions to ask peers based on the topics, students creating

a dialogue based on the topic, students providing personal information without structure, students

using flashcard with unique answers, students using structured questions with unique answers,students playing a game with unique answers, and students using information from the board or the

practice activity but in a personalized and unique manner. This time is free from error, as the

purpose is production not correctness.

Receptive Skills

To understand the time in a receptive skills plan it helps to imagine a diamond shape.


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The time breaks down in a Receptive Skills PPP plan as follows:

As can be seen in the receptive skills plan the largest amount of time is spent in the practice phase

where students have a chance to engage the language but a focus is placed on correct or incorrect

answers. In the Presentation phase of the receptive skills plans the teacher introduces the newinformation or key phrases that may be used in the listening or reading activity. This could include

flash cards, drills, chants, vocabulary with pictures, the use of power point, or eliciting information

from the students.

Following students begin the practice phase. During this phase the teacher leads a student through

activities to help with information processing presented in the reading or listening activity. Here

the focus is on overall comprehension broken into stages. I personally break this into five stages

moving from general comprehension to detailed examination of the information in the activity. Thestages I use are as follows:

1. General: What is it about? Very broad non-specific question2. More detail one: Where do you think they are? What do you think they are doing? More

detailed but still broad3. More detail two: What are their names? What is the name of the place? What are they

doing? More detailed, less broad, more specific answers.

4. More detailed three: What is this person doing? Why are they doing it? Where are they?Why are they there? Much more detailed, very specific answers.

5. More detailed four: How are they doing this? How do they feel? Why? What are they

using? Can you find the key expression? Can you find the vocabulary words? How is itbeing used? Very specific, very detailed

Through this five stage practice students have an opportunity to listen or read multiple times whiletaking a deep look at the material or content that is being worked with. The use of correct and

incorrect answers allows teachers to examine student understanding of the material.

Finally in the production stage of the receptive skills lesson students use the information from thelesson and personalize. Again this time is free of error. Activities include: discuss the

listening/reading with a partner, tell your partner what you would do if it were you, write a journal


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entry about a time when you felt this way, and use the vocabulary or key expressions in your own

story.

Creating a Lesson in the PPP Style

PPP Lesson Plan Framework

The Present, Practice, Production (PPP) lesson plan has three core parts. New language, such asgrammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary, is given to students during the Present stage. In the second

stage, Practice, students are then allowed to work with the new language they were just given. This

can be accomplished in the form of individual, pair, or group work. In the third stage, students

are given tasks that allow them to reinforce the new content through production: dialogues,role-plays, written work, and so on. In the PPP lesson plan is designed to generate interest,

recall past work, or to lower the affective filter. The format is also flexible enough to work

numerous educational strategies and methodologies, allowing incorporation of a number ofeducational theories while providing an organizational structures.

Presentation

During this stage teachers make an introduction to the language. The purpose is to provide

vocabulary, structures, or information that will help students use the language while workingthrough the lesson. Depending on the educational method teachers choose to you the introduction

could vary. Some possibilities for an introduction are below. For the example below the lexical

topic is the family.

Multiple Intelligences

In a class structured on a multiple intelligences format the introduction could include showing

pictures of a family (visual) asking students to point to each person in the family as the vocabulary

word is introduced (bodily kinesthetic), and saying each word in a chant (verbal, musical).

Communicative

In a class using communicative methodology the teacher can ask students who the people in theirfamily are. Ask students to write the names of the people on the family in their paper or on their

notebook. Then have students tell a partner about the family members.

Task Based Learning

In a task based classroom the teacher may show students a family tree. Have students name eachfamily member in the family tree. This would also be an introduction to a family tree task.


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Practice

The practice phase of the lesson allows students to practice with the language strucutre orvocabulary in a more controlled way. This provide an opportunity for students to properly

understand how the language works before the production stage. As the with presentation stage,the practice stage can fit a number of different educational methods. The examples below continue

using the family lexical set.


In the multiple intelligences classroom students are provided with a picture of a family (visual) and

some basic information about family members (verbal). Students work in teams (interpersonal) to

create a family portrait using visuals to represent the information

Communicative

In the cooperative group classroom students take time to practice the language with flash cards.

One student shows the card while a partner says the vocabulary word.

Task Based Learning

In the tasked based classroom the students use a teacher created information gap to relate

information on a family tree. Both students have different family trees and must communicate theinformation that has been created.

