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How to Present a Lesson Plan

First days are always exciting, and expectation builds up about the contents of the task ahead, especially if you’re starting a class as a student or professor. This interaction will be significant because it will establish and define the subjects to be covered and the set of expectations flowing from the instructor towards the audience. 

Perhaps you are ready to begin your career as a teacher and need some guidance; otherwise, you are a seasoned instructor searching for a refresher in your program. No matter which of the above you represent, the truth of the matter is that you are probably seeking a better way to introduce the subjects you’ll be teaching to your students. 

What is a lesson plan? 

A lesson plan will be the set of subject matter materials you will be teaching during a specific timeframe. The lesson plan should be an index that students can constantly consult to understand better the parts of the learning journey they will go through during each session. 

Teachers and professors should have a lesson plan template that happens in every session. This is different from a syllabus because, in the latter case, the whole curriculum of the program will be laid out; however, for each lesson, there should be one individual lesson plan example to guide the instructor in the set timeframe. 

When building the materials for the class or lesson’s attention, it’s always essential to share elements like the purpose or rules that guide the learning process . This article will explore the best way to present a lesson plan and drive a learning session successfully from the instructor or professor’s view. 

How to write a lesson plan 

Education nowadays guides different sorts of students and target specific learning needs. Therefore, it’s important and relevant to understand how lesson plans can change and be varied to truly implement the best learning path for your students. Once you have this part figured out, the next step is to understand how you will transmit the information and use a PowerPoint Presentation to simplify creating and presenting a lesson plan to your students. 

Lesson plans will comprise several different sections that will clarify the first questions students can have: How long will the course be? Will it be an online course ? What will be the main objectives? Which subjects will be discussed along with the class? 

1. Introduction 

As the lesson begins, it’s essential to place a brief yet descriptive introduction about what the session will cover. A good practice is to create a catchy title for each lesson to have an overall understanding of the information they will be receiving.

Example: Digital Marketing Basics: Industry background, historical review years 1980-2010. In this session, we will cover the birth of digital marketing, including all the touchpoints that shaped today’s industry. 

2. Audience

If your class is a one-time-only or recurring session, or even a blended learning journey, it’s essential to explain to your students who this class is for; this will allow them to calibrate their expectations about the matter to be taught ahead. 

Example: This lesson is directed to professionals who work in traditional marketing, business owners, or communication specialists seeking to have a profound understanding of how digital marketing came to be. 

3. Lesson Objectives 

This piece is critical because it will allow the students to assess the intention of each lesson. When thinking about the objectives, it’s vital to consider the acquired skills we expect our students to have at the end of the class. Like any other goals in life or business, each one should be actionable and measurable, meaning after each class, students should be able to use what they have learned and put into action the concepts. 

Example : Understand and be able to create a timeline framework of reference to explain the story of the Internet.

4. Materials 

Suppose the lesson requires using any specific materials, physical or not, including any software or hardware necessary. In that case, it´s important to list or include within the lesson plan so students can set clear expectations on what they might require. This is particularly important if the session you will be delivering requires them beforehand to bring anything. 

Example : 

• Computer 
• Scratch paper 

5. Learning Activities 

We´ve covered all the logistics by this point; however, now we need to start sharing the actual activities during the lesson. Ideally, this is a play-by-play of how each activity will guide the lesson towards the already established objectives. To add the list of learning activities that will be helpful for your students, take into account how all of them align with each goal and the requirements students need. 

Make sure that you add variety to the activities that you are proposing, go ahead and research trends of how many other teachers or professors, students will appreciate your search to engage them in learning. 

Also, consider how much time they will take so that you can note it in the next section. 

• Create a timeline on the wall with the most important moments of digital marketing history, including creation of social media, mainstream of email, etc.

Time periods

Pairing each learning activity with a specific timeframe will be useful both for instructors and students. Make sure you calculate a reasonable amount of time for each activity and list it within the lesson plan so everyone can set correct expectations. Assigning time slots for each exercise will also help students and teachers stay on track with the lesson and not waste valuable time invested in learning.

Example : Creation of a timeline – 45 min

How to present a lesson plan 

We have now listed the components of the lesson plan structure, everything looks beautiful in the draft, but now we need to start planning how we will present the program to the students. This part is challenging because you have to choose a template that makes sense for you and will be helpful for your students to understand.

A PowerPoint presentation is a great way to showcase all the contents of the lesson plan, however, the trick is to decide how you want to structure it.

