Contents

1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................2
1.1 Objectives:..............................................................................................................................3
1.1.1 General............................................................................................................................3
1.1.2 Specific............................................................................................................................3
2. Lesson Plan: Definition.............................................................................................................4
3. The Planning Paradox...............................................................................................................4
4. Stages of lesson planning.........................................................................................................5
4.1 The Pre-Planning................................................................................................................5
4.2 The Actual-Planning............................................................................................................6
4.2.1 Making the Plan Formal...................................................................................................7
5. Stages of a Lesson plan.............................................................................................................9
5.1 Skill (Reading, Speaking, Writing, Listening) lesson plan....................................................9
5.2 System (Grammar, Vocabulary) lesson plan.......................................................................9
6. Why do teachers need to plan?................................................................................................9
7. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................11
8.References..............................................................................................................................12

1
1. Introduction
This essay is about lesson planning.

In any life situation, planning is very crucial. We need to plan what we are going to do
before we even do it, so we save time and other resources. Same with teachers. Every
teacher has to prepare an outline of what he intends to teach, before he makes himself in
to the classroom. This outline is called Lesson Plan, and it can be in the written form or
at the teacher’s cognitive level.

“Occasionally, teachers do some kind of vague ‘corridor planning’ in their heads as they
walk towards the class. Even when teachers do not write notes or decent plan, they
generally have ideas in their head anyway” (Harmer, 2009:365)

The present study attempts, basically, to define lesson plan according to different
scholars and discuss the planning paradox. Furthermore, this study will focus on the
stages that lesson planning goes through, then describe each one of them. Finally, in this
study I will point out some of the advantages of planning lessons in the teaching-
learning process.

This essay is based on Jeremy Harmer’s lesson planning approach.

2
1.1 Objectives:
1.1.1 General
 To raise teacher’s interest on planning lessons by highlighting its importance.
 To make teachers aware of the processes a lesson plan goes through.

1.1.2 Specific
 To detail opinions of different scholars on lesson planning;
 To discuss the planning paradox;
 To discuss the stages of lesson panning;

3
2. Lesson Plan: Definition
1. A lesson plan is the title given to a statement of achievements to be realized and the
specific means by which these are to be attained as a result of the activities engaged in a
day by day under the guidance of the teacher. (Bossing, 1961:283)

2. A lesson plan is actually a plan of action. It, therefore, includes the working
philosophy of the teacher, his knowledge of philosophy, his information about and
understanding of his pupils, his comprehension of the objective of education, his
knowledge of the material to be taught, and his ability to utilize effective methods.
(Stands)

3. A lesson plan is an organized statement of general and specific educational goals

together with the specific means by which these goals are to be attained under the
guidance of the teacher on a given day. (Lee’s)

4. Daily lesson planning involves defining objectives, selecting and arranging the
subject matter and determining the method and procedure. (Bining and Bining)

5. A lesson plan is a detailed step-by-step guide that outlines the teacher’s objectives for
what the students will accomplish during the course of the lesson and how they will
learn it. (Cox)

6. Lessons must be prepared for there’s nothing so fatal to a teacher’s progress than un-
preparedness (Davies)

From the above definitions, we can say that a lesson plan is a teaching tool, which
serves as a road map that helps the teacher in deciding who to teach, what to teach, how
to teach, why to teach and when to teach.

3. The Planning Paradox

Thaine and some other experts increased their emphasis on timetabling and planning in
their teacher training program, because they were concerned that the teachers were not
being adequately trained. They claim that teachers have to develop their skill of
timetabling in daily, weekly or monthly blocks.

On the other hand, Rinvolucri defends that teachers cannot elaborate mental structures
that ignore their flesh-and-blood, here-and-now learners. Added to this, Mallows points
out that what happens in a lesson is the result of an extremely complex interactive

4
system … (whereby) students interact with their teacher and with the language they are
studying, things evolve and develop, depending on what has happened and what is
happening minute by minute. (Harmer, 2009:364)

Teachers should consider this extremely complex interactive system between their
students and the language presented when planning their lessons.

This is then the Planning paradox, in the one hand, it makes no sense to go into any
situation without having thought about what we are going to do. Yet, if we pre-
determine what is going to happen before it has taken place, we are going to be in
danger not only of missing what is right in front of us but, … we may also be closing
off avenues of possible evolution and development. (Harmer, 2009: 364)

However, it has been suggested that the planning paradox is ultimately resolved by the
implementation and adaptation of a lesson plan and the interaction of the plan with the
here-and-now situation of the class once the lesson gets started.

4. Stages of lesson planning

There are two types of lesson plans: The memorized and the written lesson plan.
(Bossing: 1961:285-287). For the purpose of this essay we will focus only on the
written type of lesson plan.

Lesson planning involves two stages:

The Pre-Planning; and

The Actual Planning.