Produce

The production stage of the lesson encourages students to use the language of the lesson in new

ways. During this stage students will personalize and demonstrate how the language has been

internalized. This can include a number of different tasks from varying methodologies to show

understanding. The following activities continue with the family lexical set.


After completing a family portrait with a group based on teacher presented materials students maychoose to create either a personal family tree story book with pictures (intrapersonal, visual,

verbal), a song or chant about their own family (musical), or a role play with a partner talkingabout the people in their family (bodily kinesthic, verbal, interpersonal).

Communicative


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In a communicative classroom students participate in a circle time activity, dividing the class

between the two teachers. In the circle each student takes a turn talking about the members in their

family.

Task Based Learning

In the task based learning classroom after completing a structured information gap based on

teacher provided materials, students create a second family tree by sharing information about their

own families with a partner.

R-PPP

The R-PPP lesson plan is very similar to the PPP plan except that in lieu of a warm-up activity,

the plan calls for review activities. This format encourages teachers to place greater emphasis

on reviewing past material to ensure student retention. During this review stage, the teacher

should plan engaging activities that will lower the affective filter while reviewing all of the

objectives from the previous session as well as any language targets learned previously that arepertinent to the new lesson.

The PPP format provide structure for the creativity teachers demonstrate in the classroom.Through this model teachers can feel organized and ready to engage students in learning that

focuses on the language while providing supportive activities to get students to language

production.


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Sample Lesson Plan Template:

Title of Lesson: _____________________________________________________

Lesson Objectives (vocabulary goals, grammar goals, communicative goals):

Students will be able to ______________________________




Materials:

_______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Anticipated Problems:

_______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Ways to address anticipated problems:

_______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________


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DetailsAssessment

Presentation:

Introduction of

Content and

Language

Describe activitiesthat will introduce

students to newlanguage, or

activities that will

refresh the languagefor a review.

Estimated time:

Practice:

Students begin to

work with

language

Describe the

activities that showhow the students

will apply thelanguage

personally, ordescribe how

students will

practice withpreviously review

language.

Estimated Time:

Production:

Students

internalize and use

language

Describe theactivities that show

how students will

use language to


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Lesson Plan

Sara Davila

Title (Unit): Its Next to the Subway StationGrade (Level): Middle School (45 minute, mixed ability class)

Lesson Focus: Speaking

Objectives

- Students will be able to describe a specific location of place.

- Students will be able to list directions (left, right, across from, straight, near, far).

- Students will state directions in response to a question about a specific location.

Key Expressions: Students will focus on using the following language:How do I get to the (Subway station, bank, post office, hospital, store, market)

Just go (straight, left, right, on the corner, across from the)

I appreciate your help.

Materials: Paper, pencil

Procedure Details

Presentation:

Introduction of

Content

and Language

(Time: 10)

Review locations of place with Ss. Elicits places Ss know.

T: Today we will talk about places. What place are we in now?

Ss: The school.

T: Write, what other places do you know?

Write places Ss provide on the board. Elicit direction words Ss know.

Provide any language Ss do not know.

T: Today we will talk about directions. For example, which direction am I

pointing in?

S: Left.

Write all direction vocabulary for the lesson on the board.


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Practice:

Students begin towork with

language

(Time: 10)

On the board draw a quick map that includes some building and

streets. Ask Ss to label the map. Have Ss draw the map on paper or in

notebooks.

Review giving directions with Ss.

Ask Ss to label the streets on the map. Draw a starting point or YOU

ARE HERE point on the map. Have Ss complete the same on their

map.

Divide Ss into pairs. S1 ask how to get to a place from start. S2

provide directions using the map. Monitor and correct as Ss work.

Have Ss change roles and repeat with a different location.

Production:

Students

internalize and

use language

(Time: 20)

Continue to work in pairs. Regroup pairs or continue with currentpartners.

Have one S close notebook. Partner will have pencil and paper. Ask

S1 to describe to S2 directions. The directions should include how

to move from their home to the nearest subway. S2 listens and

draws a map to the subway, checking with S1 for accuracy of the

description of the map. S2 should include any extra details or

buildings that relate to vocabulary for the lesson (post office, bank,

school, etc).

When finished have Ss change roles and repeat.

Monitor as Ss work and correct as necessary.

Assessments or

Other Work

(Time: 5)

Have Ss change pairs. Describe directions from previous partners

house to new Ss. Continue as time permits.

Anticipated Problems & Solutions:

Ss may be unfamiliar with on the corner and across from.

Solutions:

Teach during presentation. Monitor during student practice and production periods.


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Lesson Planning and Skills Lesson