Lesson Plan Design

By this point, you’ve structured a lesson plan template that can go through any test. Nevertheless, creating the materials to accompany it can be a key in the commitment generates between the students and the professor.

Design and Style

Before adding any text to your presentation template , think about the requirements you have: Does the academic institution where you work require the use of logos? Do you have to follow any visual guidelines? This might be important for the cohesiveness of your presentation.

It’s essential to think about how you would like to present the lesson plan. You may want to keep it simple and have a 1 pager and talk through it to understand your students fully, or perhaps you need to create one full presentation where every slide will be a relevant piece of information. Let’s explore this a bit further. 

One Pager Lesson Plan 

If your style is more towards simplicity, this is a great solution: succinct, minimalistic, and straight to the point. You can complete a one-page lesson plan with bullets of the relevant data and send it out to students. A great advantage of this format is that you can either send it as a PDF or even as a single image (JPG or PNG), exporting it directly from PowerPoint. 

One significant advantage is that your students will only have to check for one source by choosing this simple format when revising the lesson during the class or afterward. 

Several pages lesson plan 

Almost like a syllabus, a more extended presentation will include several slides so you can include the information in different formats. 

For example, you can use the first slide to include the lesson title; afterward, a new slide can define the purpose or introduction of the lesson. In the upcoming slides, you can include materials, contents, and even ad charts or similar to explain how grades will be affected by each lesson’s assignments on the upcoming slides. 

Text in the presentation 

It’s always good to follow the reliable practices of presentations and include the necessary information without overwhelming students. Don’t add an excessive amount of text to one slide; actually, make sure that every piece of data is helpful for students to plan their time both during and after class. 

However, if you will be sending out the presentation to your students before reviewing it, consider that they will be using it for their reference to follow through with your lesson. So make sure all the information is easy to read and accessible. 

Additional elements 

Learners of all sorts have become increasingly visual, so don’t be afraid to add infographics, images, photographs, icons or any other elements to make your lesson plan presentation more appealing visually. 

Final Words 

Remember the lesson plan presentation will be the first approach your students will have with the subject matter. Take your time, enjoy the process, and create comprehensive and attractive lesson plan slides that will inspire your students to have thoughtful and deep learning. 

1. 1-Slide Lesson Plan PowerPoint Template

Create a simple and minimalist one-pager lesson plan for your academic uses, course planning, and even as student handouts, with this eye-catching PowerPoint template. 

Use This Template

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How to Create an Effective Lesson Plan Presentation

Regardless of the subject or content you’re teaching, having a lesson plan in place prepares you for class by offering detailed guidelines for the session. The lesson plan doesn’t have to be lengthy or complex—it just needs to include elements about what you’re teaching, the method of presenting this material, and what objective and goals you wish your students to achieve as part of the curriculum.

Why Lesson Plans Are Important

It’s crucial for teachers to prepare their lessons in advance and implement the best teaching approaches. Attending a session without a lesson plan can be counterproductive for both students and teachers. Without the right preparation beforehand, classes can end up being unproductive or confusing.

Below are a few reasons why you should consider lesson planning:

Lesson Planning is Handy for Classroom Management

Developing the lesson plan from the learning objectives provides flexibility in adapting to different teaching methods and classroom management techniques. For instance, hybrid or online classes require a different delivery approach from the traditional classes, which means making modifications to any existing plans. With the right foresight and plan in place, classes can stay on topic and effective. Such circumstances underscore how crucial lesson plans are in ensuring that the class runs smoothly, regardless of the learning environment.  

Lesson Planning Creates Student Success

Various studies have shown that students benefit immensely from and appreciate well-structured lessons. Thus, success is more likely when students engage and show interest in the material being taught. Using a curriculum guide, teachers can develop valuable lesson plans based on specific objectives and goals (what’s intended for students to learn). 

​​Lesson Planning Is Central to Teacher Success

Teachers’ success is, to some extent, pegged on students’ success. Besides that, the documents you develop as part of the lesson planning process are often part of your assessment by school administrators. What’s more, as you advance your teaching career, your lesson plans serve as a repository for your expanding body of knowledge. Thus, the significance of lesson planning cannot be overlooked when it comes to advancing your career as an educator.

Lesson Planning is Vital in Student Assessment

Lastly, lesson plans turn the learning sessions into clear objectives for students and a way to gauge their understanding of the subject matter. One notable benefit of the lesson plan is tailoring the assessment to a particular objective while considering students’ specific needs. You can use common assessment methods such as quizzes, tests, and homework assignments.