4.1 The Pre-Planning

Before going to the classroom, teachers have to consider various factors, such as, what
to teach, how to teach, who to teach, when to teach, why to teach…

“There is a stage that Teachers go through, either conscious or subconsciously, that

happens before we make a plan of what is going to happen in our lesson. This pre-
planning stage is where we gather ideas and materials and possible starting-off points”.
(Harmer, 2009:367).

In the Pre-planning stage teachers have to consider the syllabus and then think of how to
teach their lesson, basing on the knowledge they have about their students. Teachers

5
also have to consider their class profile, their students’ needs, and their level (what they
are capable of), their behavior as group as well as individual.

However, Tessa Woodward does not make any distinction between pre-planning and the
actual planning. For Woodward when teachers go through this whole process of starting
to gather the material they will use in class, thinking of the students’ needs and their
profile they are already planning.

4.2 The Actual-Planning

After the Pre-planning stage where ideas of what and how to teach were gathered,
teachers go through the actual-planning.

In Actual-Planning teachers have to consider:

 The Syllabus Type – There are different types of syllabuses:

Functional syllabuses (functions such as: inviting, apologizing, thanking, greeting…);

Situational syllabuses (based around situations, such as: at school, at the bank, at the
supermarket…);

Grammatical syllabuses (items related to grammar, such as: degree of adjectives,

present simple, future progressive …);

Lexical syllabuses (based around collocations, idioms …);

Task-based syllabuses (as the name suggests, based on tasks).

When choosing one type of syllabus over the other, teachers might somehow be
restricting students from things that are crucial for their development and evolution in
learning. That is to say that, there are advantages and disadvantages to any of these
choices, therefore, most syllabus designers try to provide a sort of multi-syllabus
syllabus.

 The Lesson Stages – when teachers plan their lesson they have to think about
the stages their lesson will go through and how each part of it hang together in
one. Teachers can make it clear for the students that a stage has just finished by
telling them what they will be doing next or by making summarizing exercises.

6
4.2.1 Making the Plan Formal
Details in a lesson plan will vary depending on educational institutions and trainers and
teachers. Therefore, there are different types of lesson plan schemes.

However, almost all formal lesson plans, present the elements bellow:

4.2.1.1 Background elements:

Aims – a lesson will always revolve around its aims. They are the answer to why we are
teaching a specific topic. As it has been mentioned, the lesson plan is a road map that
leads the teacher to a certain destination. During our teaching we will try to reach the
destination of our map, the aim. Aims should be SMART: S-specific, M-measurable, A-
achievable, R-realistic and T-timed.

Class profile – in class profile we write information about the students who we are
going to work with. Here is where teachers write about their students’ behavior,
personalities, age, proficiency level and so forth.

Assumptions – teachers list what they think their students are capable of, basing on the
knowledge they got from the previous lessons.

Personal aims – personal aims are more focused on the teacher rather than the students.

“Personal aims are those where we seek to try something out that we have never done
before, or decide to try to do better at something which has eluded us before”. (Harmer,
2009:372)

Skill and language focus – The focus of the lesson can be listed directly at the aims or
separately so anyone can clearly see it.

Timetable fit – teachers who are to be observed need to say where the lesson fits in a
sequence of classes. They have to state what students have seen before and what they
will see after the lesson they have just planned.

Potential learner problems and possible solutions – it is possible for teachers to

anticipate problems that may occur during their lesson and then come out with some
possible solutions for them.

7
Success indicators – success indictors are those who help the teacher and the observer
evaluate whether the aims have been achieved or not.

4.2.1.2 Describing procedure and materials

Our actual lesson plan will contain a list of activities and procedures (how each activity
is going to be done in the classroom), along with the interaction in the classroom and
the time we expect each activity to take.

Activities – tasks students will be doing during the class;

Procedures – the way teacher will conduct each activity;

Interaction – Interaction in the classroom can be:

Teacher working with the whole Class (T→C);

Students working on their own (SSS);

Students working in pairs (S←→S);

Pairs of students discussing with other pairs (SS←→SS);

Students working in groups (GG).

Time – time teacher expects each stage of the lesson to take.

Harmer (2009: 365) states that planning a lesson is not the same as scripting a lesson.

In fact, scripting a lesson is different from planning one. On Scripts, people are told to
stick only on what is written and follow a specific sequence. But in the classroom
context, students have the right to speak and give their opinion which does not happen
on scripts. Therefore, teachers should plan their lesson bearing in mind they are dealing
with students who will always have a say on what they are being taught.

