Unit ４ Lesson Planning Objectives: Get the students to know about what lesson planning is. Make sure that the students can construct both micro and macro lesson planning.

Why is lesson planning so important?

Teaching plan is just necessary for novice teachers. True or False Teaching plan is just necessary for novice teachers. Preparation does not guarantee successful lessons, so we don’t need to plan the lesson. Although the main teaching contents may be the same, the students, the time and the mood are all different.

What benefits can teachers get from their teaching plan? 1

1) To make the teacher aware of the aims and language contents of the lesson. 2) To help the teacher distinguish the various stages of a lesson and to see the relationship between them so that the lesson can move smoothly from one stage to another. 3) Proper lesson planning gives the teacher opportunity to anticipate potential problems that may arise in class so that they can be prepared with some possible solutions or other options for the lesson. 4) Lesson planning gives teachers, especially novice teachers, confidence in class.

5) The teacher also becomes aware of the teaching aids that are needed for the lesson. 6) Lesson planning helps teachers to think about the relative value of different activities and how much time should be spent on them. The teacher soon learns to judge lesson stages and phases with greater accuracy. 7) The plan, with the teacher’s comments and corrections, provides a useful, time-saving reference when the teacher next plans the same lesson. 8) Lesson planning is a good practice and a sign of professionalism.

Principles for Good Lesson Planning Aim: the realistic goals for the lesson Variety: various activities and materials to ensure high motivation and interest Flexibility: more teaching methods and techniques and do not just read your teaching plan

Principles for Good Lesson Planning Learnability: the planned contents and tasks should be within the learning capability of the students. doing things that are beyond or below the students’ coping ability will diminish their motivation (Schumann, 1999) slightly higher than the present proficiency of the students Linkage: the teaching steps should be linked with each other. That is, there should be coherence.

Macro Planning vs. Micro Planning

Macro planning Planning over a longer period of time, for instance, planning for a whole program or a whole-year course. In a sense, macro planning is not writing lesson plans for specific lessons but rather helping teachers get an overall felling or idea about the course and also get familiarized with the context in which language teaching takes place.

Macro planning involves the following: 1) Knowing about the profession: The teacher should get to know which language areas and language skills should be taught or practised in the course, what materials and teaching aids are available, and what methods and techniques can be used. 2) Knowing about the institution: The teacher should get to know the institution’s arrangements regarding time, length, frequency of lessons, physical conditions of classrooms, and exam requirements.

3) Knowing about the learners: The teacher should acquire information about the students’ age range, sex ratio, social background, motivation, attitudes, interests, learning needs and other individual factors. 4) Knowing about the curriculum/syllabus: The teacher should be clear about the purposes, requirements and targets specified in the syllabus.

5) Knowing about the textbook: The teacher should know the textbook well in terms of its philosophy of teaching, organization of learning contents, major topics, recommend teaching methodology, unit components and ways of assessment. 6) Knowing about the objectives: The teacher should get to know what learners are expected to achieve and able to do after one semester or a year’s learning. Macro planning provides a general guidance for language teachers, but it is not enough for good teaching. Teachers still need to plan each unit or lesson in detail in order to teach effectively and confidently in the classroom.

Micro planning Micro planning is planning for a specific unit or a lesson, which usually lasts from one to two weeks or forty to fifty minutes respectively. Micro planning should be based on macro planning, and macro planning is apt to be modified as lessons go on.

Components of a Lesson Plan What should be covered in a lesson plan?

1.background information 2.teaching objectives (what language components to present, what communicative skills to practice, what activities to conduct and what materials and teaching aids to be used 3.language contents (grammar, vocabulary, functions, topics and so on) and skills (listening; speaking; reading and writing)

6.optional activities and assignments 7.layout of the Bb 3.stages (the major steps that language teachers go through in the classroom) and procedures (detailed steps in each teaching stage) 4.teaching aids 5.end of lesson summary 6.optional activities and assignments 7.layout of the Bb 8.teacher’s after-class reflection

Background information Lesson Planning Items Content Background information Teaching objective

Lesson Planning Items Content Teaching objective In the past: vocabulary, structures At present: Language knowledge: structure, vocabulary, functions, topics Language skills: Listening, speaking, reading, and writing Affections: interest, motivation, self respect, confident, with a strong will, personality-development Learning strategies: goal-setting, plan-making, learning methods, self-evaluation Cultural awareness: cultural shock, cultural differences, cultural awareness

Teaching Objective Teacher 1: This lesson is intended to teach the learners some new words related to the Internet and computer technology, demonstrate to them the use of infinitives and explain to them some difficult sentences in the text so that students will be able to understand the text and answer the questions related to the text. Then, learners will be provided with a lot of practice both in oral and written forms. （teacher-centered） What does it focus on?

Teaching Objective Teacher 2: In this lesson, the students are going to read about the Internet, listen to the phone conversation. Write an e-mail message and learn about infinitives for predicting the future. And this lesson is intended to make students understand the use of certain vocabulary related to the Internet and computer technology and know how to use infinitive. （student-centered， no ability-development） What does it focus on?

Teaching Objective Teacher 3: By the end of this lesson, the majority of the learners will be able to use the vocabulary learned about the Internet and the computer technology as well as infinitives to describe the future development of computer technology in both oral and written forms confidently. They will be able to produce in groups their own Internet Web-page, through which they will develop skills and understanding in cooperative work and in the use of Internet resources. （student-centered, ability-development） What does it focus on?

Teaching contents and skills Lesson Planning Items Content Teaching contents and skills Contents : structure, vocabulary, functions, topics, Skills: communicative skills involved in listening, speaking, reading, writing Attention: Which words or structures need to be presented and practiced carefully and which only need to be briefly touched Teaching aids

A structure-based lesson Lesson Planning Items Content Teaching procedure A structure-based lesson A skill-based lesson

How does your teacher teach a structure-based lesson?

The 3P’s model At the presentation stage, the teacher introduces new vocabulary and grammatical structures in whatever ways appropriate.

The 3P’s model At the practice stage, the lesson moves from controlled practice to guided practice and further to the exploitation of the text when necessary.

The 3P’s model At the production stage, the students are encouraged to use what they have learned and practised to perform communicative tasks. The focus is on meaning rather than accurate use of language forms.

How does your teacher teach the reading piece How does your teacher teach the reading piece? How does your teacher teach the listening material?

The 3-stage model The pre-stage involves preparation work, such as setting the scene, warming up, or providing key information (such as key words).

The 3-stage model The while-stage involves activities or tasks that the students must perform while they are reading or listening.

The 3-stage model The post-stage provides a chance for students to obtain feedback on their performance at the while-stage. This last stage may also involve some follow-up activities, in which students relate what they have read or heard to their own life and use the language spontaneously.

Lesson Planning Items Content End of lesson summary Homework Optional activities

Lesson Planning Items Content Predicted problems and possible solutions Layout of the Bb After class reflection

4.5 Sample Lesson Plans Study very carefully the three lesson plans in the textbooks (PP62-65) and try to get some ideas from them. http://www.gxlztc.net/GZJSFZW/ShowClass2.asp?ClassID=30&page=2 桂中英语教师发展网 >> 教案集锦

Homework 1.Choose a lesson from the current middle school English textbooks and write a lesson plan for it. 2. Answer the following questions: 1) What are the principles for good lesson planning? 2) What are macro planning and micro planning? 3) What are the components of a lesson plan? 4) What are the 3P’s model and 3-stage model?