Let’s move onto the third part of our new series where will be sharing real lessons plans that have been taught by our teachers to classes of students across the world. The goal of this series is to give you an idea of what a successful lesson plan looks like so you can create your own. Good lesson plans are at the core of positive relationships with your students, classes that assist in their progress, and a confident teacher who can deliver quality lessons.
This lesson plan is for high school students with a good level of English, the content is about the environment.
Warm Up
The warm up here uses a game to encourage students to start thinking about the topic they will be focussing on in that lesson, rather than recapping previously learned content. The game in question is called ‘Last Letter’, it’s quite complex and is only appropriate for advanced learners, but can be really fun if it is 
done well. Students sit in a circle, the first student will say a word related to the topic before the next student follows with another, on the same topic that must start with the last letter of the previous word, and so on around the circle. It can be quite difficult but gets students focussed and thinking, and a competitive edge can also be useful, students who cannot think of a word are out. Any game that introduces the lesson content and gets students excited would work here.
Introduction / Context / Practice
In the introduction section of this lesson plan, the teachers presents the topic words one by one, using pictures to help as a visual aide. A class discussion lead by the teacher would be beneficial at this point, to see what knowledge students already have about the topic. Engaging delivery is crucial here, it’s important that the teachers brings energy and enthusiasm to the vocabulary that could otherwise be dull.
The context part of this lesson plan comes in the form of a video that tests students listening skills. Here, they will see examples of how the target vocabulary is used within sentences, with the goal of them producing the same later in the lesson. Videos are a great tool to engage students and give context.
Finally, students will use what they have learned in the practice section of the lesson. In this plan they are put into groups and given a picture showing one form of climate change. In their groups, they must discuss what they think the picture shows and discuss what they think about it. Classroom management is key here, as disruptive students may avoid doing the task and talk amongst themselves instead. Eventually, each group will present their picture to the class and explain their opinions. Group work and presentations are a great way we can assess what students have learned, but make sure everyone gets involved and practices their English, even if it’s just a little bit.
Assessment
The assessment section of this lesson plan is quite fun and comes in the form of a game, this is ok because the teacher has also used the practice element to gauge where students are at with their learning. The class is split into two teams and are each given the same number of jumbled up statements about the environment. The team that can unjumble the sentences fastest is the winner.
Cool Down
By last but by no means least is the cool down part of the lesson, and yet another game is used in this plan. If the teacher knows the class well and trusts them to behave then there is nothing wrong with this, providing the games are helping students learn. Two sets of words and pictures are stuck on the board as the class remains split into teams. One student from each team comes to the board and competes to match the words to the pictures. Using games and competition is a great way to motivate students and get them to work harder in class.
We hope you have enjoyed and found value in seeing what a great lesson plan contains. As you can see, it isn’t rocket science and is nothing to be afraid of. Your first lesson plan will not be perfect but you will learn as you go, and you’ll be great!
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