Lesson plan design involves planning good starting points, middles and ends of lessons.
Tips for Writing a good Lesson Plan
Writing a good lesson plan is all about knowing how to suit the material you want to teach to the level of the kids, and present it so that it is challenging and interesting. While this comes from practice, teaching kids either in small groups or in a full class, it also involves a basic method that concerns all subjects.
Here are a few tips to help get you started.
A good lesson typically has three main parts.
The Pre or the Beginning of the Lesson. The teacher should aim to teach something new or tie in new material with previously taught material. It can be anything from a quote, to a question or a discussion. The purpose is to set the stage for the main part of the lesson. Typically, anywhere between five to ten minutes is enough.
The Main part of the lesson is the task or goal you expect the students to achieve. It can be a new skill or a review of a previously taught skill. This is the bulk of the lesson where students spend most time processing and digesting the material.
The Post or Ending of the lesson. This should be the last ten minutes of the lesson, also known as a wrap up or a review.
A lesson should flow naturally from one part to another. Transitions help glue or link each part together. A transition can be as simple as a word or phrase the teacher says.
Classroom Case in point: After discussing with the group or class the pros and cons for reading the news offline versus online for the first ten minutes of the lesson, the teacher can tell the class: “okay, you did that very well. Now let’s see how these attitudes are reflected in the news report that we are going to read.” Here, the teacher signals the main task of the lesson to come, which is reading for specific information.
Some important reminders
The first ten minutes should be designed to motivate the students. It is up to the teacher therefore, to maintain their interest as much as possible by using a variety of activities.
Kids remember! Don’t repeat an unsuccessful task or activity. Rather, try to learn from it and see what cold be improved. Always remind the kids what they did successfully and praise them for good, on task behavior.
Give students an option. If there are a variety of activities, kids will be pleased to choose the ones that are challenging and motivating. Allow them to explore a wealth of opportunities. It will also create a nice atmosphere in the lesson.
