topic 8 - lesson planning reading

7/29/2019 Topic 8 - Lesson Planning Reading

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TOPIC 8 LESSON PLANNING

SYNOPSIS

This unit will cover some general matters about lesson planning: the whats, whys and

hows about this essential component of teaching. It will be followed by incorporating

these matters into a lesson for teaching the reading skill. A sample lesson plan is

provided to illustrate and consolidate what has been discussed.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this unit, course participants will be able to:

identify the essential elements of lesson planning

plan a reading lesson based on a given passage

FRAMEWORK OF TOPIC:

What is a lesson plan?

A lesson plan is a framework teachers use to deliver their lessons. It gives an overall

shape or idea of the content and the activities teachers want to carry out in the

lesson. These content and activities are bound by the learning outcomes teachers

hope to achieve at the end of the lesson.

A plan helps teachers to think about where they are heading, and ideas of what to do

the next day and the following day or week. Having a plan will also pull teachers back

on track if they have deviated or distracted momentarily in the classroom. A plan also

gives the learners confidence: they know immediately whether a teacher has thought

LESSON

PLANNING

General matters

about lesson

planning


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about the lesson and enables them to respond accordingly. It may also suggest the

teachers professionalism and commitment to their job and charge.

A lesson plan is not and will never be a prescription carved on stone. It is a versatile

document peppered with possibilities for the lesson. It may work or not work

depending on the real-time scenario in the classroom. All sorts of things can gowrong or happen during a lessonthe equipment not working, a power failure, pupils

called up for some unexpected event, etc. Of course, everyone is happy when

everything goes according to plan. So what happens if things dont work as planned?

This is when the teacher has to be flexible and think on the spotto leave the plan to

satisfy or deal with the immediate needs of the pupils (reflection-in-action).

Sometimes, the plan may have to be abandoned completely. Then after the lesson,

the teacher can look back at it and see why it did not work (reflection-on-action) and

devise ways to save the lesson for a later date, albeit with necessary changes made.

What makes a good lesson plan?

A good lesson plan should reflect a judicious blend of coherence and variety. There

should be a logical pattern and smooth transition of activities from one stage to

another ending up with activities that culminate with the learners exhibiting

behaviours outlined in the learning objectives of the lesson. Even if there may be

three different activities incorporating different language skills, they should be some

connection between them. It does not make much sense if you start off the lesson

asking pupils to listen to something, ask a few comprehension questions and then

get them to do some drills or do an activity that is unrelated to the listening task.

Spending 20 minutes of a half-hour lesson on relentless mechanical drills is nothing

but boring. Worse still, it is damaging. The lack of variety kills the learners interest in

the lesson and does not engage them in real-life learning. There has to be some

variety in a lesson

A lesson must have an overall theme and the activities are all built around the theme.

The same principle applies to a sequence of lessons that stretch over a few days or

weeks. There needs to be a coherent pattern of progress and topic-linking so that

there is a connection between lessons which are bound together by the overall aim

and objectives.

However, Harmer (1998) cautioned against two dangers that may prejudice the

success of a sequence of lessons. He talked about predictability and sameness.

When learners can predict what is to happen in the next lesson, they will be less

motivated to learn. Similarly, if the same kind of activity is presented day-in-day-out,

or the activity for day two is exactly the same as the one carried out the day before

the learners will lose their enthusiasm.


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So remember to thread your lessons with activities which bring variety and interest to

the learning process.

What if?

What if you have pupils of different levels? What if the class is too large or extremely

small? What if the pupils do not understand English? Or use their mother tongues?

What if the pupils cannot understand what they read or cant read? These scenarios

are not uncommon in our classrooms. So how do we cater to the different needs of

our pupils? What are the possible ways to deal with these problems and situations?

Obviously, one size does not fit all!

There is no clear-cut solution to these problems but differentiated learning could be

an answer to some of them. Below are some tried out suggestions.

Pupils of different levels

1. Use different materials

This is similar to the discussion in the previous topic: attending to remedial and

able readers. When the better group is doing a more advanced exercise, the

weaker ones can be doing something else with or without the teacher

facilitating the task.

