Teach English in Dongkeng Zhen - Shanwei Shi

While a degree of flexibility is important when teaching, planning lessons is key to optimsing the use of the class time and the material to be covered. Writing a lesson plan supports in structuring the class, setting goals for students and planning the use of time and materials. A lesson plan acts as a working document to refer to during the class and as a record of what has been covered in the class. It cane be used to when another teacher is covering the lesson. Whilst a lesson plan is a useful support tool, it should not stop the teacher being flexible and responding to the needs of the class. Lesson plans contain general information about the class (date, room, number of students etc) as well as goals, student objectives, phases covered (ESA), timing of each segment and category of interaction such as S-T, T-S, S-S. The Engage phase introduces the lesson topic and invites students through questions to communicate their knowledge and awareness of the subject matter. The Study phase generally involves reviewing on the board the main lesson theme illustrated with examples. An activity during this stage could include a gap fill or word unscrambling worksheet. This phase is followed by the Activate phase where students are give the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the material and their ability to use it in the correct context. e.g. complete a survey, discuss an activity card. It is important that students are clear on what is expected of them during each phase of the lesson and that error correct is handled delicately allowing students to self correct and correct each other before stepping in.