How to Write a Lesson Plan

Lesson plans include different sections that clarify questions students might have about the subject on hand. What are the lesson objectives? What subjects will be covered during the session? How long will the course take?

• Introduction – As the lesson commences, it’s good to have a concise yet vivid introduction about what the lesson will cover. The ideal practice is to create a memorable title for every lesson to create a general understanding of the learning material students will be interacting with.
• **Lesson Objectives –**This section is critical as it allows the students to ascertain each lesson. When it comes to objectives, it is crucial to consider the acquired skills you expect the students to gain by the end of the session. Each objective should be measurable and actionable; meaning after every session, students should be able to apply what they’ve learned.
• Learning Activities – This should be a detailed account of how each activity will lead the class to achieve its predetermined goals. To create valuable activities, consider how each learning activity fits each objective, and the requirements students need.
• Practice – Practices are primarily intended to assess students’ comprehension of the material and aid in memorizing what they have learned in class. Therefore, it is crucial to include this in the lesson plan so that assessments can always be done at the appropriate time.

Today, lesson planning has been made less time-consuming and easier, thanks to smart whiteboards for the classroom . A digital whiteboard like the Vibe Board Pro provides unmatched performance that shows you know your craft and are way ahead of the pack.

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How Smart Whiteboards Simplify Lesson Plan Creation and Presentation

Not only does using a smart whiteboard make learning accessible , it’s also a great way of enhancing and enriching your lesson plans with interactive activities for the class. Smart whiteboards function as a touch screen for all; during class sessions, you and your students can use it as a digital whiteboard to create a space where students’ engagement, knowledge, and teamwork are appreciated.

While the smart whiteboard aids in making your lesson more engaging, interactive, and educational, you as the teacher can still customize your teachings to what you want them to be. This helps in foiling any hitches in your lesson presentation and makes switching from one topic to another seamless.

Below are more specific ways how smart whiteboards make your lesson plan presentation better:

Take Advantage of Built-in Templates

Once you invest in a smart whiteboard, make sure to take advantage of the wide variety of built-in lesson planning templates. You can use these templates to improve lesson plans while leveraging the technology associated with smart whiteboards. Even better, these templates can be easily customized for every lesson plan and cover different subject matters, allowing you to create new lesson plans without always starting from scratch quickly. How cool is that?

Organize and Present Lesson Plans Better

Smart whiteboards combine the power of the traditional whiteboard and a TV/projector into one hub, allowing you to write on the board while concurrently projecting it to the classroom. This allows you to conduct lesson plan presentations on a larger scale while also letting students see what’s going on.

For instance, if you’re presenting on an extensive topic involving multiple subtopics, a smart whiteboard will help you walk students through each subtopic with ease. Begin with the presentation divided into primary or main sections, highlight key definitions, and add infographics and videos to ensure that every student understands the tiniest detail.

Additionally, you can get students involved in the lesson plan presentation by asking questions, polling them on key points, or allowing them to follow along on their tablets or laptops.

Record Lesson Plan Presentations

Another benefit of using smart whiteboards in the classroom is that a lesson plan presentation can be recorded and accessed long after the session is over. This allows your students to access the material on their own time.

Final Words: Creating a Lesson Plan Presentation

Lesson plan presentation offers students the first interaction with the material they will learn. Take your time, appreciate the process, and create an attractive and comprehensive lesson plan that will encourage your students to have deep and thoughtful learning experiences. Even better, all of this can be made easier with smart whiteboard technology. Leave the spiral notebooks and sticky notes at home. A smart whiteboard is all you need.

What is the presentation stage in lesson planning?

Presentation is usually the core of the lesson plan. During this stage, theteacher introduces the topic and the key subject matter the students need to master. Presenting with smart whiteboards is exceedingly easy and less time-consuming.

What are the 5 steps in lesson planning?

The five steps are:

• Objective: A learning concept or objective is introduced.
• Warm-up: Revise the previous lesson
• Presentation: Present the material using suitable tools and techniques.
• Practice: Students try to apply what they have learned.
• Assessment: Evaluate whether the objectives were achieved

How does lesson planning help teachers?

Planning lessons in advance allows teachers to arrive at class each day prepared to introduce new concepts and facilitate engaging discussions rather than improvising as they go. In other words, without a lesson plan, teachers may be left scrambling, making students lose interest in the material to be learned.