2. Doing different tasks with the same material

Set different tasks for pupils of different abilities. For example, set questions of

different levels from the same reading text.

3. Use the pupils

Get better pupils to help the weaker ones. They can work as pairs or in

groups, explaining vocabulary, completing reading tasks or modelling good

reading strategies.

Large class

1. Use pair work and group work

2. Use group leaders

Do not understand English/use the mother tongue

1. Only respond in English using the mother tongue is permissible in the

beginning stages but wean the pupils from their dependence on it overtime.


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2. Create an English environment put up materials used in the lesson so

that an English-language rich environment will be created over time.

3. One task at a time give them a straightforward task which does not

demand too much detailed understanding.

4. Talk with the pupils how they should feel about using English. Remind

them that overuse of the mother tongue means that they have less chance

to learn English; that using their own language denies them chances of

practising and using English.

What should be in a plan?

A lesson plan must be complete with who the target pupils are, what is going to be

taught or learnt, how is it going to be learnt, or taught and with what. In other words, a

good lesson plan must outline in detail all this information. Also, the lesson plan

should include the objectives of the lesson and on the side, why are these

procedures used, what is the guiding teaching-learning theory behind them.

Some final notes about lesson planning

Planning is a thinking skill. Before you go into a lesson, it helps to be clear aboutwhat you want to do. A lot is going to happen on the spot in the classyou cannot

predict how your learners will learn and respond to your teachingbut the better

prepared you are, the more likely you will be able to cope with whatever happens.

Planning is imagining the lesson before it happens. It involves prediction,

anticipation, sequencing, organising and simplifying (Scrivener, 2005).

A written plan is evidence that you have done that thinking. It can also be a useful in-

lesson reminder to you of your pre-lesson thoughts. Remember your plan is not set inconcrete. As a general rule: Prepare thoroughly, but in class, teach the learners

not the plan. What that means is that you are prepared to respond to the learners

and adapt what you have planned as you go along, even to the extent of throwing the

plan away if it is inappropriate. A carefully worked-out plan is the end result of

thinking logically through the content of the lesson before the lesson. Thinking

through possible content and problems before class provides you with informed

choices that set you free in the class. However, a teacher who is mainly concerned

with following the lesson plan to the T is unlikely to be responding to what is actually

happening in class.

The two key questions that need to be considered when planning a lesson are:


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what are the aims of the lesson?

what is my procedure?

If you can answer these two questions, you can be clear about what you hope your

learners will have achieved at the end of the lesson.

That is a brief insight on some general matters that can be used to guide us when we

plan a lesson.

Task

Individual teachers vary in the amount of planning they do. Look at the diagram

below of lesson planning areas. In pairs, rank these areas in order of importance, and

discuss the reason for your decision. Discuss the ranking with the rest of your group,

and add to the diagram any other points which have come up in your diagram.

Lesson

Planning

Content

(textbook materials,

supplementary materials)

Aims/Objectives

Timing

Teaching aids

Procedures

(how/when)

Interaction formats

(group, whole class,

individual)


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Writing a lesson plan for teaching the reading skill

When we write a lesson plan, we are in some way or other guided by the principles

and procedures of the skill to be taught. For example, the procedure for a grammar

lesson will be different from that of a writing lesson or that of a reading one. What

makes them all different is very much dependent on the skill to be taught and the

purpose of the lesson.

A reading lesson is to develop a number of sub-skills of reading. So the lesson will

contain activities that will lead eventually to achieving those sub-skills. A reading

lesson will then typically consist of the three main phases of pre-reading stage, while-

reading and post-reading.

What goes into each of these stages and how do they differ from one another?

Pre-reading

This stage is to

arouse the pupils interest

help predictions

provide some language preparation for the text (key words or phrases).

So the activities that teachers carry out to address the first aim is to encourage the

pupils to think about and discuss what they are going to read or the teacher can

introduce some background information about the content of the text to prepare them

for a later activity.

