Best Practice 4: Pacing

Best Practice 4: Pacing

MLC teachers are required to use the Market Leader units as an instructional guide and, as a result, the Market Leader lessons should form the core curriculum of any given class. As noted above, only once the material covered in these units is exhausted should teachers supplement their lessons with outside material. At the same time, teachers are encouraged to change the pace of a lesson by breaking things up a bit. Instead of simply doing one activity straight after another – this can be rather monotonous - allow student interests to drive the sequence of each unit. For example, if a class is particularly interested in grammar (a topic covered in the middle of each Market Leader unit), a teacher can simply move the topic to the end of their bookwork and supplement it with outside materials in order to dedicate more time to the theme. Additionally, teachers can keep bookwork fresh by

• Opening with a brainstorming session (see BP9 for further explanation)

• Changing partner assignments.

• Asking discussion questions out of order.

• Introducing an element of competition (by racing against the clock or classmates [a la Jeopardy]).

• Incorporating time for outside activities that students are interested in, time permitting.

• Using extra time to review older material (through the use of additional practice or comprehension quizzes).