TOPIC 8

TOPIC 8 LESSON PLANNING

SYNOPSIS

This unit will cover some general matters about lesson planning: the whats, whys and hows about this essential component of teaching. It will be followed by incorporating these matters into a lesson for teaching the reading skill. A sample lesson plan is provided to illustrate and consolidate what has been discussed.

FRAMEWORK OF TOPIC:

What is a lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a framework teachers use to deliver their lessons. It gives an overall shape or idea of the content and the activities teachers want to carry out in the lesson. These content and activities are bound by the learning outcomes teachers hope to achieve at the end of the lesson.

A plan helps teachers to think about where they are heading, and ideas of what to do the next day and the following day or week. Having a plan will also pull teachers back on track if they have deviated or distracted momentarily in the classroom. A plan also gives the learners confidence: they know immediately whether a teacher has thought about the lesson and enables them to respond accordingly. It may also suggest the teachers professionalism and commitment to their job and charge.

A lesson plan is not and will never be a prescription carved on stone. It is a versatile document peppered with possibilities for the lesson. It may work or not work depending on the real-time scenario in the classroom. All sorts of things can go wrong or happen during a lesson—the equipment not working, a power failure, pupils called up for some unexpected event, etc. Of course, everyone is happy when everything goes according to plan. So what happens if things don’t work as planned?

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LESSON PLANNING

General matters about lesson planning

This is when the teacher has to be flexible and think on the spot—to leave the plan to satisfy or deal with the immediate needs of the pupils (reflection-in-action). Sometimes, the plan may have to be abandoned completely. Then after the lesson, the teacher can look back at it and see why it did not work (reflection-on-action) and devise ways to save the lesson for a later date, albeit with necessary changes made.

What makes a good lesson plan?

A good lesson plan should reflect a judicious blend of coherence and variety. There should be a logical pattern and smooth transition of activities from one stage to another ending up with activities that culminate with the learners exhibiting behaviours outlined in the learning objectives of the lesson. Even if there may be three different activities incorporating different language skills, they should be some connection between them. It does not make much sense if you start off the lesson asking pupils to listen to something, ask a few comprehension questions and then get them to do some drills or do an activity that is unrelated to the listening task.

Spending 20 minutes of a half-hour lesson on relentless mechanical drills is nothing but boring. Worse still, it is damaging. The lack of variety kills the learners’ interest in the lesson and does not engage them in real-life learning. There has to be some variety in a lesson

A lesson must have an overall theme and the activities are all built around the theme. The same principle applies to a sequence of lessons that stretch over a few days or weeks. There needs to be a coherent pattern of progress and topic-linking so that there is a connection between lessons which are bound together by the overall aim and objectives.

However, Harmer (1998) cautioned against two dangers that may prejudice the success of a sequence of lessons. He talked about predictability and sameness. When learners can predict what is to happen in the next lesson, they will be less motivated to learn. Similarly, if the same kind of activity is presented day-in-day-out, or the activity for day two is exactly the same as the one carried out the day before the learners will lose their enthusiasm.

So remember to thread your lessons with activities which bring variety and interest to the learning process.

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What if?

What if you have pupils of different levels? What if the class is too large or extremely small? What if the pupils do not understand English? Or use their mother tongues? What if the pupils cannot understand what they read or can’t read? These scenarios are not uncommon in our classrooms. So how do we cater to the different needs of our pupils? What are the possible ways to deal with these problems and situations? Obviously, one size does not fit all!

There is no clear-cut solution to these problems but differentiated learning could be an answer to some of them. Below are some tried out suggestions.

Pupils of different levels

1. Use different materialsThis is similar to the discussion in the previous topic: attending to remedial and able readers. When the better group is doing a more advanced exercise, the weaker ones can be doing something else with or without the teacher facilitating the task.

2. Doing different tasks with the same materialSet different tasks for pupils of different abilities. For example, set questions of different levels from the same reading text.

3. Use the pupilsGet better pupils to help the weaker ones. They can work as pairs or in groups, explaining vocabulary, completing reading tasks or modelling good reading strategies.

Large class1. Use pair work and group work2. Use group leaders

Do not understand English/use the mother tongue1. Only respond in English – using the mother tongue is permissible in the

beginning stages but wean the pupils from their dependence on it over time.

2. Create an English environment – put up materials used in the lesson so that an English-language rich environment will be created over time.

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3. One task at a time – give them a straightforward task which does not demand too much detailed understanding.

