Lesson planning
For any teacher, a lesson plan works as a blueprint of what to be taught and how to be taught in the class. However, it is important for you to identify learning objectives before planning the lesson. Once learning objectives are identified, it will be easier for you to develop proper learning activities and strategies to make the teaching/learning process effective.
An effective lesson plan comprises some components and sub-components. These are as follows:
- Prepare a lesson plan
Identify the learning objectives: At first, you need to identify the learning objectives. This will enable you to outline the types of teaching and learning activities you need to do in the class. While identifying the objectives, consider the following points:
- What topic are you going to cover?
- What will your students understand and learn at the end of the class?
- Which parts are the most important ones in the topic?
- Which parts can you omit if there is time constraint?
Once you identify all your learning objectives, you should rank them according to their significance. This stage will help you be better equipped to manage your time in the class.
Introduce the topic in the classroom: The next step is to plan how to introduce the topic in the classroom. With the classroom comprising students from different backgrounds and academic experiences, it is quite likely that many of your students are already familiar with the topic. So, you should measure your students’ level of understanding and knowledge of the subject before you begin the lesson. Coming up with a creative introduction of the topic is a good way to generate students’ interest in it and get their undivided attention. You can opt for a wide range of approaches, such as real-life instances, question-answer sessions, while introducing the topic in the classroom.
Prepare activities related to the topic: Your lesson plan should also cover all classroom-based activities related to the topic. It is important for you to consider the following points while planning the activities.
- How much time is required for conducting all the activities
- When to conduct these activities—whether at the beginning, middle or at the end of the class
- Present the lesson plan
Once you prepare the lesson plan, it is time to present it in the class. At the beginning of the class, let students know the topic they are going to learn. You can write on the board the topic to be covered, activities to be conducted, and most importantly, things they will learn/understand at the end of the class. Presenting the lesson plan at the starting of the class will help you keep your students engaged in the teaching/learning process.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of your lesson plan
It is also an important stage of lesson planning. Your lesson planning may not be successful because of several reasons. Therefore, it is necessary to gauge how effective your lesson plan was. This evaluation can be done through student feedback, self-evaluation through the video recording of your teaching, peer observation and so on.
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