Teaching Practice: Effective Progression in Lessons

Facilitator: Sarah Coutts

Objectives: This workshop aims to:

1. provide an overview of how to create a clear and effective plan of lessons

for a semester, and

2. provide an opportunity for trainees to create their own semester plans that

illustrate clear and effective progression over the course of a semester.

If the students are at a beginner level, is it really necessary to create a semester

plan? Where do I start with my semester plan? What should I consider? How do I

know if I’m doing tasks in a logical order? Who should teach a particular activity

when working with a co-teacher?

These are all important questions to ask when thinking about lessons for a

semester. And yes, we really should be planning for a semester in advance.

Relying on textbooks and digital resources means that the focus is not on the

students, but we are teaching students – not a textbook.

Co-Teaching

Many elementary school teachers work with mother tongue English speakers in

the classroom. This can, and does, lead to several complications in lesson

planning and potential conflicts. It’s often easier, for the teachers, to follow a

textbook as this helps to eliminate a lot of confusion and extra planning, but this

is not always the best approach for the students.

What are Korean Teachers & Native Teachers good at?

KT NT

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

Each teacher has individual strengths that can, and should, be exploited in the

classroom to ensure that students really benefit from the lessons. Similarly,

teachers should avoid falling into pre-determined roles for every lesson. Instead,

use these strengths and skills to your advantage and put them into your lesson

plans.

Co-Teaching Models

One teach, one observe One teach, one assist Parallel teaching

Station teaching Alternative teaching Team teaching

In this approach to co-teaching, one person would keep primary responsibility

for teaching while the other professional circulated through the room

providing unobtrusive assistance to students as needed.

( )

In this co-teaching approach, teachers divide content and students. Each

teacher then teaches the content to one group and subsequently repeats the

instruction for the other group. If appropriate, a third station could give

students an opportunity to work independently.

( )

On occasion, student learning would be greatly facilitated if they just had

more supervision by the teacher or more opportunity to respond. In this

approach, the teachers are both covering the same information, but they

divide the class into two groups and teach simultaneously.

( )

One of the advantages in co-teaching is that more detailed observation of

students engaged in the learning process can occur. With this approach, for

example, co-teachers can decide in advance what types of specific

observational information to gather during instruction and can agree on a

system for gathering the data. Afterward, the teachers should analyze the

information together.

( )

In this approach, both teachers are delivering the same instruction at the

same time. Some teachers refer to this as having one brain in two bodies.

Others call it tag team teaching. Most co-teachers consider this approach the

most complex but satisfying way to co-teach, but the approach that is most

dependent on teachers' styles.

( )

In most class groups, occasions arise in which several students need

specialized attention. In this approach, one teacher takes responsibility for the

large group while the other works with a smaller group.

( )

Semester Plans

Obviously, a semester plan is a guideline of the work that you will be covering in

your lessons over the course of the semester. However, it’s important to stress

that while a plan is necessary, it’s also only a guideline. A semester plan is your

goal for the semester, but this should never override your students’ needs.

Sometimes you’ll adjust your semester plan mid-semester – and sometimes more

than once. You will often find yourself adding, removing, or extending lessons

depending on what practice your students need and other interruptions that

occur within the school’s schedule. This flexibility is important.

Even if classes are not formally assessed (i.e. There is no exam or graded test.), it’s

still necessary to set milestones (achievement standards) of your own. This is

central to providing structure in your semester plan. Think of a math lesson:

Before you can do addition, you first need to know how to count. The same

concept applies to English.

A semester plan helps to keep you focused on the learning objectives for the

semester. It also helps to indicate obvious gaps or illogical lessons despite the

order that a textbook indicates. Remember: The order of lessons in a textbook

isn’t the only way to teach the content and/or skills; it’s also not always the most

logical order of lessons. This is particularly true in elementary school textbooks

where many books have the same content, but in different orders.

Consider the common structure of Grade 3 Textbooks that are used in English

classrooms in Korea. They often tend to look something like this:

Title: English 3 (yellow with red elephantPublisher: Daekyo

Title: English 3 (yellow with a girl and a carrot)Publisher: 천재교과서

Title: English 3 (Yellow with a girl, cat and dog)Publisher: YBM

1 – Hi, I’m Jinsu

2 – What’s This?

Story Time 1

3 – Catch the Ball

4 – It’s Big

Story Time 2

5 – How Many Apples?

6 – I’m Happy

Story Time 3

REVIEW 1

7 – I Like Chicken

8 – What Color is it?

Story Time 4

9 – What Time is it?

10 – I Have a Pencil

Story Time 5

11 – Can You Dance?

12 – How’s the Weather?

Story Time 6

REVIEW 2

1 – Hi, I’m Sumi!

2 – What’s This?