4. Talk with the pupils how they should feel about using English. Remind them that overuse of the mother tongue means that they have less chance to learn English; that using their own language denies them chances of practising and using English.

What should be in a plan?

A lesson plan must be complete with who the target pupils are, what is going to be taught or learnt, how is it going to be learnt, or taught and with what. In other words, a good lesson plan must outline in detail all this information. Also, the lesson plan should include the objectives of the lesson and on the side, why are these procedures used, what is the guiding teaching-learning theory behind them.

Some final notes about lesson planning

Planning is a thinking skill. Before you go into a lesson, it helps to be clear about what you want to do. A lot is going to happen on the spot in the class—you cannot predict how your learners will learn and respond to your teaching—but the better prepared you are, the more likely you will be able to cope with whatever happens.

Planning is imagining the lesson before it happens. It involves prediction, anticipation, sequencing, organising and simplifying (Scrivener, 2005).

A written plan is evidence that you have done that thinking. It can also be a useful in-lesson reminder to you of your pre-lesson thoughts. Remember your plan is not set in concrete. As a general rule: Prepare thoroughly, but in class, teach the learners not the plan. What that means is that you are prepared to respond to the learners and adapt what you have planned as you go along, even to the extent of throwing the plan away if it is inappropriate. A carefully worked-out plan is the end result of thinking logically through the content of the lesson before the lesson. Thinking through possible content and problems before class provides you with informed choices that set you free in the class. However, a teacher who is mainly concerned with following the lesson plan to the T is unlikely to be responding to what is actually happening in class. The two key questions that need to be considered when planning a lesson are:

what are the aims of the lesson? what is my procedure?

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If you can answer these two questions, you can be clear about what you hope your learners will have achieved at the end of the lesson.

That is a brief insight on some general matters that can be used to guide us when we plan a lesson.

Task

Individual teachers vary in the amount of planning they do. Look at the diagram below of lesson planning areas. In pairs, rank these areas in order of importance, and discuss the reason for your decision. Discuss the ranking with the rest of your group, and add to the diagram any other points which have come up in your diagram.

Writing a lesson plan for teaching the reading skill

When we write a lesson plan, we are in some way or other guided by the principles and procedures of the skill to be taught. For example, the procedure for a grammar

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Lesson Planning

Content(textbook materials, supplementary materials)

Aims/Objectives

Timing

Teaching aids

Procedures(how/when)

Interaction formats(group, whole class,

individual)

lesson will be different from that of a writing lesson or that of a reading one. What makes them all different is very much dependent on the skill to be taught and the purpose of the lesson.

A reading lesson is to develop a number of sub-skills of reading. So the lesson will contain activities that will lead eventually to achieving those sub-skills. A reading lesson will then typically consist of the three main phases of pre-reading stage, while-reading and post-reading.

What goes into each of these stages and how do they differ from one another?

Pre-reading

This stage is to

arouse the pupils’ interest help predictions provide some language preparation for the text (key words or phrases).

So the activities that teachers carry out to address the first aim is to encourage the pupils to think about and discuss what they are going to read or the teacher can introduce some background information about the content of the text to prepare them for a later activity.

Using relia, visuals, and other references to the pupils experiences can help to arouse interest and to activate any knowledge they have about the topic. The teacher can use questions to help them predict what they are going to read.

Then the teacher needs to consider whether there are any key words which may need to be taught before reading the text. Introducing the words may make understanding the text easier. In any case, language preparation does not mean that the teacher should explain every possible unknown word and structure in the text.

While-reading

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This phase draws on the text, that is, the learners work with the text to fulfil various goals. Among the aims of this phase are to

understand the writer’s purpose understand the text structure clarify text content focusing on meaning

The traditional ‘comprehension exercise’ at the end of a text is a typical example of a while-reading activity. Other examples include finding answers to questions asked at the pre-reading stage, transferring information to graphic form, completing lists, sequencing pictures or short summaries, etc.

Generally, coursebooks and textbooks provide lots of exercises for the while-reading stage. What the teacher needs to do is consider the effects of these exercises and whether they answer the aims of the reading lesson or curriculum. Also do these exercises help the pupils to master the reading skill or sub-skills that they lack.

Williams (1993) provides a list of questions teachers can use as a guide in selecting or designing suitable while reading activities.

a. What is the function of the text?b. How is the content organised or developed?c. What content or information is to be extracted from the text?d. What may the reader infer or deduce from the text?e. What language may be learnt from the text?f. What reading styles may be practised?

The answers to these questions will reflect the three aims listed above.