Using relia, visuals, and other references to the pupils experiences can help to

arouse interest and to activate any knowledge they have about the topic. The teacher

can use questions to help them predict what they are going to read.

Then the teacher needs to consider whether there are any key words which may

need to be taught before reading the text. Introducing the words may make

understanding the text easier. In any case, language preparation does not mean that

the teacher should explain every possible unknown word and structure in the text.


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While-reading

This phase draws on the text, that is, the learners work with the text to fulfil various

goals. Among the aims of this phase are to

understand the writers purpose

understand the text structure

clarify text content focusing on meaning

The traditional comprehension exercise at the end of a text is a typical example of a

while-reading activity. Other examples include finding answers to questions asked at

the pre-reading stage, transferring information to graphic form, completing lists,

sequencing pictures or short summaries, etc.

Generally, coursebooks and textbooks provide lots of exercises for the while-reading

stage. What the teacher needs to do is consider the effects of these exercises and

whether they answer the aims of the reading lesson or curriculum. Also do these

exercises help the pupils to master the reading skill or sub-skills that they lack.

Williams (1993) provides a list of questions teachers can use as a guide in selecting

or designing suitable while reading activities.

a. What is the function of the text?

b. How is the content organised or developed?c. What content or information is to be extracted from the text?

d. What may the reader infer or deduce from the text?

e. What language may be learnt from the text?

f. What reading styles may be practised?

The answers to these questions will reflect the three aims listed above.

As a general rule, while-reading work should begin with a general or globalunderstanding of the text, and then move to smaller units such as paragraphs,

sentence and words. The reason for this is that the larger units provide a context for

understanding the smaller unitsa paragraph or sentence, for example, may help

the reader to understand a word.


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Post-reading

The activities for this stage of the lesson does not directly refer to the text (we are

done with the text at the while-reading stage). The work done here is often referred to

as a lift-off or grows out of the content of the reading text. For that, the aims of this

phrase are to

consolidate or reflect upon what has been read

relate the text to the learners own knowledge, interests or views.

Hence, some of the activities that can be carried out is asking the pupils their reaction

to the text or ask the pupils to draw a picture or diagram or make a list of suggestions

to the problem relayed in the text.

The type of activity at this stage depends very much on the objectives of the lesson.

The post-reading work should contribute in a coherent manner to the rest of the

reading activity.

The information below presented by Scrivener (2005) is an overview of the three-

stage approach discussed above.

Pre-reading 1 Introduction and lead-in, e.g. get the learners interested in the topic,initial discussion of key themes, make an explicit link between the topicof the text and learners own lives and experiences, focus on important

language that will come in the text.2 First task (pre-reading), e.g. predict from some extracted information

(illustration, key words, headlines, etc.), read questions about the text,learners compose their own questions.

While-reading 3 Tasks to focus on fast reading for gist (skimming), e.g. check textagainst predictions made beforehand, guess the title from a choice ofthree options, put events (or illustrations) in the correct order.

4 Tasks to focus on fast reading for specific details (scanning), e.g. findsingle items of information in the text.

5 Tasks to focus on meaning (general points), e.g. answer questionsabout meaning, make use of information in the text to do something(make a sketch, fill out a form, find out which picture is being described,etc.) discuss issues, summarises arguments, compare viewpoints.

6 Tasks to focus on meaning (finer points, more intensive comprehensiveunderstanding)

7 Tasks to focus on individual language items, e.g. vocabulary ofgrammar exercises, use of dictionaries, work out meaning of words fromcontext.

Post-reading 8 Follow-on task, e.g. role-play, debate, writing task (e.g. write a letter inreply), personalisation (e.g. Have you ever had an experience like thisone?

9 Closing, e.g. draw the lesson to a conclusion, tie up loose ends, reviewwhat has been read and what has been learned.


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Final notes on the three-stage approach

The three phases offer teachers a framework to help them develop the reading skill

among the pupils as well as to answer some problems related to motivating the

pupils, carrying out reading-based activities and devising reading-related activities.