3 – Sit Down, Please

4 – I Like Apples

Review 1 – Lessons 1-4

5 – Happy Birthday!

6 – It’s Big

7 – Can You Dance?

Review 2 – Lessons 5-7

8 – How’s the Weather?

9 – It’s Green

10 – Don’t Run

Review 3 – Lessons 8-10

11 – How Many Pigs?

12 – I Have a Crayon

13 – Let’s Go

Review 4 – Lessons 11-13

Special – Cinderella

Multi-Lesson Review

1 – Hello, I’m Miso

2 – It’s a Pencil

3 – Please, Please,

Please!

4 – I Like Milk

5 – Can You Swim?

6 – How Many Zebras?

7 – Ta-Da! I Have

Scissors

8 – Let’s Play Soccer

9 – What Color is it?

10 – Who is She?

11 – I am Ten Years Old

12 – It’s Snowing

Multiple Chapter Review

TASK

What do these books have in common?

Look at where the review sections have been placed. What are the possible achievement goals in each review section?

Where to Start?

Planning for an entire semester can seem overwhelming – particularly if you’re

used to working from a textbook. However, a semester plan is far less detailed

than a regular lesson plan.

Step 1: Count Your Lessons

Using the school calendar, write in any school events (Sports Day, school festival,

Teachers’ Day, etc.), the start and end dates of the semester, and any red days.

Would you change the order of the lessons? Give a reason for your answer.

Not

es

Scho

ol H

olid

ay (4

/5)

Child

ren’

s Day

(5/5

)

Budd

ha’s

B-d

ay (2

5/5)

Mon

day

T/ta

ble

(11/

6)

Asse

ssm

ents

Skill

sLe

sson

Con

tent

Date

20/4

– 2

4/4

27/4

– 1

/5

4/5

– 8/

5

11/5

– 1

5/5

18/5

– 2

2/5

25/5

– 2

9/5

1/6

– 5/

6

8/6

– 12

/6

15/6

– 1

9/6

22/6

– 2

6/6

Wee

k

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Step 2: Mind the Gap

Identify any large gaps between lessons. For example, if you see a three week

period during which students will only have one lesson (or possibly none), this is

not a suitable time to test them or introduce new work. Use these lessons as a

general review of work covered, fillers for games or general English activities.

Depending on the proficiency level of your students as well as the time of the

year, you could test them on easier concepts than those which you have been

focusing on in class.

Look at the lessons on the previous page: Monday classes will miss two lessons

and only one of these will be made up in the time frame indicated. This is

something that will affect your “assessment” time as well as whether or not you

should introduce a new concept.

Step 3: Set Aside Your ‘Test’ Time

Now that you have a general time-frame, fill in your achievement goals for your

students. The number of achievements should be in proportion to the level of

your students, their age, and the number of lessons they will have in the

semester. You shouldn’t have more than 2-3 major achievements (approximately

every 6 weeks).

Not

es

Scho

ol H

olid

ay (4

/5)

Child

ren’

s Day

(5/5

)

Budd

ha’s

B-d

ay (2

5/5)

Mon

day

T/ta

ble

(11/

6)

Asse

ssm

ents

Dolc

h Si

ght W

ords

List

1

Skill

sLe

sson

Con

tent

Date

20/4

– 2

4/4

27/4

– 1

/5

4/5

– 8/

5

11/5

– 1

5/5

18/5

– 2

2/5

25/5

– 2

9/5

1/6

– 5/

6

8/6

– 12

/6

15/6

– 1

9/6

22/6

– 2

6/6

Wee

k

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Step 4: Work Backwards

For each achievement goal that you have set, determine what skills and

knowledge the students will need in order to achieve those outcomes. For

example, if the goal is to be able to write a simple sentence, students need to

know about basic punctuation, subjects (nouns and pronouns), and verbs. Before

being able to write a longer sentence, they need to know certain phrases, which

means that they need to know a certain amount of vocabulary, which means that

they need to be able to identify sounds, blends, diphthongs, etc. In addition,

students need to be exposed to numerous model sentences that are reinforced

orally, aurally, and visually (speaking, listening, and reading). Before they can

write a sentence, they need to be able to write words, which means that they

need to be able to write the individual letters, which requires tracing practice.

Themes: It is always a good idea to use themes for your work. However, where

possible, these themes should also be linked to one another to create some type

of logical flow. For example, you could use the circus as a theme in week 1

followed by the zoo in week 2, a safari in week 3, under the sea in week 4, etc.

These themes have something in common that makes it easier to build on

vocabulary and reinforce the vocabulary from week to week. If you did the circus

in week 1, movies in week 2, video games in week 3, etc., you would make things

a lot more difficult for both you and your students. Where possible, try to find a

common link between your weekly themes so that you can constantly reinforce

the vocabulary and grammar you teach from one week to the next.