As a general rule, while-reading work should begin with a general or global understanding of the text, and then move to smaller units such as paragraphs, sentence and words. The reason for this is that the larger units provide a context for understanding the smaller units—a paragraph or sentence, for example, may help the reader to understand a word.

Post-reading

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The activities for this stage of the lesson does not directly refer to the text (we are done with the text at the while-reading stage). The work done here is often referred to as a ‘lift-off’ or ‘grows out’ of the content of the reading text. For that, the aims of this phrase are to

consolidate or reflect upon what has been read relate the text to the learner’s own knowledge, interests or views.

Hence, some of the activities that can be carried out is asking the pupils their reaction to the text or ask the pupils to draw a picture or diagram or make a list of suggestions to the problem relayed in the text.

The type of activity at this stage depends very much on the objectives of the lesson. The post-reading work should contribute in a coherent manner to the rest of the reading activity.

The information below presented by Scrivener (2005) is an overview of the three-stage approach discussed above.

Pre-reading 1 Introduction and lead-in, e.g. get the learners interested in the topic, initial discussion of key themes, make an explicit link between the topic of the text and learners’ own lives and experiences, focus on important language that will come in the text.

2 First task (pre-reading), e.g. predict from some extracted information (illustration, key words, headlines, etc.), read questions about the text, learners compose their own questions.

While-reading 3 Tasks to focus on fast reading for gist (skimming), e.g. check text against predictions made beforehand, guess the title from a choice of three options, put events (or illustrations) in the correct order.

4 Tasks to focus on fast reading for specific details (scanning), e.g. find single items of information in the text.

5 Tasks to focus on meaning (general points), e.g. answer questions about meaning, make use of information in the text to do something (make a sketch, fill out a form, find out which picture is being described, etc.) discuss issues, summarises arguments, compare viewpoints.

6 Tasks to focus on meaning (finer points, more intensive comprehensive understanding)

7 Tasks to focus on individual language items, e.g. vocabulary of grammar exercises, use of dictionaries, work out meaning of words from context.

Post-reading 8 Follow-on task, e.g. role-play, debate, writing task (e.g. write a letter in reply), personalisation (e.g. “Have you ever had an experience like this one?”

9 Closing, e.g. draw the lesson to a conclusion, tie up loose ends, review what has been read and what has been learned.

Final notes on the three-stage approach

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The three phases offer teachers a framework to help them develop the reading skill among the pupils as well as to answer some problems related to motivating the pupils, carrying out reading-based activities and devising reading-related activities.

The aim of the pre-reading is to arouse interest in the topic by drawing the learner’s prior knowledge of the world and their opinions. It can also generate relevant vocabulary. It is carried out before the learners have seen the text. The while-reading phase is to help the learners understand the structure and content of the text and the writer’s purpose. It may involve language work, and it should try to give the learners a purpose for reading. Finally, the post-reading is aimed at helping the learner to consolidate and reflect upon what has been read.

The pre- and the post- reading phases generate activities which call on the use of other skills and help to integrate these skills to make the lesson a coherent whole.

We have gone through some of the basics about lesson planning both in general as well as a reading lesson. Let’s now look at an example of a lesson plan for teaching the reading skill.

The following lesson plan is drawn with some specific curriculum specifications in mind. There are several alternative sets of activities for the pre-reading, while-reading and production stage although they may share the same activities for the set induction and the closure.

The purpose of presenting these alternatives is to exemplify the notion that one text can be exploited in various ways to teach reading and that checking understanding of a passage need not always be the mundane comprehension-type questions. With that purpose in mind, the curriculum specifications and objectives of the lesson may need to be adjusted accordingly.

Please read the lesson plan with an open-mind that this is just a plan and may not be the best of plans. It is open to changes and adaptations.

Alternative activities are clearly marked. Teachers have the liberty to choose the activities that best suit their pupils.

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Lesson Plan

Date :

Class : Year 5

Enrolment : 37

Time : 7.20 a.m. – 8.20 a.m.(1 hour)

Theme : World of Knowledge

Topic : Culture and Traditions

Main skill : Reading (Comprehension / Vocabulary words)

Integrated skill (s) : Writing

Curriculum Specifications:

Learning Outcome(s) Specification(s)

3.8 Read and understand simple factual texts for main ideas, supporting details, sequence and cause and effect.

3.8.2

Scan for specific information in texts.

3.8.4

Read and understand simple factual texts by answering comprehension questions in relation to:- main ideas- details

4.4 Construct simple and compound sentences with guidance and independently.

4.4.3

Construct simple and compound sentences independently by looking at pictures.