The aim of the pre-reading is to arouse interest in the topic by drawing the learners

prior knowledge of the world and their opinions. It can also generate relevant

vocabulary. It is carried out before the learners have seen the text. The while-reading

phase is to help the learners understand the structure and content of the text and the

writers purpose. It may involve language work, and it should try to give the learners a

purpose for reading. Finally, the post-reading is aimed at helping the learner to

consolidate and reflect upon what has been read.

The pre- and the post- reading phases generate activities which call on the use ofother skills and help to integrate these skills to make the lesson a coherent whole.

We have gone through some of the basics about lesson planning both in general as

well as a reading lesson. Lets now look at an example of a lesson plan for teaching

the reading skill.

The following lesson plan is drawn with some specific curriculum specifications inmind. There are several alternative sets of activities for the pre-reading, while-reading

and production stage although they may share the same activities for the set

induction and the closure.

The purpose of presenting these alternatives is to exemplify the notion that one text

can be exploited in various ways to teach reading and that checking understanding of

a passage need not always be the mundane comprehension-type questions. With

that purpose in mind, the curriculum specifications and objectives of the lesson may

need to be adjusted accordingly.

Please read the lesson plan with an open-mind that this is just a plan and may not be

the best of plans. It is open to changes and adaptations.

Alternative activities are clearly marked. Teachers have the liberty to choose the

activities that best suit their pupils.


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Lesson Plan

Date :

Class : Year 5

Enrolment : 37

Time : 7.20 a.m. 8.20 a.m.(1 hour)

Theme : World of Knowledge

Topic : Culture and Traditions

Main skill : Reading (Comprehension / Vocabulary words)

Integrated skill (s) : Writing

Curriculum Specifications:

Learning Outcome(s) Specification(s)

3.8 Read and understand simple factual textsfor main ideas, supporting details,sequence and cause and effect.

3.8.2 Scan for specific information in texts.

3.8.4 Read and understand simple factual texts byanswering comprehension questions in relation

to:- main ideas- details

4.4 Construct simple and compoundsentences with guidance andindependently.

4.4.3 Construct simple and compound sentencesindependently by looking at pictures.


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Learning outcomes / objectives:

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:

i. scan for specific information in the text to answer comprehension questions

ii. construct simple or compound sentences to answer comprehension questions.

Previous knowledge : Pupils know about badminton and they know how to play badminton.

Language focus : Vocabulary: racquet, singles, doubles, net, indoors, outdoors, shuttlecock,opponents, court, outstanding

Teaching aid(s) : Picture, realia, power point sl ides, worksheets

Educational Emphases/Thinking skills

: Knowledge acquisition, reasoning

Moral value(s) : Respect and diligence


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Stage/Time Content Teaching/Learning Activities Rationale Remarks

Set Induction

(5 minutes)

Teacher shows pupils pictures ofDatuk Lee Chong Wei and askswho he is and what they knowabout him.

Teacher asks them if they want tobe like him and play as well as him.

Teacher tells pupils they are going

to read about badminton.

To arouse pupils intereston the topic that they aregoing to learn.

To relate the topic to thepupils prior knowledge.

Who is thisperson?What do youknow abouthim?Do you like toplay like him?

Pre-reading

(25 minutes)

Vocabulary

racquet, singles,doubles, net, indoors,outdoors, shuttlecock,opponents, court,outstanding

Reading with the correct

pronunciation andintonation

Locating specificinformation

Teacher shows word cardsand drills pupils to read with thecorrect pronunciation.

Teacher explains the meaning ofthe words by showing thempictures or actions.

Teacher models reading thepassage paragraph by paragraphwith the correct pronunciation andintonation

Pupils read after teacher.

Next, pupils read in groups.

Teacher monitors the reading and

corrects when there are errors inpronunciation.

Teacher asks pupils severalquestions to check their overallunderstanding of the text byguiding them how to locate theanswers in the passage

Pupils answer the questions orally.

To introduce vocabulary topupils.

To model reading and toguide pupils to read withthe correct pronunciation.

To check overallcomprehension

The passage ison power point

What doplayers use toplaybadminton?