Lesson Plans

Being thoroughly prepared for every lesson is a basic requirement in teaching.

Students instinctively know when a teacher is not well-prepared and will often

take advantage of this lack of preparation. The first 5 minutes of a lesson will

determine the quality and flow of the rest of the class. This is why it’s so

important to have a clear lesson plan. Having a clear semester plan will make

lesson planning so much easier.

In language, it’s essential to remember that the four core skills (speaking, reading,

writing and listening) are interdependent and should, therefore, not be taught in

isolation. An ideal lesson should include practice of all (or at least two) of these

skills although one skill might be a focal point in a particular lesson.

Lesson plans are far more detailed than semester plans. This is where you need to

indicate your allocated time for each activity as well as how you’ll lead into and

connect the activities. It’s not a good idea to write a script though because it’s

important to be able to improvise in a lesson when necessary. If you have a co-

teacher, however, it’s a good idea to indicate what each teacher will do in each

part of the lesson.

The basic format for a lesson plan involves three stages: Presentation (Teacher),

Practice (Teacher and students) and Production (Students). An example lesson is

provided for you on the following pages.

Example Lesson Plan

DATE **/**/** GRADE 3 PERIOD 1/5

LESSON 8. Let’s draw

two arms

LEVEL Mixed-

level

PLACE Classroom

GOALS Goal: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to identify

body parts, talk about body parts and recall vocabularies related

to the body. Students will also be able to use the plural form

(regular) of a noun by adding ‘s’ or ‘-es’ to the end of a word.

Skills focus: Students will acquire and demonstrate speaking

and listening skills by participating in whole-class, group and

pair-work activities. Students will listen to the teacher and

respond by drawing a picture. Students will speak to each other

in pairs and listen to their partners’ instructions.

MATERIALS White board, markers, body part flash cards, paper, pens,

monster picture cards.

PROCEDURE ACTIVITIES TIME MATERIALS

Presentation

T<->S

(Whole

class)

Lead in

The teacher (T) greets the class. T looks

very sad and scared. T tells the students

(Ss) that he had a terrible dream! He had a

nightmare about two monsters. T draws so

Ss can see how scary one of the monsters

was: One head, one body, four eyes, three

ears, two mouths, one nose, one arm, and

six legs! T draws and describes the monster

2min

2min

board,

marker

while emphasizing the plural form ‘s’ [Skills

focus: _______________]

Elicitation

T points to a body part and asks what body

part it is and how many. T says that there

was another monster in the dream. T asks

Ss to guess the body parts on his face: How

many eyes? How many ears? How many

noses? Etc. Body part flashcards will be

placed on the board. [Skills focus: _______]

Presentation

T presents body parts using flashcards. On

a piece of paper, Ss will listen and draw

body parts as the T presents. T will review

vocabulary with students using TPR. Ss

compare their pictures. [Skills focus:

_______________ and _______________]

1min body part

flash cards

Practice

T<->S

(Whole

class)

Guided/Controlled Practice

T passes out a piece of paper. Ss take out a

pen. Ss put the paper with a book on their

heads. Ss must listen and draw a monster.

T says body parts to draw using key

expression “Let’s draw ____ ____.” T walks

4min paper, pen

S<->S

(Group

work)

around and assesses learner’s

comprehension. Ss take the paper off their

heads and look at their drawings. Ss check

with a partner to see if the monster’s body

parts are the same.

[Skills focus: _______________]

Production

S<->S

(Pair work)

T<->S

(Whole

class)

Free Practice

T divides students in pairs. T gives each pair

a picture of a monster. One S describes the

monster to their partner and he or she has

to draw it. After a minute Ss will check to

see if the drawing matches the picture.

Pairs will switch. This time, Ss have no card.

Ss have to describe their own monster to

their partner and have him or her draw it.

Don’t forget to use “Let’s draw ___.”

[Skills focus: ________ and ___________]

Review

T and Ss review with chant. T will show and

lead chant using motions. [Skills focus:

________]

4min

2min

monster

picture

cards

The

Students at Different Levels

Another potential problem with relying entirely on a textbook is that students are

not always at the same level of learning in every subject. In English, some

students have lived overseas and are nearly fluent while others have attended

hagwon lessons for several years – or even English kindergartens – and still others

have had no prior exposure to the language. Therefore, relying on a textbook that

assumes a lot of prior knowledge on the students’ part from Grade 3 (their official

start of English instruction) immediately places some students at a disadvantage.

Since English education is only meant to begin in the third grade of elementary

school, it’s not fair to disadvantage students who are not fortunate enough to

have had such exposure to English. Therefore, instead of starting at a higher level,

consider starting at a beginner level of language and implementing a Fast

Finishers programme.

