Unit 4: Putting it all together: Lesson Planning

I must say that I really like lesson planning. I love to put together ideas of how I can help my students to learn. I start with a unit plan looking at all the main ideas or outcomes that I need to teach. Then I consider the students I am working with and from there it is like putting a puzzle together. Lesson planning is integral in teaching for a number of reasons. It provides direction and purpose but even helps with classroom management. A well-prepared teacher shows students that she is organized and ready to help them learn, it provides structure and instills confidence in the teacher. From a practical stand point it is also essential for when a teacher is away from class to ensure that there is continuity in the program delivery. I enjoyed reading about the three different approaches: skill based, task based and PPP. I definitely lean towards the task based approach as I believe that it helps students apply the skills that they've learned and is more engaging than the other methods. That being said there is always a place for the other two approaches. As a teacher becomes more experienced I think that they weave in and out of the three methods, as long as they don't lose sight of their lesson objectives I don't see a problem with using all three at some point in a unit. As always when we teach, regardless of the approach, we must always keep the needs of the student in mind.

I found this article very useful when reflecting on creating lesson plans.

Lesson planning and classroom survival

Snow, D. (2012). Lesson plannng and classroom survival. In More than a native speaker. (pp.

     66-73). Annapolis Junction, MD: Tesol Press. Retrieved from: https://www.tesol.org

      /docs/books/bk_morethannative_325.

Unit 3: Corrective Feedback and Assessment in Writing

I found this to be a very interesting unit. I know that many of us say we want corrective feedback but then when we get it we can respond less receptively than we should. For assignment 3 we needed to share our work with an experienced ESL teacher. This was a task that caused me some anxiety. I have been a teacher for many years but this was the first time in quite awhile that I have had to show someone my work for a critique. It turned out to be a great experience. The teacher I shared my lesson with offered some great ideas for improvements or changes that would work for my lesson. She validated the approach that I used and encouraged me to continue on the same path. She was specific in what she was referring to when she was giving her feedback. This is so true for our students as well. Too often teachers fall into the trap of saying 'great job' or 'needs work' or even just assigning a grade without corrective feedback. I believe that all students want to improve and do their best work. The only way they can do that is if we offer them tangible feedback paired with re-teaching if necessary and the opportunity to practice.

Something that I have been trying to do for my own professional learning, is to locate articles or theses that have genuine input from second language learners. This unit I found a thesis by Anna Deptola on language learners' preferences. Although it was a small scale study (9 students) the general consensus was that students wanted corrective feedback, specifically in the areas of grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary and word choice. (Which is pretty much everything you need for language study!)

I also spent some time reflecting on the types of corrective feedback and made a chart which I have included under Unit 3 in my course tab.

Language Learner Preferences for Corrective Feedback

Unit 1: Developing materials and copyright

This is definitely a challenging area, as there is a fine balance between wanting to share resources that you know will support learning and monitoring what can and can't be shared. I think that the Copyright Matters! booklet(see resources for link) put out by the Government of Canada should be a document that teachers keep on hand at all times when planning units. There is a little more leeway and freedom since the amendment in 2012 but it is still essential that teachers review the document prior to using materials in their original format. I think that we are fortunate to have all the accessibility to video and audio recordings that we do now to use in our classroom. I also appreciate being able to look on line for starting points for lesson plans, with a few tweaks to meet the needs of my class I can save time by adapting materials that already exist.






Noel, W., & Snel, J. (2016). Copyright Matters!: Some Key Issues Questions & Answers for Teachers. Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. Retrieved from http://cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/291/Copyright_Matters.pdf

Unit 6 Lessons learned

Preparing lessons is challenging, but also exciting. The chance to help students to learn something new, to develop their skills or to impact their education is what makes teaching such a worthwhile career. It is important though not to be complacent. Teaching is not about creating a bank of lessons that you pull out every time you teach that topic.
 It is important for teachers to reflect on the lesson after it is taught. Making notes on the lesson for changes that you would make or for what worked especially well, will help in the planning for the next lesson. Each class is unique, one size does not fit all, so it is important that as you prepare the lesson that you know who your students are so that you can meet their needs.
Lesson planning is not only about knowing who your students are. You must also know your content and your learning targets. Check out the curriculum prior to beginning your preparation. You might think it is important for students to have a specific skill, and it is fine to introduce that to them, however, ensure that your assessment reflects what the outcomes are for the lesson and be sure to keep the curriculum or CLB in mind. Assessments need to be based on what is actually in the curriculum, not what you believe a student should know.  Remember to let your students know what the outcomes for the lesson are so that everyone has the goals in sight.
Enjoy the planning, knowing that this lesson might be the one that helps your students turn the corner on their learning journey.

Here are some questions that I would use as I begin my lesson planning:

1. What level are my students at?
2. What are my main objectives (terminal) and my supporting objectives for the lesson?
3. What activating strategy will I use to engage students in the task?
4. How can I build variety into my lesson? 
5. How much time do I need to allocate to each task?
6. What materials and resources will I require for the lesson?
7. Do I have a good balance of teacher and student talk in the lesson?
8. How can I differentiate for students who may not be able to complete the lesson as planned?
9. How will I measure the students' learning (formative and summative)?
10. What extra-class activity will I assign?


Just starting the lesson planning journey? Here's an article to help get you started.

How to write a lesson plan