Teach English in GAnlu Zhen - Jiujiang Shi

Unit 9 touched upon lesson planning and how there are multiple views on if it should be utilized or not. From studying this unit I believe that making a lesson plan can be beneficial, especially for new teachers. Lesson plans can act as an aid to planning (eg. what do you want to achieve by the end of the lesson), a working document to keep you on track and to act as a reference during the class, and as a record of what was carried out in a class; all of these things can be especially helpful to a new teacher and can act as a tool to help make changes if required to future lessons. There is no specific format that should be used for writing a lesson plan, but in general they should be simple, not be too scripted, and have notes on approximate time needed for each task and the skills being covered (ie. is there a good balance of skills). Moreover, it can be helpful to use the same structure when writing down lesson plans to keep things consistent. It is important to make sure your lesson plan be flexible and not the only thing you rely on while teaching as this will allow for changes to be made during the lesson if necessary. Being organised will help ensure your lesson plan goes smoothly; it is important to review and run through it, and to make sure you have all the equipment and materials needed. Arranging the classroom and arriving early enough to chat with students before class are also important things to consider. As with the format of the lesson plan, what is included in it is up to the teacher and there is no specific criteria. However, there are some recommended items to include such as the learner objectives, the language point, anticipated problems, teacher aids, phase and timing of activities, class level, etc. By using a lesson plan a class can stay on track and help to ensure the students are being taught in an effective manner.