LESSON PLAN

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Date:

Teacher:

School:

Room:

Level: Elementary

No. of students: 9 (4 female. 5 male)

Time: 9:30-10:30

Rationale for the lesson

I have recently acquired this elementary class, having taught higher level classes for the
last 6 months or so. From what I have gauged so far, the class is fairly mixed ability, with
some having just arrived from beginners and others soon to pass to pre-intermediate. I
have not specifically looked at differentiating my materials but hope that I have
designed a lesson that will give the varying levels of elementary students a challenge
without being too easy or difficult. For low level classes, in particular, I feel students are
more engaged when there is a change in pace and activity, and when they feel they are
gaining new lexical knowledge, as well as having a themed lesson to give it context.
Most of this class is quite shy when it comes to speaking and they recently struggled
with a listening test. This is why I am going to be giving a lesson with a London theme,
giving them an opportunity for speaking practice, listening to authentic language and
learning new vocabulary that can be applied to real-life situations.

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Class Profile

X is 25 and Chilean. He is a happy and enthusiastic student, though sometimes has

lapses in attention, as well as bursts of genius. He is quite good at and keen on speaking,
though needs to work on listening.

X is 18 and Libyan. He is a sweet and shy student, and can sometimes get frustrated and
frustrate others (during group/pair work) because he does not understand as quickly.
He moved from beginners recently and tends to need more time and explanation than
others. This can sometimes affect his level of motivation and he struggles with speaking
at times. However, he does seem to have good knowledge of the basics as he
occasionally corrects others on certain aspects (i.e. third person ‘s’). As long as he is kept
motivated, he will focus and produce good work.

X is 28 and Chilean. She is always hard-working and motivated. She is also very
conscientious; for example, if a mistake is pointed out, she is usually able to self-correct.
She is not particularly confident in speaking fluency but will always participate and try
her best.

X is 18 and Brazilian. Her attendance is not particularly good so I do not know her very
well. However, when she has been to class, she has participated well. When focussed,
she seems to pick things up quite quickly.

X is 20 and South Korean. She is one of the strongest in the class in terms of her
language knowledge and application. She is very hard-working and also very
conscientious and with writing, in particular, will always try to push herself a little
further. She just needs to be more confident in her ability as she is a little shy. Her
speaking is fairly accurate but she speaks very quietly.

X is 44 and Spanish. He lives in Brighton permanently (though I do not know how long
he has been here). He is also a motivated student and is particularly patient with Ali. He
is confident and likes to speak but lacks accuracy, but he has a good sense of humour
and is always willing to participate.

X is 30 and Swiss German. She is one of the weaker students and lacks a lot of
vocabulary and often asks me if words in (Swiss) German are English. Initially, she came
across as a little temperamental (perhaps from frustration at lack of language call upon)
but her A teacher and I have noticed a big change in her attitude recently. She seems a
lot happier and is growing in confidence and this shows during the lessons, in terms of
her willingness to participate.

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X is 21 and South Korean. He is very shy but also very motivated. He is quiet but often
very accurate (i.e. he will whisper correct answers rather than confidently volunteering
them). He is sweet and friendly and, with encouragement, produces good work.

X is 23 and South Korean. I have met him just once as he just transferred over from
another elementary class. It is his last week and, from what I have seen, it is a shame he
is leaving at ‘elementary’ level. From the one lesson, I feel that he is possibly one of the
strongest students and has good language knowledge and confidence to apply it. He
also has the best pronunciation in the class. Having spoken to his previous teacher, the
only reason he has remained in elementary is his slightly-too-relaxed attitude at times.
He is not particularly conscientious about accuracy (not necessarily a bad thing).
Nevertheless, he seems to have a good sense of humour and is willing to participate.

Main aims

To encourage more confidence in speaking.

To provide an opportunity for low-level authentic listening.
To teach new vocabulary in context.

Subsidiary aims

To revise ‘can’ from previous lesson – writing and speaking.

To provide an opportunity for spelling and pronunciation practice.

Personal aims

To create a comfortable classroom environment.

To ensure understanding of activities using ICQs and CCQs where necessary.
To reduce TTT.

Objectives

By the end of the lesson, the students will have been given the opportunity to:

…speak more confidently.

…apply new vocabulary to buying a ticket from the train station.
…listen to authentic, non-graded language.