“A good metaphor … would be jazz, where from an original chord sequence the players
improvise their own melodies, inventing their own twins and turns so that they arrive at
their own destinations by their own routes. What we take into the lesson is a proposal
for action, rather than a lesson blueprint to be followed slavishly” (ibidem: 366)

The lesson plan contains what students have to learn and how the teacher will deliver
his lesson. When the teacher exposes the content to the students, (quite a few) things he
did not predict can happen since the students will interact with each other. It is when the
lesson gets dynamic. Therefore, the lesson plan is just a sort of a guide that will help the
8
teacher and students fit in the lesson and also serve as a road map which will guide the
teacher during the teaching-learning process, but it is not to be followed slavishly.

5. Stages of a Lesson plan

Depending on the focus the lesson plan, we can have a skill or system lesson plan.
Moreover, lesson plans can vary according to the educational institution, trainers or
teacher. Nevertheless, all lesson plans have 3 (three) main stages:

5.1 Skill (Reading, Speaking, Writing, Listening) lesson plan

1. Pre - (Skill) Stage – the main aim of the pre-stage of a skill lesson plan is to urge
students’ interest on the topic and prepare them to share what they already know about
it.

While – (Skill) Stage – The main aim of this stage is to get students working on the
topic in order to get both specific and general information.

Post – (Skill) Stage – in this stage students work on their and produce knowledge under
the supervision of the teacher.

5.2 System (Grammar, Vocabulary) lesson plan

1. Presentation – as the name suggests, the teacher gets the students ready for the
lesson by familiarizing them with the topic.

2. Practice – in practice stage, teacher gives students some exercises that will make
them practice the topic that has just been presented.

3. Production – in production stage, students work on their own to produce language

basing on the knowledge they just acquired.

6. Why do teachers need to plan?

Advantages:

 Self Confidence Development

Teacher gets to know better the content of the lesson while he plans it. This way he will
be more confident when delivering his lesson and consequently his students will be
more active and willing to learn.

9
“A good lesson plan provides structure for the lesson and holds all of its elements
together. When a teacher spends time thinking about what to teach and how to teach it,
he or she can step into the classroom with confidence, ready to meet the challenges of
the day. This contributes greatly to the effectiveness of the lesson” (Barea, 2018:xii)

 Determination of Teacher’s and students’ activities

Teacher will determine the activities that he and his students will perform in class while
he plans his lesson.

 Guides the Teacher

The lesson plan will guide the teacher during the lesson. It also helps the substitute
teacher to frame his lessons based on what the titular of the subject has already
prepared.

 Preparation for Acquiring Relevant Audio-Visual Aids.

When planning his lesson, the teacher will think about what aids to use in order to easy
understanding. Then he can collect all the teaching material needed for the lesson.

 The Realization of the Objectives of Education is Possible

The syllabus is completed in a planned manner when teacher plan their lessons, and
once the aims of the lesson are decided and achieved, curriculum is also fixed.

 Selection of Teaching Methods

Teacher will only know what method is best for his teaching if he plans his lesson. After
stating his aims teacher will know what method he will use to achieve each aim.

 Prevents wastage

Planning prevents wastage of time and unorganized teaching. The lesson plan helps the
teacher to be systematic and orderly. Besides, it also helps him determine what to take
up so that the content is not too broad or too limited.

 Improves teachers’ teaching skills

Lesson planning improves teachers’ teaching skills in the sense that, by making lesson
plans teacher foresee what is likely to happen and then they can choose strategies that

10
will help students to overcome their difficulties. Foresight contributes to good teaching,
and that’s the aim of every teacher.

7. Conclusion
The present study has exposed various definitions of lesson plan. However, almost all of
them point out that the key point to the success of any lesson is planning it.

Although there is a paradox on planning lesson, the study concluded that the paradox
can be ultimately resolved by the implementation and adaptation of the plan. That is to
say, the lesson plan has to be implemented in the classroom according to its reality.

This study also highlighted how important planning lessons is to the effectiveness of the
teaching-learning process. It has been mentioned in this essay that planning gives
teachers self-confidence, helps them make avoid problems by anticipating them and
finding out solutions, makes the process of teaching-learning more productive and
active, etc. Given its importance, I recommend all the teachers to plan their lesson
before they go in to the classroom.

11
8.References
Bining, A.C & Bining A,H. Teaching the social studies in Secondary Schools, New
York: Mc. Graw Hiil, Book Company,. 1952.

Bossing, Nelson L. Teaching in Secondary Schools, 3rd edition, Boston: Houghton

Miltin Co. P283.1961

Cox, Janelle. Retrieved from: https://www.Thought.com>Resources>for educators.2019

Davies, I.K. Retrieved from: https://www.hibahnaaz.wordpress.com/2010/06/24lesson-

plan-definitions-and-origins/

Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Language Teaching, 4th ed. - English
Language Book Society/Longman Group Ltd., Hongkong. P 364-375. 1990.

Lee’s,JamesM.Retrievedfrom:https://www.hibahnaaz.wordpress.com/2010/06/24lesson-
plan-definitions-and-origins/

Stands, Lester B. Retrieved from:

https://www.ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view

12