98 Bhesh Raj Pokhrel

A Lesson Plan:WhatrWhy, and How?

Bhesh Raj Fokhrel*

lntroduction
Lesson plan is a plan for learning, A daily lesson plan is developed by the
teacher to guide his instruction. Planning the instruction is much more
difficult than delivering the instruction. In the lesson plan we arrange
the activities in a logical sequence so that learning cans take place. It is
only with careful lesson planning that we can ensure we have included
everything we need to teach the students effectively and that the rnaterial
is organized in a rnanner that encourages learning.

Many experiencectr teachers often reduce lesson plans to a mental map

or short outline. New'teachers, however, usually find detailed lesson
plans to be indispensable. Of course, all details should be written down
to assist the smc,oth delivery of the content. The extent of the detail will
vary depending on the number of years of experience that the teacher
iras and the mrrnber of times he/she has taught the lesson. Obviously
an experienced teacher may have much less detailed plans than the
inexperienced ones.

Purposes of a Lesson Flan

Good lesson plans do not ensure that students will leam what is
intended, but they certairily contribute to it. Think of a lesson plan as
a way of comrnunicating, and without doubt, effective comrnunication
Abstract skiils are ftlndamental to all teaching. Lesson plans also help new or
This article is an attempt inexperienced teachers organize content, materials. and methods. Like
present tlrc ouerall
to most skills, you'll get better at it the more you do it and think of ways
description of the lesson plon- of improving your planning and teaching based on feedback from your
by highliohtinq its different students, their parents, and other teachers. Developing your own lesson
plans also helps you "own" the subject matter, content you are teaching
J-acets. The erticle begins
with the intraduction af tlrc antl that is central to everything good teachers do.
lesson p! an. The sub se qu er $ Ihe idea behind the lesson plan is to pror.ide all instructors with a
topicsJbcus on the purposes standardized tool for presenting instruction. In short, any instructor
and importance of the lesson shoukl be able to use the lesson plan and know exactly what needs to be
plan. Then, it also prese.nts the taught and in what sequence. The primary purposes oflesson plans are:
trccessarA components of the
Iesson plan. * Mr. Pokht ei leuches English at School of Edttcat:ton.',xalinmunarlr*1r#** ' ,..
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 A Lesson Plan:What,Why, and How? 99
1) They aid the instructor in preparing for Establish Learning Autcotnes: Through lesson
instruction. planning, desired learning results are established
z) They specify the instructional objectives, based on the level, needs, and abilities of the
which help the teacher to move his participants, which help the teacher direct his/her
teaching to the appropriate direction. teaching to achieve these learning outcomes.

3) They provide a tool for giving the Internalize the Lesson: The teacher develops his
instruction. own teaching outline in course of lesson planning.
This helps him/her internalize the lesson based
il They document course content.
on what he/she knows about himself/herself, the
S) Theyprovidethenecessarytechniquesfor
subject, the learners, and the learning environment.
assessing the students so that the teacher
can get immediate feedback for the success Sequence the Lesson: Sequencing is highly
or failure of his teaching. required in the lesson planning process, as a result
ofwhich concepts are introduced in an appropriate
lmportance of a l-esson Plan order.
Have you ever walked into an exam totally Eualuate Perfortnantee.' Addressing questions
unprepared? Ever taken a fitness test when you such as what did the members learn, what went
were out of shape? Occasionally, you may "pull right, what went wrong, and how can I do better
something offl" but usualiy such unpreparedness next time are considered important by the teacher
ends in disaster. Teaching is similar to the scenarios in a lesson plan.
above, in that, in order to do a goodjob, you must be
properly prepared. Manage Clsss Tirne: A good lesson plan allocates
the time for all the necessary components of
You prepare to teach a class by reviewing materials, teaching/learning activities (for example, 5 minutes
ensuring the equipment works, setting up student for warming up, r5 minutes for presentation of the
supplies, etc. You must also prepare by developing lesson, 15 minutes for practice, and rcl minutes for
iesson plans. It's simple; effective lesson plans
evaluation). This is how the teacher can use his/her
communicate, ineffective ones don't. Teachers create class for the optimal benefits of the learners.
lesson plans to communicate their instructional
activities regarding specific subject-matter. Almost Deuelop Confidence.' Since ali the necessary
all iesson plans developedbyteachers contain student details for teaching are included in a lesson plan in
Iearning objectives, instructional procedures, the advance, the teacher can manage the class and teach

