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Creating a lesson plan is important as it helps the teacher in planning a lesson in advance. However, the lessons should be less rigid and the teacher should be flexible to the needs of the students. A lesson plan is used as an aid to plan a lesson. It gives a clear understanding as to what the student is expected to achieve by the end of the class and plan the activities according to the time available. A lesson plan is used as a working document to refer to during the lesson. However, the teacher needs to be flexible and responding to the needs of the class. A lesson plan is also a record of what a class has done and which material has been used. Recording class content helps a lot when the teacher is on leave and another teacher has to cover the class. Each teacher has a specific way to write down a lesson plan. A few basic principles should be followed during a lesson plan. A lesson plan should be simple to refer to during a lesson. The structure of the lesson plan should be the same. The anticipated time for each activity should be noted. The lesson plan should be flexible and open to adoptions. There are a number of practical things to be organised to ensure the lesson goes smoothly. Necessary materials and equipment should be made ready in advance. The equipment should be properly working. The lesson plan must be made ready in advance. The seating arrangement must be made as desired and according to the activity. The teacher should chat with the students as they enter the class. This will get the students in the mood to learn. The lesson plan should involve the following elements: Learner objectives: What the students learn by the end of the class. Personal aims: What the teacher likes to achieve for the class. This is usually what area of teaching the teacher would like to improve. Language point: This shows the theme of the lesson taught and how it fits with the past and future lesson plans. Teaching aids: Material and equipment needed to teach the lesson must be included in the lesson plan for a quick check if everything is available before the start of the lesson. Anticipated problems: It is important to anticipate the problems the student or teacher might have during the course of the lesson. The solutions must be sought out before the lesson starts to sort them out in case they arise. Procedure: The activities used to achieve the learners? objectives. Phase: What phase of the lesson the students are in whether they are in engage, study or activate phases. Timing: How much time each activity is expected to take. The timing must be realistic and flexible according to the learners? needs. Interaction: Whether it is student-teacher interaction or student-student interaction or students working alone at each stage of the lesson must be planned in advance. Class level: The level of the ability the students have with the language. Number of students: The activities and lesson plan must be made putting in mind to suit the class size. Date/time: This will keep a record of what lesson is done on a particular day. This is helpful for other teachers who may teach the class later. Teacher?s and observer?s names: It may be useful if the class is being monitored. A good teacher continuously monitors his skills to improve the quality of lessons. The teacher evaluate himself by making note of what went well in the class and where improvement is needed thus improving his quality of teaching. A number of issues must be considered while planning the sequence of the lesson. Flexibility: Lesson plans often need change during lessons. Hence the sequence might vary from the original lesson plan. The teacher should be flexible to adjust the lesson plans according to the requirement of the class. Goals: A teacher should aim at what both the teacher and student would achieve in a particular session. Revision: Lessons must be continuously revised from time to time to ensure students retain this information. Variety and balance: All skills must be given equal importance in a lesson plan. A good variety of activities must be included in the lessons.
