Lesson Planning Tips for Student Teacher

 Lesson planning is the process of creating a detailed guide for a lesson. It outlines what students will learn, how they will learn it, and how their learning will be assessed.

Lesson plan = how the teacher covers that part of the curriculum

We will know this:

What is a Curriculum? What is a Lesson Plan? The Purpose of a Lesson Plan The Content of a Lesson Plan Innovative Tips for Lesson Planning

What is Curriculum?

Curriculum is a lesson plan. It refers to the overall set of learning goals, content, skills, and standards that a teacher must cover in a subject or course.

Example:  

Curriculum requirement: Students should be able to identify nouns.
Lesson plan: The teacher prepares a 40-minute activity where students find nouns in sentences.
In a lesson plan, when a teacher refers to the curriculum, they show which part of the official syllabus or standards the lesson connects to.

Visible Curriculum

Visible Curriculum: Visible Curriculum includes the annual targets and lesson plan for each hour. It consists of all the lessons the child will learn throughout the year.

Invisible Curriculum
Materials and Resources of the Class
Soft Boards
Designing a Classroom

What is a Lesson Plan?

• A lesson plan is a teacher’s detailed outline for delivering a specific lesson.
• It includes the steps for the lesson you will conduct with your students.
• What will you teach, and how will the students understand it?
• It is used every day for every subject.

Purpose of a Lesson Plan

• Organize materials and resources.
• Establish the teaching method.
• Set clear objectives.
• Take small steps towards reaching the annual curriculum targets.
• Define assessment goals.

Example of a Mind Map

My sample Lesson plan

Contents of a lesson plan

•  Subjects Focus
• Duration
• Number of learners
• Objective/ Learning Goals
• Introduction/ Tune In
• Main Body / Learning Engagement
• Recap/ Closure
• Materials/ Resources
• Assessment (if Applicable) 

Subject Focus

• Math/ Science/ English/ Music/ Art etc.

Within each subject, there can be a specific topics.For example; in a Science lesson, the specific topic can be…

• Acid, bases and salt
• Atomic Structure
• Chemical Equation

Learning Objective

• A crucial part of the lesson plan, a road map to the final destination.

Usually begins with a “ to be able to…”

• Helps the teacher stay on task, while planning & execution

Learning Outcomes 

• What the students will know or be able to do at the end of the lesson
• Can be expressed as:
• Knowledge (Plants need Air & Water)
• Skills (Planting seeds, watering plants)
• Attitude (Caring for plants, ecological awareness)

Creating Good Objectives

• The verb is what defines the objective
• Tune in
• Engagement
• Closure
• Materials/ Resources
• Assessments

The verb is what defines the objective

• Remember: List- Describe- Find- Name- Relate- Write
• Understand: Predict- Compare -Discuss- Outline- Restate- Explain
• Apply: Illustrate- complete- Examine- Classify- Solve- Use 
• Analyze:  Categorize- Explain- Examine -Compare- Contrast- Identify- Investigate 
• Evaluate: Recommend- Prioritize- Rate -Justify- Decide- Choose- Assess 
• Create: Invent- Imagine- Construct- Plan- Compose- Design

Introduction/Tune In

 Includes tuning the learners into the main concept (but does not include the concept itself)

• Tools : Rhyme-Story-Puppet-Picture/ Video-Toys-Quiz-Role Play-Games

Learning Engagement

• The actual lesson or concept
• Longest duration ( 60% of the time)
• Specific activities:Games/ class discussion/ centre work/ small or large group work
• The facilitation process is crucial

Recap / Closure 

• Putting an end to the lesson
• It can divert from the main concept to a more generic level, before ending the lesson
• As well as co-curricular domains 
• Same tools as used for tune in
• The next step would be ‘Transition’ into the next activity for the day

Materials/Resources 

• All the material, learning aids that will be used for the lesson
• Could be readymade or created by the teacher
• Youtube Links, images, books, toys, equipment etc. that will make learning easy, hands on & meaningful

Assessment

• The teacher needs to decide whether that particular lesson will be used as on-going (formative) assessment
• The lesson plans should include the exact strategy for assessing (checklist, anecdotal record, rating scale, picture/video evidence etc.)

Tips ‘n’ Tricks for Lesson planning

• Focus on the end first 
• Children’s learning styles 
• Challenging learners beyond
• Intervention strategies 
• Inter- disciplinary connections
• Plan for lesser time than available
• Child – centric rather than teacher – directed
• Opportunities for individual & group work
• Assessment should help plan future lessons

Planning Timetable

• Planning the day by activities
• Gives children a sense of safety and stability, know what to expect
• Makes the situation smoother and less stressful for the teacher

How to plan Timetable 

• Plan a balance of active and passive activities
• Have audio and visual cues for activities
• Allow time for wrapping and cleaning up
• Set clear rules/ essential agreements 
• Plan for outdoor activities carefully
• Events should be celebrated before snack time, if possible
• Plan for cross- sharing across grades
• Plan assemblies once/ twice a month 
• Transitions are part of your timetable

What are Transitions? 

• Transitions are Bridges between 2 activities.
• What are the different activities during the day that children need ‘transitions’ for?

Ideas for Transitions

• Songs
• Soft Music
• Energizers
• Bells
• Class Helpers