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Learning outcomes / objectives:

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:

i. scan for specific information in the text to answer comprehension questions

ii. construct simple or compound sentences to answer comprehension questions.

Previous knowledge : Pupils know about badminton and they know how to play badminton.

Language focus : Vocabulary: racquet, singles, doubles, net, indoors, outdoors, shuttlecock, opponents, court, outstanding

Teaching aid(s) : Picture, realia, power point slides, worksheets

Educational Emphases/ Thinking skills

: Knowledge acquisition, reasoning

Moral value(s) : Respect and diligence

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Stage/Time Content Teaching/Learning Activities Rationale Remarks

Set Induction

(5 minutes)

Teacher shows pupils pictures of Datuk Lee Chong Wei and asks who he is and what they know about him.

Teacher asks them if they want to be like him and play as well as him.

Teacher tells pupils they are going to read about badminton.

To arouse pupils’ interest on the topic that they are going to learn.

To relate the topic to the pupils’ prior knowledge.

Who is this person?What do you know about him?Do you like to play like him?

Pre-reading

(25 minutes)

Vocabulary

racquet, singles, doubles, net, indoors, outdoors, shuttlecock, opponents, court, outstanding

Reading with the correct pronunciation and intonation

Locating specific information

Teacher shows word cardsand drills pupils to read with the correct pronunciation.

Teacher explains the meaning of the words by showing them pictures or actions.

Teacher models reading the passage paragraph by paragraph with the correct pronunciation and intonation

Pupils read after teacher. Next, pupils read in groups. Teacher monitors the reading and

corrects when there are errors in pronunciation.

Teacher asks pupils several questions to check their overall understanding of the text by guiding them how to locate the answers in the passage

Pupils answer the questions orally.

To introduce vocabulary to pupils.

To model reading and to guide pupils to read with the correct pronunciation.

To check overall comprehension

The passage is on power point

What do players use to play badminton?

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Teacher guides pupils to answer in complete sentences.

Teacher shows them examples before asking them to do their written task.

*** alternative activity 1

Teacher distributes the K-W-L form and asks the pupils to complete the K column with what they know about badminton.

To teach pupils how to locate specific information and to answer in complete sentences

Linking prior knowledge to the content of the passage.

Where do people play badminton?

This activity is more suitable for pupils who have an above average ability.

While-Reading

(15 minutes)

Answer comprehension

questions

Teacher distributes the worksheet and instructs the pupils to answer the comprehension questions using simple and compound sentences

*** alternative activity 1(see sample)

Teacher asks pupils to complete the W column with what they want to find out about badminton.

Teacher asks pupils to read the passage and find answers to the questions they wrote in the W column.

To locate specific information and to answer in complete sentences using simple and compound sentences

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*** alternative activity 2 (see sample)

Teacher distributes the worksheet and instructs pupils to complete the graphic organiser with information gleaned from the text.

*** alternative activity 3 (see sample)

Answer true/false statements

To transfer information from linear to non-linear form

Post Reading

(10 minutes)

Jazz Chant Teacher tells pupils they are going

to do a jazz chant. Teacher shows pupils the chant on

the power point. Teacher models to pupils how to

do the chant. Pupils chant in groups


Pupils complete the L column with what new information they have learnt about badminton.

This can be followed by a class discussion on what new information they have found out about badminton.

Then the jazz chant activity can be

To extent the topic to a chant

For enjoyment

To add new knowledge to existing ones

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incorporated into the rest of the lesson.


Get pupils to design a ‘Congratulations’ card for Datuk Lee Chong Wei congratulating him for his silver medal in the Olympics.


Word search (see sample)


Small words from BIG words (see sample)

To link learning to real life experienceTo enable pupils to express themselves.

Closure

(5 minutes)

Brief evaluation and

integration of moral

values

Teacher evaluates the day’s lesson by asking a few questions.

Teacher integrates the moral value by asking pupils what makes a champion like Datuk Lee Chong Wei?.

To check pupils’ overall comprehension of the text and how the content is related to their lives.

How did Datuk Lee Chong Wei become so good?

Adapted from Amelia Soon’s lesson plan (2011)

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Reading passage:

Jazz Chant:

BADMINTON

What’s this game?

Where do you play badminton?

What do you need?

Badminton! Badminton! It’s badminton!

Badminton court! Badminton court! At the badminton court!

