Pedagogy. 2nd Edition

Brown H.D. Teaching by principles. An interactive approach to language pedagogy. 2nd Edition. Longman.
HOW TO PLAN A LESSON

The previous chapter introduced you to (a) an array of techniques that have been effectively used to teach various aspects of language, @) a set of guidelines for eval- uating and using textbooks in your classroom, and (c) a reminder of the various technological aids that can enhance learning. These are, in a manner of speaking, the building blocks of lessons that you plan, carry out, and evaluate as you teach. It is appropriate at this point to address one of your most pressing issues: how to plan a lesson.

The term “lesson” is popularly considered to be a unified set of activities that cover a period of classroom time, usually ranging from forty to ninety minutes. These classroom time units are administratively significant for teachers because they represent“steps“ along a curriculum before which and after which you have a hiatus (of a day or more) in which to evaluate and prepare for the next lesson. Sometimes your whole life seems to be caught up in a never-ending series of lesson plans. But those lessons, from the point of view of your own and students’ time management, are practical, tangible units of effort that serve to provide a rhythm to a course of study.

FORMAT OF A LESSON PLAN

While variations are plentiful, seasoned teachers generally agcee on what the essen- tial elements of a lesson plan should be. For examples of each, turn to the sample lesson plan at the end of this chapter.