FORMATS FOR WRITING SESSION PLANS

The plan can be written in many different ways but, however you write it, your plan should always contain the following:

CLASS OR GROUP to whom you will teach it.

LENGTH OF TIME of session.

TOPIC OR SKILL to be taught.

AIM of session.

OBJECTIVES of session.

MATERIALS OR EQUIPMENT needed.

INTRODUCTION: Content, methods and timing.

MAIN BODY: Content, methods and timing, usually broken down into sections, each with their own content, methods and timing.

CONCLUSION of session.

EVALUATION: Space for comment or whether the lesson was successful and

any ways to improve next time.

The following is one format you might use, but there are many others. You can use any you find suitable, as long as it contains all the above information.

The four columns in the main part of the plan are for:

Sections / Time: This column shows the 3 main sections of the session: introduction; main body; conclusion. You should indicate the time for each: either the number of minutes you estimate for each section, or the actual clock time you aim to start each section. The main body of the session may be further divided into sections, each with its own timing.

Content / Skills: What you are going to teach: the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes you want students to learn. This should normally be divided into sections or steps.

Teacher activities: How you are going to teach each part of the content. Remember to vary your activities as much as possible. One activity should not last more than 10 to 15 minutes, unless it is a practical activity done by students.

Student activities and assessment: Remember the students are the most important part of any session, so they should be active and involved as much as possible. Write in this column what the students will be doing during each part of the session. This will include assessment to find out if the students are learning what you are trying to teach them. This may be done by asking students to do something; by observing what they do; by specific questioning; or by written testing.

In writing your plan you must keep thinking back to your aims and objectives. Ask whether your content and methods will fulfil these. For instance, if your aim is to teach a skill, the teacher activities must include demonstration and student activities must include practicals. If your aim is to teach attitudes your activities must include discussion and feedback from students.

Your plan must contain statements directly related to the topic you want to teach, not just general statements. For example do not write:

• Not ‘grab students attention’. Say how you are going to do this.

• Not ‘demonstrate activity’. Say what activity you will demonstrate.

• Not ‘do practical’. Say what practical students will do and how they will do it.

• Not ‘revision questions’. Write specific questions you will ask.

Your plan does not need to contain activities you always do e.g. ‘greet the students.’

SESSION PLAN

Your plan should be as brief as possible, while including all the information you need. Do not use sentences but notes. For example, not, “ I will (or teacher will) give out the cloth and show the students how to measure it “, but “Give out materials, show measurement”.

The amount of detail you put in the content or teacher activity column depends on how well you know your subject. You may have enough in your head to teach without notes, or you may need information in this column e.g. definitions of words or brief explanation of topics. Youmay put in this column any notes you are going to write on the blackboard, but, if these are long, it is better to write them separately.

Read Summary sheet B19 Sample Plan 1, and compare with your plan.

WILL YOU ALWAYS PLAN LIKE THIS?

NO! Teachers do not do such detailed plans after they have been teaching for sometime. But planning like this for the first year at least will help you to start teaching well.

DOES THIS MEAN THAT EXPERIENCED TEACHERS DO NOT PLAN?

Some don’t! I am sure you have had many teachers who came into the classroom with nothing and made up the lesson as they went along. But were they good teachers? Did you learn from them? Were you involved in the sessions? Probably not!

These are the kinds of teachers who come in and say, ”O.K. where were we yesterday?” They carry on from there, write notes on the blackboard and ask a few question until the bell rings, when they are often half way through a topic. They end by saying, ”O.K. we’ll finish that next time”.

The students are passive. There is no involvement. If it is a skill session, students have not practiced the skill. And students may be confused by a session that starts and ends half way through a topic.

Experienced teachers may not use this detailed format to plan sessions, but the good ones do plan. They ask themselves what they want to teach and why, how they will start, what methods/activities they will use, how they will finish. They may keep some of the plan in their head and just have a few notes on a piece of paper, but they do plan.

So, ask yourself: Do you want students to consider you a good teacher? Do you want your teaching to be effective! If so, plan.

Here is a slogan given in many teacher training courses:

^{TO FAIL TO PLAN}

^IS

^{TO PLAN TO FAIL}