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Teacher guides pupils to answer incomplete sentences.

Teacher shows them examplesbefore asking them to do theirwritten task.

*** alternative activity 1

Teacher distributes the K-W-L form

and asks the pupils to complete theK column with what they knowabout badminton.

To teach pupils how tolocate specific informationand to answer in completesentences

Linking prior knowledge tothe content of the passage.

Where dopeople playbadminton?

This activity ismore suitablefor pupils whohave an aboveaverage ability.

While-Reading

(15 minutes)

Answer comprehension

questions

Teacher distributes the worksheetand instructs the pupils to answerthe comprehension questions usingsimple and compound sentences

*** alternative activity 1(see sample)

Teacher asks pupils to completethe W column with what they wantto find out about badminton.

Teacher asks pupils to read thepassage and find answers to thequestions they wrote in the Wcolumn.

To locate specificinformation and to answerin complete sentencesusing simple andcompound sentences


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*** alternative activity 2 (see sample)

Teacher distributes the worksheetand instructs pupils to complete thegraphic organiser with informationgleaned from the text.

*** alternative activity 3 (see sample)

Answer true/false statements

To transfer informationfrom linear to non-linearform

Post Reading

(10 minutes)

Jazz Chant

Teacher tells pupils they are goingto do a jazz chant.

Teacher shows pupils the chant onthe power point.

Teacher models to pupils how todo the chant.

Pupils chant in groups


Pupils complete the L column with

what new information they havelearnt about badminton.

This can be followed by a classdiscussion on what newinformation they have found outabout badminton.

Then the jazz chant activity can beincorporated into the rest of the

To extent the topic to achant

For enjoyment

To add new knowledge toexisting ones


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lesson.


Get pupils to design aCongratulations card for DatukLee Chong Wei congratulating himfor his silver medal in the Olympics.


Word search (see sample)


Small words from BIG words (seesample)

To link learning to real lifeexperienceTo enable pupils toexpress themselves.

Closure

(5 minutes)

Brief evaluation and

integration of moral

values

Teacherevaluates the days lessonby asking a few questions.

Teacher integrates the moral valueby asking pupils what makes achampion like Datuk Lee Chong

Wei?.

To check pupils overallcomprehension of the textand how the content isrelated to their lives.

How did DatukLee Chong Weibecome sogood?

Adapted from Amelia Soons lesson plan (2011)


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Reading passage:

Jazz Chant:

BADMINTON

Whats this game?

Where do you play badminton?

What do you need?

Badminton! Badminton! Its badminton!

Badminton court! Badminton court! At thebadminton court!

A racquet and a shuttlecock! A racquetand a shuttlecock! A racquet and ashuttlecock!

Badminton is a racquet sport played by two players or two pairs of players.

They are called singles ordoubles game respectively. Badminton is played at a

badminton court eitherindoors oroutdoors. The court is divided into halves by a

net.

Players score points by hitting a shuttlecock with their racquets to pass it

over the net to land in the opponents half of the court.

There are international competitions like the Thomas Cup for the men and

the Uber Cup for the women. The competitions take place once every two years.

Other competitions include the All-England, Sudirman Cup and the Malaysian

Open. These international competitions attract many outstanding players from all

over the world.

Datuk Lee Chong Wei is one of the greatest badminton players in our

country. He has won many competitions like the Malaysian Open, Singapore

Open, Japan Open,

and the All-England.


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Sample K-W-L table

BADMINTON

WHAT I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO FINDOUT

WHAT I HAVE LEARNT

Sample Graphic Organiser

Complete the chart below.

BADMINTON International

competitions

the game

famous

Malaysian

player

equipment

i. ________________

ii. outdoors

i. racket

ii. _______________

iii._______________

court

i. Thomas Cup

ii. _________________

iii._________________

men


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Sample True or False statement.

Read the following statements about Badminton. Put a tick () for statements that

are TRUE, cross (X) for statements that are FALSE and write (NA) for information

not found in the text.