required materials, and some written description of the lesson with full confidence.
how the students will be evaluated.
Components of a Lesson Plan
In fact, five important points included above under
the topic "Purposes of Lesson Plan" have clearly
In fact, there is no one "best way" to plan
lessons. Regardless of the varied forms, there are
highlighted the usefulness or importance of a lesson
fundamental components of all lesson plans that
plan. Moreover, the following points will show the
you should learn to write, revise, and improve. The
importance of a good lesson plan:
old saying, "Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect
Prepan'ez When planning a lesson, the teacher practice makes perfect" is at the core of learning
should thoroughly understand the subject. this skiil. By taking the formats of lesson plans
Professionals should be consulted or additional into consideration, we have preferred to divide the
reading done if further understanding is needed. At essential parts of the lesson plans into two groups:
least through lesson planning every teacher is bound Flead parts and Body parts.
to have some preparation for his teaching.

Journal of NELTA Vol. r r No. r-z December zoo6

100 Bhesh Ral Pokhrel
1) Head Parts cameras, etc) and also web addresses that
are needed for this lesson, if anY.
I. Unit name: Identify the unit that this
lesson is a part of. Write the name of the The subject, the method, the abiiity of the
unit. students, and the size of the class, along
with other factors will determine how
II. Lesson Title: What is the title of the lesson?
much support material you require. For
Write a descriptiue title of the lesson that
instance, if students have no background
identifies the contentfor the reader'
knowledge of what you are teaching they
III. Grade, Level / Subject Area: Identify the
will probably require more proof support'
grade level and subject area for which
On the other hand, if you have some very
this lesson is written. Enter the grade experienced students in the class who
Ieuel and subject area that fhis /esson ts
share their own personal experiences, you
designedfor.
will require less support to get your point
IV. Time Allotted for Lesson: This is the time across.
that this lesson will take for completion.
c) Activities: There are a number of items
Write the time plannedfor the lesson. in the
to consider procedural section
Here, as the Head Parts, the teacher's name, the of the plan. This section includes all the
number of the students, the school's name, and instructional procedures that you plan
the period of the lesson in which it is taught in the to use to deuelop the lesson motiuate the
school's hour can also be included. students, facilitate thinking or monitor
the learning process.
z\ BodyParts
Each lesson should begin with a
a) Obj ectives : Theseinstructional obj ectives Warming-up section (i.e' introduction
are the learning outcomes for the lesson. part), which is followed by Presentation
In other words, what do You want the section (i.e. the body of the lesson in
student to be able to do when the lesson which you include what procedures you
is over? Write the instructionll objectiues are going to use to teach the content.)
for the lesson. The objectives serve as the and then Practice section (i.e' students'
foundation for the entire lesson plan. For inuoluement in practising the concepts
this reason, careful thought should go into taught). These different sub-steps under
their development. The objectives mustbe Actiuities may overlap, for example,
student centered, which is why the phrase during the Presentailon stage the teacher
"the student will...... is used in writing the can also involve the students for practising
objectives. They must be student centered the concepts taught. These sub-steps are
to show what the student is required briefly described below'
to learn, not what we want to teachl
. Warming-uP: Each lesson should
These objectives should be'SMART' (i.e.
begin with some warming-uP
Specifi c, Measurable, Attainable, Reliable,
activities. In this segment, you can
and Time Bounded).
relate the present lesson to prer"ious
b) Materials and Resources: What learning and to real life experiences.
materials, resources and technology will Jokes can be a good waY to break
be needed for the lesson? List all materials the ice as long as theY are relevant
(e.g. textbook, otherbooks, maps, pictures,
to the material being Presented.
realia, flash cards, flannel board, etc), The three necessary elements in this
technology resources (computers, printer, introductory part are: gain attention'
scanner, internet connection, digital
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 A Lesson Plan:What,Why, and Howl 101

