Lesson planning and time management

Lesson planning and time management

Good lesson planning is essential for successful teaching. It helps teachers to be organised and prepared and to ensure that the lesson runs smoothly. However, it can also be very time-consuming and it is easy to spend too much time on it. Here are some tips to help you manage your time more effectively.

1. Decide how long you can spend on planning each lesson. This will depend on a number of factors, such as how familiar you are with the topic, how experienced you are as a teacher and how many other things you have to do. Be realistic and stick to your decision.

2. Set yourself clear goals for each lesson. What do you want the students to be able to do by the end of the lesson? How are you going to achieve this? Having clear goals will help you to stay focused and not waste time on activities that are not relevant.

3. Use a lesson plan template. This will save you time as you don't have to think about the format of your plan each time. You can find lots of templates online or you can create your own.

4. Share ideas with colleagues. If you are working in a school, try to find out if there are any opportunities for you to share ideas with other teachers. This could be through attending workshops or training sessions, or by simply talking to each other in the staff room. You can learn a lot from other people's ideas and experiences and it can save you a lot of time.

5. Use course books and other resources. There is no need to create everything from scratch. Most course books come with a range of ready-made materials, such as worksheets, handouts and tests. These can be a great starting point and you can adapt them to suit your needs. There are also lots of websites where you can find free resources that you can use in your lessons.

6. Don't over-plan. It's easy to try and include too much in one lesson. This can make the lesson feel rushed and it can be demotivating for the students if they don't have enough time to complete the activities. Be realistic about what you can achieve in the time available.

7. Use your time effectively. There are lots of things that you can do while waiting for a bus or sitting on a train, such as reading articles or watching videos. Try to make the most of these opportunities to plan your lessons.

8. Learn to say no. If you find that you are spending too much time on planning, you may need to learn to say no to other things. It's important to find a balance between work and other aspects of your life.

9. Reflect on your lessons. After each lesson, take some time to think about what went well and what could have been better. This will help you to improve your teaching and to become more efficient at planning your lessons in the future.

Warm-up activities

A warm-up activity is an activity that you do at the beginning of a lesson to get the students interested and ready to learn. It should be short, fun and related to the topic of the lesson. Here are some examples of warm-up activities:

1. Find someone who ... Give each student a piece of paper with a list of questions on it. The students have to walk around the class and ask their classmates the questions. They write down the name of the person who gives each answer. For example, the questions could be: 'Find someone who has been to London' or 'Find someone who can play a musical instrument'. This is a good way for the students to get to know each other and it helps to create a positive atmosphere in the class.

2. Categories. Write a list of categories on the board, such as fruit, countries and animals. The students have to write down one word for each category. For example, for the category fruit, they could write down 'apple' or 'banana'. The first student to write down a word for each category is the winner.

3. Odd one out. Write four words on the board, three of which are related in some way and one of which is not. The students have to work out which is the odd one out and explain why. For example, if the words are banana, apple, orange and carrot, the odd one out is carrot because it is a vegetable, not a fruit.

4. Picture dictation. Give each student a piece of paper and tell them not to show it to their partner. Describe a picture to the students and they have to draw it. For example, you could describe a picture of a house with a garden and a tree. The students then compare their pictures and see how similar they are. This activity is good for practising listening skills.

What are communicative activities?

In a language class, the teacher explains new grammar or vocabulary and then students do exercises to practise it. But in a communicative activity, the students use the language to communicate with each other, not just to answer questions on a page. These activities can be games, surveys, questionnaires, role plays, discussions, etc. They usually have a purpose (e.g. to find out information, to solve a problem) and often involve movement.

Why are they useful?

The main reason is that students get a lot of practice in using the language. They also learn how to use it in different situations and for different purposes. For example, in a traditional book exercise, they might complete sentences about their own lives. In a communicative activity, they might ask and answer these questions with a partner. This gives them more chance to think about the meaning of the words and to remember them.

How to make them work

It's important to get the students interested and involved from the start. Begin with a short warm-up game or activity to introduce the topic and to help them relax. Then give clear instructions and check they understand. If necessary, demonstrate what they have to do. You can also write the instructions on the board. Monitor the activity but don't interrupt too much. When they finish, give feedback and correct any mistakes. Finally, make sure they understand the aim and what they have learned.

Here are ten examples of communicative activities you can try in your classes:

1. Find someone who...

Give the students a list of things (e.g. has been to London, speaks three languages, got up before 7 o'clock today). They walk around and ask each other questions to find someone who can say 'yes' to each thing. The first student to complete the list with different names wins.

2. Role play

Give the students a situation (e.g. buying a train ticket, booking a hotel room). They work in pairs or small groups and act out the conversation. You can also give them cards with things they have to say. After that, they change roles.

3. Information gap

Give one student some information (e.g. a picture, a map, a set of instructions) and the other student(s) some different information. They have to talk and ask questions to complete both sets of information.

4. Board game

Make a board game with squares, for example, with numbers or pictures. The students roll the dice, move their counter and do what the square says (e.g. answer a question, make a sentence). You can use it to practise any kind of vocabulary or grammar.

5. Survey

The students walk around and ask each other questions about a topic (e.g. food, sports, music). They write down the answers. Then they sit down and compare their results.

6. Guessing game

One student thinks of a person, place, thing, etc. The others ask yes/no questions to guess what it is (e.g. Is it big? Can you eat it?). The first student to guess correctly thinks of the next word.

7. Running dictation

Stick a text on the wall at one end of the classroom. The students work in pairs. One student runs to the text, reads a piece of it, then runs back to their partner and tells them what it is. The partner writes it down. They continue until they finish the text. Then they check it.

8. Problem solving

Give the students a problem (e.g. how to cross a river, what to take to a desert island). They work in pairs or small groups and discuss possible solutions. They can also write or draw them. They compare their ideas and choose the best one.

9. Describing pictures

Give each student a different picture. They can't show it to the other students. They describe it and the others draw it. Then they compare their pictures.

10. Discussions

Divide the class into groups and give them a topic (e.g. homework, holidays, mobile phones). They discuss it for five minutes. Then one person from each group moves to another group and they discuss a new topic. After that, they go back to their original group and tell them what the other group said.

Remember, the main aim is to get the students speaking and using the language. So try to include as many of these activities as possible in your classes. Have fun!