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Student presentations

In this article I would like to give you a few tips and some advice on what I've learned from helping students prepare and deliver presentations.

• Why I get students to do presentations
• Syllabus fit
• Planning a presentation lesson
• Classroom Management

Why I get students to do presentations Presentations are a great way to have students practise all language systems areas (vocabulary, grammar, discourse and phonology) and skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening). They also build confidence, and presenting is a skill that most people will need in the world of work. I find that students who are good presenters are better communicators all round, since they are able to structure and express their ideas clearly.

• Presentation skills are extremely useful both in and outside the classroom. After completing a project, a presentation is a channel for students to share with others what they have learned. It is also a chance to challenge and expand on their understanding of the topic by having others ask questions. And in the world of work, a confident presenter is able to inform and persuade colleagues effectively.
• Presentations can also form a natural part of task based learning. By focussing on a particular language point or skill, the presentation is a very practical way to revise and extend book, pair and group work. The audience can also be set a task, for example, a set of questions to answer on the presentation, which is a way of getting students to listen to each other.

Syllabus fit Normally the presentation will come towards the end of a lesson or series of lessons that focus on a particular language or skill area. It is a type of freer practice. This is because the students need to feel relatively confident about what they are doing before they stand up and do it in front of other people. If I have been teaching the past simple plus time phrases to tell a story, for example, I give my students plenty of controlled and semi controlled practice activities, such as gapfills, drills and information swaps before I ask them to present on, say, an important event in their country's history, which involves much freer use of the target grammar point.

Planning a presentation lesson Normally a presentation lesson will have an outline like this:

• Revision of key language areas
• Example presentation, which could be from a textbook or given by the teacher
• Students are given a transcript or outline of the presentation
• Students identify key stages of the example presentation – greeting, introduction, main points in order of importance, conclusion
• Focus on linking and signalling words ('Next…', 'Now I'd like you to look at…', etc.). Students underline these in the transcript/place them in the correct order
• Students are put into small groups and write down aims
• Students then write down key points which they order, as in the example
• Students decide who is going to say what and how
• Students prepare visuals (keep the time for this limited as too many visuals become distracting)
• Students practise at their tables
• Students deliver the presentations in front of the class, with the audience having an observation task to complete (see 'Assessment' below)
• The teacher takes notes for feedback later

It is important that the students plan and deliver the presentations in groups at first, unless they are extremely confident and/or fluent. This is because:

• Shy students cannot present alone
• Students can support each other before, during and after the presentation
• Getting ready for the presentation is a practice task in itself
• When you have a large class, it takes a very long time for everyone to present individually!

I find it's a good idea to spend time training students in setting clear aims. It is also important that as teachers we think clearly about why we are asking students to present.

Aims Presentations normally have one or more of the following aims:

• To inform/ raise awareness of an important issue
• To persuade people to do something
• Form part of an exam, demonstrating public speaking/presentation skills in a first or second language

I set students a task where they answer these questions:

• Why are you making the presentation?
• What do you want people to learn?
• How are you going to make it interesting?

Let's say I want to tell people about volcanoes. I want people to know about why volcanoes form and why they erupt. This would be an informative/awareness-raising presentation. So by the end, everyone should know something new about volcanoes, and they should be able to tell others about them. My plan might look like this:

• Introduction - what is a volcano? (2 minutes)
• Types of volcano (5 minutes)
• Volcanoes around the world (2 minutes)
• My favourite volcano (2 minutes)
• Conclusion (2-3 minutes)
• Questions (2 minutes)

Classroom Management I find that presentation lessons pass very quickly, due the large amount of preparation involved. With a class of 20 students, it will probably take at least 3 hours. With feedback and follow-up tasks, it can last even longer. I try to put students into groups of 3 or 4 with classes of up to 20 students, and larger groups of 5 or 6 with classes up to 40. If you have a class larger than 40, it would be a good idea to do the presentation in a hall or even outside.

Classroom management can become difficult during a presentations lesson, especially during the final presenting stage, as the presenters are partly responsible for managing the class! There are a few points I find effective here:

• Training students to stand near people who are chatting and talk 'through' the chatter, by demonstration
• Training students to stop talking if chatter continues, again by demonstration
• Asking for the audience's attention ('Can I have your attention please?')
• Setting the audience an observation task, which is also assessed by the teacher
• Limiting the amount of time spent preparing visuals
• Arranging furniture so everyone is facing the front

Most of these points are self-explanatory, but I will cover the observation task in more detail in the next section, which deals with assessment. 