1. Badminton can be played in a hall or in the open.

2. Badminton must be played with someone.

3. Most people play badminton indoors.

4. The Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup are important badmintoncompetitions.

5. The Sudirman Cup is played every two years.

6. All outstanding players are from Malaysia.

7. Datuk Lee Chong Wei has won many international competitions aroundthe world.

Sample: Wordsearch

Find these words about BADMINTON in the maze.

D N A L G N E L L A S P

A D E T A Y W N S H I U

T H E P I R E I U R N C

R N Q X O M A T X B G SU C P U S N T C A V L A

O E H E A L A M Q M E M

C T N T E J E P S U S O

J I Z C S O T R A N E H

L A O R U Y E Y I J B T

M C D O U B L E S P Y W

K P U C R E B U B N M C

T M G G R R X O A C Q U

All England

court

doubles

Japan Openlinesmen

net

racquet

umpire

sot

shuttlecock

Singapore Open

singles

Thomas Cup

Uber Cup


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Sample: Small words from BIG words

How many small words can you form from BADMINTON?

Example: bad, ton, in, on, mind, tin, etc.

Task

Task 1: Read the text on The Stages of a Reading Lesson and then complete the

task the follows.

The stages of a reading lesson

A reading lesson is often divided into three phases: pre-reading, while-reading and post-

reading. The main purposes of each of the three phases are indicated below.

PRE-READING

to stimulate interest in the topic and to motivate pupils by providing a reason for

reading

to activate pupils prior knowledge of the topic

to provide language preparation for the text

WHILE-READING

to clarify content and vocabulary in the text

to help pupils understand the writers purpose

to help pupils understand the structure of the text

POST READING

to consolidate and reflect upon what has been read

to relate the text to the pupils own knowledge/interest/views

to provide a stimulus for other language activities


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Each of the following tables represents a stage of a reading lesson. The steps

in each phase is logically arranged.

Identify the phase of each table and write the rationale for the activities.

Table 1

LessonStage

Teaching Steps Rationale

1. Teacher tells the class to work on thevocabulary and grammar exercises in theworksheet.

a) Find the words in the text (para 1) thathave the same meaning as the words in

bold in the sentences below.

i. No one dares to bullythe lion.ii. All the villagers fled ...

2. Teacher tells the class to discuss in groupsa situation related to the topic.

e.g.What advice would you give to the farmer sothat he will take better care of the donkey?

Activity 1:

Activity 2:

Table 2

LessonStage


1. Teacher tells the class that they are going toread a story about a donkey.

2. Teacher then asks the class a generalquestion about donkeys.

e.g.How are donkeys helpful to man?

Activity 1:

Activity 2:


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Table 3

LessonStage


1. Teacher shows three questions on the boardand tells the pupils to find the answers to themas they read the text.

e.g.i. Why did the donkey run away from the

farm?ii. Where did the donkey go to find food?iii. Was the donkey clever or foolish?

Pupils read the text and answers the question.Teacher checks the answers with the pupils.

2. Teacher then distributes the worksheets to thepupils.Teacher tells the pupils to read the text silentlya second time. As they read, they are tonumber the sentences according to thesequence of the events in the story.

After they have finished the reading, teachergoes through the answers with the pupils.

Activity 1:

Activity 2:

Task 2

Use the passage below to plan a reading lesson for a Year 6 class.

Your lesson plan should include clearly:

the curriculum specifications

the objectives of the lesson

the activities for each stage of the lesson*

the rationale for the activities

suitable teaching aids

* refrain from the ever popular comprehension-type questions. Instead, plan other

activities to check reading comprehension

Be prepared to micro-teach your lesson in the next tutorial.


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Thats the end of this topic. Take a break before

moving on to the next one.


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Reference

Gower, R., Phillips, D. & Walters, S. (2005) Teaching practice: A handbook for

teachers in training. Oxford: Macmillan.

Harmer, J. 1998. Teach English. Essex: Addison-Wesley Longman.

Scivener, J. 2005. Learning teaching. Oxford: Macmillan.

Williams, E. 1993. Reading in the language classroom. London: Macmillan.

topic 8 - lesson planning reading

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