I talked previously about lesson planning and how you need to write everything down, especially if you’re a new teacher. If you don’t, you’re probably going to forget and skip parts or get confused or do something else.
I have, at least, so I assume most people will, too.
But what do you need to write down and how? That’s why I’m sharing this lesson planning sheet with you.
Check it out!
The TEFL Teaching Hub Lesson Planning Sheet
Being totally honest, you don’t need a special lesson planning sheet. When I write lesson plans down now, I usually just use some scratch paper. But if you’re new to teaching and lesson planning, it can be helpful to have something that will guide you through the process, and that’s what this is for.
It’s broken down into five main parts (or maybe four and a half, depending on your point of view):
- Class Details – This is all of the basic information about your class.
- SWBAT – This is where you note lesson goals.
- Activity – This is where you write the activities you plan on doing.
- Materials Needed – This is where you note what you need to actually do the activity.
- Purpose / Why? – This is where you note why you’re doing this activity.
How to fill out the lesson planning sheet
As I noted above, you don’t really need to use this sheet, but for newer teachers it can help you plan things out by reminding you of the different steps you should be taking when considering lesson planning.
Class Details
At the top of the page you put the basic classroom information: the date of the class (in the top right corner), the name or level of the class, the materials or curriculum used in the class and the number of students in the class.
Below that is were you can note any special considerations about the class. This is where I would note, for example, if one of your students is on the autism spectrum and can’t tolerate loud noises, or if a student recently lost a family member (which could impact their behavior or they could be uncomfortable talking about), or a student has an upcoming presentation they want help with, and so on.
Those special considerations are worth noting because they will help you create a positive environment and possibly avoid creating issues. They may also impact the activities you do in class.
SWBAT
SWBAT – or Students Will Be Able To – should be the overall goal for the class. It should be specific, doable, and easy to check that your students are able to do it by the end of the class.
As such, if you look in the textbook that you are using and you are starting a unit on jobs, a good SWBAT might be, “SWBAT ask and answer each other about their job.” It’s very specific, and it’s easy to see if they’re able to do it by the end of class.
Below SWBAT I’ve included a section for other goals or targets. This could either be some other language point you want to cover, or it could be a classroom management or behavioral issue you want to cover.
Activities
This is fairly straightforward, I think. Here you’re going to note all of the activities you’re going to do, in order. Depending on how familiar you are with the activity, you might be able to just write a name. You might want to include a short description or specific target, though, if you’re not very familiar with it.
It would also be a good idea to note how much time you plan on spending for each activity. You’ll notice that there are spaces for 7 activities, which, in my experience, is about the most teachers will usually go through in a single 1-hour lesson.
Because it’s important to be prepared, I’ve included space for two back-up activities. In a perfect world, you’re not going to need them. But if you do, you’ll be glad you have them ready.
Materials
You know what one of the worst feelings is? It’s when you’ve got a perfect lesson plan, you’re in the middle of class, ready to start the next activity, and you realize you don’t have the materials you need. This can happen for any number of reasons, but one of the most common for newer teachers is not realizing you need them.
The best way to prevent this is to simply note what materials you will need and get them ready.
Purpose / Why?
Why are you doing this activity? There are a whole lot of different activities you can do. But not all activities are necessarily a good pick for a given target. So, in what way do you believe that using this activity will bring you and your students closer to fulfilling the SWBAT?
If you can’t give a good reason beyond, “it’s fun”, or “the kids like it”, or “I’ve got the materials for it”, then it’s probably a good idea to consider a different activity. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with doing a fun activity; heck, most activities should be at least a little fun.
But if you’re only doing the activity because it’s fun, it might not be the best fit.
It also helps you when an activity falls flat. If you choose to do an activity “just because” and it falls flat, it can be hard to explain to, for example, the person training you, why you did that activity. It doesn’t make you look very good.
On the other hand, if there is a solid pedagogical reason you did an activity, then, even if the activity doesn’t go well it’s easier to figure out what went wrong and how to do better the next time.
Let’s Sum Up
Even those of us who have been teaching for a long time have to plan a lesson. We don’t necessarily need a whole document to do it, though. And, as I said before, you don’t need to use one either. But, if you’re new to lesson planning and not sure what to do, a sheet like this can help you consider what you’re going to do and why. If you can answer those questions, you’ve got your lesson plan more or less in the bag.
Psst! The Lesson Planning Sheet is Down Here!
Below you’ll find embedded a copy of Lesson Planning Sheet for you to use in your TEFL classes. Feel free to print it out, download it, save it, etc., for your personal, non-commercial use. Just be sure that if you’re going to share it online, please link to this page instead of sharing it out. I appreciate it.