Assessment The teacher needs to carefully consider the assessment criteria, so that s/he can give meaningful feedback. I usually run through a checklist that covers:

• Level - I can't expect Elementary students to use a wide range of tenses or vocabulary, for example, but I'd expect Advanced students to have clear pronunciation and to use a wide range of vocabulary and grammar
• Age - Younger learners do not (normally) have the maturity or general knowledge of adults, and the teacher's expectations need to reflect this
• Needs - What kind of students are they? Business English students need to have much more sophisticated communication skills than others. Students who are preparing for an exam need to practise the skills that will be assessed in the exam.

I write a list of language related points I'm looking for. This covers:

• Range / accuracy of vocabulary
• Range / accuracy of grammar
• Presentation / discourse management- is it well structured? What linking words are used and how?
• Use of visuals- Do they help or hinder the presentation?
• Paralinguistic features

'Paralinguistics' refers to non-verbal communication. This is important in a presentation because eye contact, directing your voice to all parts of the room, using pitch and tone to keep attention and so on are all part of engaging an audience.

I find it's a good idea to let students in on the assessment process by setting them a peer observation task. The simplest way to do this is to write a checklist that relates to the aims of the lesson. A task for presentations on major historical events might have a checklist like this:

• Does the presenter greet the audience? YES/NO
• Does the presenter use the past tense? YES/NO

And so on. This normally helps me to keep all members of the audience awake. To be really sure, though, I include a question that involves personal response to the presentation such as 'What did you like about this presentation and why?'. If working with young learners, it's a good idea to tell them you will look at their answers to the observation task. Otherwise they might simply tick random answers!

Conclusion Presentations are a great way to practise a wide range of skills and to build the general confidence of your students. Due to problems with timing, I would recommend one lesson per term, building confidence bit by bit throughout the year. In a school curriculum this leaves time to get through the core syllabus and prepare for exams.

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8 Tips to Power-Up Your Classroom Presentations

Last month, I attended a Back to School Night for parents, sitting through presentation after presentation by teachers, some with slides that helped make their presentation a delight to listen to, and others . . . well, that's why I'm writing this blog post.

The goal of a classroom presentation is to aid you in effectively conveying information in a way that allows students (or their parents) to remember what you said. Unfortunately, for some, the presentation becomes a crutch, and they begin to rely on the slides to tell their story, rather than to help them tell the story.

I've been creating presentations using software like PowerPoint and KeyNote for 20 years, and I've learned a lot about how to most effectively communicate. Here's what I've found.

1. Use as Many Slides as You Need

It's a common myth that better presentations use fewer slides. This is simply not the case. I once sent an education conference presentation to the organizers so they could preview it in advance of my speaking. They wrote back, concerned that my 45-minute presentation had 116 slides. I looked it over and realized they were right! I revised it and sent a presentation with 135 slides back to them. I finished my talk with 5 minutes to spare -- just enough time to take questions -- and the presentation was a huge success.

The number of slides in your presentation is irrelevant. What matters is how well your slides communicate and how much time you spend talking about each slide. Spending five minutes on five slides will almost always be more engaging to your students than spending five minutes on a single slide, even when the information is exactly the same.

In the movie Amadeus , the Emperor of Austria complains to Mozart that his music has "too many notes." Mozart responds, "There are just as many notes as are required. Neither more nor less." Use as many slides as you need to make your point. No more. No less.

2. Minimize Verbosity

Your slides are there to support what you are saying, not to say it for you. Keep your word count low, and only place one main point on a slide, plus three to five sub-points if absolutely needed. Remember tip #1 above -- don't be afraid to use more slides. They're free! Also, the language in your slides doesn't need to be in complete sentences. Pare the text to as few words as possible, using what's there only to emphasize and reinforce -- not replace -- the words coming out of your mouth.

3. Maximize Visuals

Photos, figures and icons work as visual memory triggers. They help your students remember what it is you're saying. Any time you can add a visual that helps illustrate or reinforce the points you're making in your slides, you should use it. One great way to do this on the cheap is to use public domain or creative commons photos you can find on Flickr or Google .

4. Reduce Noise

Many teachers like to add banners, headers, footers, page numbers and more noise to their slides. Unless the information needs to be on every slide for a vital reason (which is rare), you should remove it. All these redundant elements do is create distractions from the content of your slides. I find this to be especially true of page numbers. Imagine if a movie included a time code at the bottom, constantly reminding you how long you had been watching. All this does is serve to take the viewer out of the moment. Page numbers in slides really don't provide any useful information -- they just remind your students how long they've been watching.

