Lesson Planning

Parts of a Lesson Plan

Note: for beginning and intermediate classes, you'll usually be basing your lesson on a page or two of a textbook. Make sure you read the entire textbook lesson and any teacher's guide notes with it before beginning to plan. For advanced students, you may be teaching based on themes (like traditions), topics (like idioms), or for specific purposes (like work, school, or citizenship exams).

For every level, you always want to add in various kinds of activities to allow your students to practice what they're learning. Google is a great tool - googling "ESL lesson" and the topic of the lesson will yield countless ideas!

  1. Planning

Pray for your students, yourself, and your lesson time.

Now, as you start writing, be sure to write on your lesson plan the name of the book, lesson title/number, and pages. Why? Because if you're sick and need to pass this off to a substitute, it makes it much easier for that person!

  1. Objectives

Your objectives are what the students should be able to do by the end of the lesson. (You may also choose to write objectives for what students can do by the end of the unit, the semester, or even the year to have as guidelines for your class, but remember that you will probably have a revolving door of students.)

Objectives should be

  • Clear - is it easy to know what students will be able to do?

  • Concise - one sentence for each objective

  • Measurable - by what means will you determine that the objective has been met?

  • Attainable - is it possible to reach this goal in one lesson, or do you need to simplify it and work up to the longer-term goal?

Most teachers write objectives like this:

  • Students will be able to name the colors.

  • Students will be able to explain the steps in the process of making Tres Leches Cake.

  • Students will compare and contrast different types of transportation available in Roanoke.

Some teachers abbreviate the first few words in the objectives as SW or SWBAT.

Notice the verbs that are used in these objectives: name, explain, compare and contrast. These are all items that can be observed. We avoid verbs like "understand" and "know" because they are not visible: you can't see what's inside your student's head, but you can see when s/he demonstrates that knowledge by speaking, writing, or otherwise indicating it (through pictures, gestures, etc.).

  1. Steps

Greeting, Devotional, and Prayer (5 min)

Welcome your students in, share a scripture verse for the day with a brief thought about it, and have students read the scripture in their home language(s). Pray for your students (teachers only, so that students don't become afraid that they'll be called upon to pray) in students' proficiency level.

Introduction (5 min)

How will you bring students into the lesson? Consider a short game or activity, a photo prompt, or an engaging or humorous video - just make sure they are connected to your lesson topic! You want to connect to whatever the students already know about the topic, so that they can

Introduce New Vocabulary (15 min)

You should not introduce more than 12 new words or phrases in a lesson. You can use a variety of methods, and may want to use a combination: games, activities, visuals, real objects, mime, Total Physical Response (TPR), repetition, dictation, and more.

Use Vocabulary in Sentences (15 min)

For lower levels, this will include substitution and repetition drills, chain drills, question and answer exercises, etc. Go ahead and write them all out, and even your own instructions, if needed, so that you're prepared. For more advanced students, have them write their own sentences or even challenge them to write a story with all the words.

Additional Pronunciation Practice (5 min - beginners, 10 min - intermediate/advanced)

This can come from a book with resources for pronunciation practice (see the textbook page), or from your textbook or an online resource. Minimal pairs are always good practice!

Communication Practice Activities (40 min)

This is the bulk of your lesson. You should have at least 5 activities that have your students speaking, using language for meaningful purposes, and moving around (whenever possible). See the classroom activities page for ideas.

Review New Words/Homework Assignment/Prayer (5 min)

Wrap up your lesson here with a bit of closure. Briefly cover what you talked about in the lesson and explain the homework. Pray for your students before they go.

  1. Materials

Now that you've planned your lesson, go back and write down (perhaps at the top of the paper or on a brightly colored sticky note, where it's easiest to find) the materials you'll need - pictures, props, technology, etc. You may want to have a designated bag for teaching aids, and you can walk through your house and gather all of your items and put them in the bag as you go so you're always ready for class. Or, if you get sick, you can just hand the bag off to your substitute!