A racquet and a shuttlecock! A racquet and a shuttlecock! A racquet and a shuttlecock!

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Badminton is a racquet sport played by two players or two pairs of players.

They are called singles or doubles game respectively. Badminton is played at a

badminton court either indoors or outdoors. The court is divided into halves by a

net.

Players score points by hitting a shuttlecock with their racquets to pass it

over the net to land in the opponents’ half of the court.

There are international competitions like the Thomas Cup for the men and

the Uber Cup for the women. The competitions take place once every two years.

Other competitions include the All-England, Sudirman Cup and the Malaysian

Open. These international competitions attract many outstanding players from all

over the world.

Datuk Lee Chong Wei is one of the greatest badminton players in our

country. He has won many competitions like the Malaysian Open, Singapore Open,

Japan Open, and the All-England.

Sample K-W-L table

BADMINTON

WHAT I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO FIND OUT

WHAT I HAVE LEARNT

Sample Graphic Organiser

Complete the chart below.

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BADMINTON International competitions

the game

famous Malaysian player

equipment

i. ________________

ii. outdoors

i. racket

ii. _______________

iii. _______________

court

i. Thomas Cupii. _________________iii. _________________

men

Sample True or False statement.

Read the following statements about Badminton. Put a tick (√) for statements that are TRUE, cross (X) for statements that are FALSE and write (NA) for information not found in the text.

1. Badminton can be played in a hall or in the open.

2. Badminton must be played with someone.

3. Most people play badminton indoors.

4. The Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup are important badminton competitions.

5. The Sudirman Cup is played every two years.

6. All outstanding players are from Malaysia.

7. Datuk Lee Chong Wei has won many international competitions around the world.

Sample: Wordsearch

Find these words about BADMINTON in the maze.

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D N A L G N E L L A S P A D E T A Y W N S H I U T H E P I R E I U R N C R N Q X O M A T X B G S U C P U S N T C A V L A O E H E A L A M Q M E M C T N T E J E P S U S O J I Z C S O T R A N E H L A O R U Y E Y I J B T M C D O U B L E S P Y W K P U C R E B U B N M C T M G G R R X O A C Q U

All EnglandcourtdoublesJapan OpenlinesmennetracquetumpiresotshuttlecockSingapore OpensinglesThomas CupUber Cup

Sample: Small words from BIG words

How many small words can you form from BADMINTON?

Example: bad, ton, in, on, mind, tin, etc.

Task

Task 1: Read the text on The Stages of a Reading Lesson and then complete the task the follows.

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The stages of a reading lesson

A reading lesson is often divided into three phases: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading. The main purposes of each of the three phases are indicated below.

PRE-READING

to stimulate interest in the topic and to motivate pupils by providing a reason for reading

to activate pupils’ prior knowledge of the topic to provide language preparation for the text

WHILE-READING

to clarify content and vocabulary in the text to help pupils understand the writer’s purpose to help pupils understand the structure of the text

POST READING

to consolidate and reflect upon what has been read to relate the text to the pupils’ own knowledge/interest/views to provide a stimulus for other language activities

Each of the following tables represents a stage of a reading lesson. The steps in each phase is logically arranged.

Identify the phase of each table and write the rationale for the activities.

Table 1

Lesson Stage

Teaching Steps Rationale

1. Teacher tells the class to work on the vocabulary and grammar exercises in the worksheet.

a) Find the words in the text (para 1) that have the same meaning as the words in bold in the sentences below.

i. “No one dares to bully the lion.”ii. All the villagers fled ...

2. Teacher tells the class to discuss in groups a situation related to the topic.

e.g.What advice would you give to the farmer so that he will take better care of the donkey?

Activity 1:

Activity 2:

Table 2

Lesson Stage


1. Teacher tells the class that they are going to read a story about a donkey.

2. Teacher then asks the class a general question about donkeys.

e.g.How are donkeys helpful to man?

Activity 1:

Activity 2:

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Table 3

Lesson Stage


1. Teacher shows three questions on the board and tells the pupils to find the answers to them as they read the text.

e.g.i. Why did the donkey run away from the farm?ii. Where did the donkey go to find food?iii. Was the donkey clever or foolish?

Pupils read the text and answers the question.Teacher checks the answers with the pupils.

2. Teacher then distributes the worksheets to the pupils.Teacher tells the pupils to read the text silently a second time. As they read, they are to number the sentences according to the sequence of the events in the story.

After they have finished the reading, teacher goes through the answers with the pupils.

Activity 1:

Activity 2:

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TOPIC 8