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Anticipated problems and solutions

PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS
1. Students may not guess the Activity is just for fun. Give them clues,
zoomed-in pictures. where necessary.
2. Some tasks will be far easier/more Provide a variety of activities to ensure
difficult to some students than each student takes something away from
others. the lesson. Encourage peer teaching.
Monitor and differentiate tasks where
possible.
3. Students may be taken aback by Clarify that they will be listening to ‘real’
the authentic listening and be English and will not need to understand
demotivated. every single thing. Go through task clearly
before playing.
4. Vocabulary in the role-play Pre-teach some vocab. Student B can
dialogue is quite challenging. Some choose an easier/more difficult situation
students will find this particularly from the sheet. Monitor and help as much
challenging. as possible.
5. There may be an odd number of A group of 3. 2 As and 1 B
students so the A-B role play may
be difficult.
6. Students may be shy during the Give them plenty of practice in pairs,
role play activity monitor and provide encouragement
where necessary. During monitoring,
check that a group/groups are happy to
‘show’ the class.

Assumptions

 Students will understand my instructions.

 Students will have some knowledge of London.
 Students will remember ‘can’ language from existing knowledge or last week’s
lesson.
 Students will be willing to participate.

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 Resources to be used in class

1.) Board pens, whiteboard, IWB.

2.) IWB Starboard materials – teacher’s own.
3.) Triptico IWB resource – Word magnets – jumbled spelling activity.
4.) [Link] – Live from London – Sights - audio recording.
5.) [Link] – Live from London – Sights - adapted worksheet.
6.) Role Plays for Today – At the train station. Delta Publishing 2006.

Lesson plan

TIMING TEACHER & STUDENT ACTIVITY TEACHER’S PURPOSE INTERACTION

4 mins Explain activity – big pictures Capture students’ interest and T-Ss
zoomed in. Guess what they are. introduce theme.
Slides – ‘metonymy’ pics. Give clues, Ss-T
elicit more info where necessary, i.e. Encourage some discussion
What stations can you name? Where
does the Queen live? Have you been
on the London Eye?
Check vocab and pron.

5 mins (9 Revision: Provide an opportunity for T-Ss

mins in) Slide - What can you do in London? revision of previous language,
In London, you can… linking it to the current topic. Ss-T
Elicit example.
Ask students to write 3 sentences Ss alone
(different verbs).
Monitor, share with partners. Get S-S
some examples from class.

7 mins ‘Sights’ in a city. Triptico spelling Provide students with some pre- Ss-Ss
magnets – Get volunteer (volunteer task vocab. and visual cues in
has easy job!) Demo ‘park’. preparation for the listening
Students guess the words and help task.
spell together. S-S
Check words with pictures on next Ss-T
slide. What sights do you have in
your city? A few examples from
students.

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4 mins (20 Check vocabulary ‘tourist’ and pron. Provide lead-in to task. Activate Ss-T
mins in) schemata. T-Ss
Hand out adapted listening
worksheet – Look at the map. Do T-Ss
you know these places? Elicit extra Ss-T
info from any volunteers.

5 mins We are going to listen to some Clarification of listening task. T-Ss

tourists in London. They speak fast Provide authentic listening
but don’t worry. practice.
On the map, if you hear the place,
tick.
ICQs/Demo
Play recording

Check together as class. Ss-Ss

5 mins (30 Specific questions activity. Verify answers. Provide practice Ss alone
mins in) Time to read Qs. Check any difficult for listening for specific info. Ss-T
vocab.
Listen again. Ss alone
Check in pairs. Class feedback. S-S

Change pairs. To give the students an

opportunity to work with a new
partner

5 mins Q. How do you normally travel from Lead in to next task T-Ss
Brighton to London? – By train Ss-T
CCQs to elicit vocab for ticket, single, Pre-teach key vocab. for next
return, fare, student discount, half task S-S
price, journey, change trains…
Board vocab.

Approx. Role plays for today – At the train Provide controlled speaking S-S
13 mins station. practice and marker sentences.
(48 mins Handouts. As one side, Bs the other Repetition of activity to T-Ss
in) Check instructions and time to check reinforce language.
vocab in pairs. Demo.
In pairs. Swap roles.
Monitor – intonation?? and get a

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 volunteer group/groups.

6 mins Class watch. Feedback and any pron Provide opportunity for T-Ss
issues. speaking accuracy after practice

Approx. 6 Flexi-time: End of lesson, spelling Review vocabulary T-Ss

mins circle. Ss-Ss
Give clues, elicit word and spell in a
circle. No writing!