motiuate, and prouide an oueruiew in the lesson? This is referred to

of the lesson to be taught. as learner inuoluement while the
In fact, the warming-up section is environment of the classroom is
quite important because it serves the referred to as learning enuironment.
following purposes: There should be a variety ofquestions
or problems to get students involved
Establish a common ground between
in learning environment. After You
instructor and students.
determine these factors, you must
Hold the student's attention. determine how you are going to close
Outline the lesson and show how it the lesson.
relates to the entire course.
Show the student how the instruction . Evaluation:Althoughthestudents,to
will benefit them. some extent, can be evaluated under
Lead into the instruction. Practice section of the Actiuities,
Presentation: When beginning the there should be a separate section
body of the lesson you must first of Eualuation to assess the progress
decide how to organize main points of the students on completion of the
and sub-points. Proper arrangement present lesson. The tools/questions
of the main points will help you, of the evaluation should be fixed
the instructor, teach the material, in such a way that the students'
and it will help the students learn progress could be judged in relation
the material. Generally, lessons, Io Objectiues fixed in advance. With
regardless of length, should have the help of evaluation, we will judge
from two to five main points. Main the overall success or failure of the
points and sub-points are arranged whole teaching/learning activities.
in an appropriate sequence. For the . Homework: If the teacher feels
presentation of the content, there that the practice in the classroom
are strategies (such as known to is not sufficient for the students to
unknown or simple to complex) to be internalize all the concepts taught,
used. Although it may sound like a lot then he may assign homework
of decisions to make, once you've laid to them. The homework gets the
out your instructional procedures students to have self-study at home.
they will lend themselves to one Thus, the homework optionally
particular pattern and strategy. In occupies the last section ofthe lesson
this way, at this stage you should plan.
include the teaching strategies that
will be used; what instructional Conclusion:
strategies (instructional methods) From the entire description given above, we can
you will use in this lesson. There now assert that lesson planning is a special skill that
should be a variety of strategies is learned in much the same way as other skills. It
(methods) used, is quite important thing to have the skill to develop
Practice: There should also be time your own lesson plans. When you are able to create
for guided practice and reuiew Io get your own lesson plans, it means you have taken a
feedback from the students. How will giant step toward "owning" the content you teach
you promote student participation and the methods you use, cnd that is a crucial thing.

Journal of NELTA Vol. r r No. r-z December zoo6

102 Bhesh Rai Pokhrel
It needs a lot ofthinking and practice to sharpen this Brown, Douglas H., 1994. Principles ofLanguage Learning
skill, and it won't happen overnight, but it is a skill and Teaching . Netu Jersey: Prentice HaIl.
that will help to define you as a teacher. Knowing Elliot, J. et al. 1999. Introduction to Language Teaching
"how to" is far more important than knowing Methods and Approaches. Kathmandu: Ratna
"about" when it comes to lesson plans, and is one of Pustak Bhandar. Hornby, A.S. 1996. Oxford
Aduanced Learners' Dictionary of Curcent English
the important markers along the way to becoming a
(fifth edition). Oxford: OUP
professional teacher.
Larsen-Freeman, Dianne (tg86). Techniques and
References Principles in Language Teaching . Oxford: OUP

RichardsJ.C. et al. (1985).longmanDictionary of Applied

Allen, J.P.B. and S. Pit Corder,rgTS.The EdinburghCourse
Linguistics. Essex, England: Longman
inApplied Linguistics, Vol. z. Oxford: OUP
....... rg7 4. The Edinburgh Course in Applied
Linguistics, Vol.3. Oxford: OUP

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