A Fast Finishers programme involves a fair amount of work in the initial stages as

it will take time to collect and organize activities. You will also need to designate

part of the classroom to these resources. The space needed can be as little as a

shelf or as much as a corner with bean bags and/or a table and chairs.

The idea with Fast Finishers is that the students have access to a variety of

supplementary material to keep them engaged and stimulated when the official

curriculum is not challenging enough for them. The tasks available can generally

be additional practice in a particular skill or even more difficult versions of the

work done in the lesson. You can also include reading, comprehension passages,

worksheets, writing tasks and mini-projects. However, the selection of material

should be changed every two weeks so that students are constantly being

challenged with new tasks.

It’s also possible to grade students according to their English levels. For example,

students who need to practice the alphabet or writing letters and basic sounds

could be assigned “Red” as their colour. At the back of the room, there could be a

variety of supplementary worksheets in a red box for these students to practice

the afore-mentioned skills. By assigning colours to different levels (like many

martial arts do with belts), students have something to work towards without

feeling embarrassed about their level. In addition, there is minimal monitoring

required from the teacher.

Conclusion

Creating a semester plan may seem quick and simple, but it’s actually far more

complex that it appears. There are numerous things to consider before you even

start working out the weekly topics/themes. Thus, it becomes clear that creating a

cohesive semester plan that is well-structured and benefits the target students is

more complex than it appears to be. The most important thing to remember

when creating a semester plan is that your students need to be able to use what

they learn each week in subsequent lessons to build on their language knowledge.

Finally, remember that a semester plan is just that: A plan. Plans change and we

need to be flexible enough to allow for changes.

Useful Sites for Englishwww.abcteach.comwww.agendaweb.orgwww.angelfire.comwww.allwords.comwww.aj.czwww.armoredpenguin.comwww.audioenglish.netwww.a4esl.orgwww.barryfunenglish.comwww.bbc.co.ukwww.bellenglish.comwww.better-english.comwww.blackbeardsisland.comwww.blockstatus.comwww.bravekidgames.comwww.breakingnewsenglish.comwww.businessenglishsite.comwww.carmenlu.comwww.chompchomp.comwww.coloring.wswww.davidappleyard.comwww.ego4u.dewww.elc.polyu.edu.hkwww.esl-bits.netwww.eslcastle.comwww.esldesk.comwww.eslfast.comwww.eslgold.netwww.esl-kids.comwww.eslkidslab.comwww.eslkidstuff.comwww.esl-lab.comwww.esl-lounge.comwww.eslpartyland.comwww.esltower.comwww.esoeonline.orgwww.evaeaston.comwww.fortunecity.comhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.eduwww.grammarbook.com

www.english-at-home.comwww.english-avenue.comwww.englishbanana.comwww.englishclub.comwww.english-coach.comwww.englishenglish.comwww.englishforamerica.comwww.english-4kids.comwww.english-grammarlessons.comwww.englishgrammarsecrets.comwww.englishguide.orgwww.english-hilfen.dewww.english.home.rowww.englishjet.comwww.englishlab.netwww.englishlearner.comwww.english-online.org.ukwww.englishpage.comwww.english-room.comwww.english-test.netwww.english-the-easy-way.comwww.english1010.comwww.english4today.comwww.english-4u.dewww.eslbears.homestead.comwww.insightin.comwww.internetfamilyfun.comwww.isabelperez.comhttp://iteslj.orgwww.languageguide.orgwww.languageproject.co.ukwww.learnenglishfeelgood.comwww.learn-english-today.comwww.learn4good.comwww.lingue.altervista.orgwww.madridteacher.comwww.magicvocabulary.netwww.manythings.orgwww.math-drills.comwww.military-quotes.comwww.mingoville.dkwww.myenglishgrammar.com

www.grammar.free.comwww.happychild.org.ukwww.helloworld.com.eswww.idiomsite.comwww.infoplease.comwww.inglesanet.comwww.myenglishlessons.nethttp://netgrammar.altec.orgwww.nonstopenglish.comwww.ompersonal.com.arwww.past-simple.comwww.quia.comwww.quiz-tree.comwww.rhlschool.comwww.rhymezone.comwww.rong-chang.comwww.sesamo.comwww.softschools.comwww.speaking24.comwww.speakspeak.comwww.stufun.com

www.SummerSchoolMath.comwww.talkenglish.comwww.talkeasy.co.ukwww.teachchildrenesl.comwww.testyourenglish.netwww.tlsbooks.comwww.tolearnenglish.comwww.towerofenglish.comwww.tut-world.comwww.usingenglish.comwww.vocabularya_z.comhttp://vanda51.blogspot.comwww.wannalearn.comwww.world-english.comwww.wordsmyth.netwww.worksheetsworks.comwww.yahoo-status.comwww.1-language.comwww.1stopesl.comwww.123child.com