Pursuant to tips #1 and #2, you're not going to win awards by cramming the most content on the fewest slides. Make text and visuals as large as you can. Not only does this make them easier to see and read, but larger images and text make a greater impact to aid memory. There's nothing wrong with filling an entire slide with a photo, and then placing text right on top. You may have to use a transparent background immediately behind the text so that it's clearly readable, but the overall effect is almost always more memorable than just some text beside an image.

6. Highlight What You Are Talking About

While you are presenting, your students may be momentarily distracted taking notes, thinking about what you are saying, glancing out the window, possibly even daydreaming. When they refocus on your slides, though, they need to quickly pick back up where you are, or you risk losing them again.

• Use contrast or call-outs to clearly show the area of the slide you are talking about.
• Reveal bullet points or table rows one at a time so that the last one visible is the one you are talking about.
• Use arrows, circles or other pointers to show what you are referencing in specific parts of an illustration, photo or graph.
• Animate and reveal parts of illustrations and graphs (where possible) to build your story rather than showing everything at once.
• Use bold type or different colors to highlight the keywords in any lengthy text.

7. Transition Changes

Humans suffer from an affliction called change blindness -- we have a hard time seeing changes unless there is a clear transition between the states. This is especially a problem in presentations where slides may look very much alike. Most programs include transitions that can be used between slides or on elements in the slides themselves.

My favorite transition is the cross-dissolve -- where the first slide fades down while the next slide fades up -- but different transitions can help illustrate points in your presentation. Are you talking about combustion or the fire of London? Use a flame transition. Talking about photography or Hollywood movies? Use the flashbulb transition. Even "cheesy" transitions help overcome change blindness and aid student memory at the same time.

8. Repeat Yourself Redundantly

It’s OK to repeat the same slide more than once -- especially when using images -- if you are reminding students of an earlier point. Obviously, this is not a license to be monotonous. However, if you want to tie separate ideas together, emphasize a point or splash in a little comic relief, it's perfectly fine to repeat a slide.

Bonus Tip: Make it Funny!

There's little doubt that emotional responses can aid memory. While it can be difficult to apply this power in a classroom slide presentation, humor is easy enough, and adding a bit of levity to your presentations at the right points can work to give students vital memory hooks.

Remember, the point of presentation slides is not to replace you as the teacher, but to help your students understand and remember what you are teaching. Overwhelming them with too much information can be just as harmful as underwhelming them with too little.

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Improving Presentation Style

Resource overview.

Strategies for making your presentation style more effective in the classroom

Effective lecturers combine the talents of scholar, writer, producer, comedian, showman, and teacher in ways that contribute to student learning.”

Wilbert J. McKeachie, Teaching Tips

An effective teacher is an excellent communicator and therefore thinks about improving his or her presentation skills. One of the most important aspects of communicating is shaping both content and style to fit your audience. In the classroom, if you cannot communicate in a way that is both comprehensible and interesting to your students, their learning will be greatly reduced.

To strengthen your presentation skills, focus on improving your skills in these three areas:

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

• Find out all you can about the room in which you will be presenting. Visit the room ahead of time to familiarize yourself with its size and layout, as well as the type of chalkboards, chalk, erasers, and multimedia available. In addition, obtain any necessary training on the multimedia.
• Use the classroom as a stage. Move around to engage and interact with your audience. Do not stand in one spot the entire time. Move with purpose; do not walk aimlessly.
• Prepare. Preparation is essential. All excellent teachers are well prepared for each class. Practice in the room if you can, especially if you are new to teaching. In addition, prepare yourself emotionally and psychologically by taking the time to organize your thoughts and to look forward to teaching before every class.
• Speak loudly and clearly. Project your voice and face your audience when you are speaking. Speak slightly louder than you do in a normal conversation. Use a microphone in a medium to large classroom. The class may include students with hearing problems. Moreover, a microphone will help ensure that students can hear you even when you turn to the chalkboard momentarily.
• Modulate the tone, pitch, and speed of your speech. Do not speak in a monotone. Vary the pitch and speed of your voice for emphasis and effect. Use appropriate pauses. Rather than using filler words such as “uh,” for example, simply pause before moving on to the next idea or point.
• Use gestures and facial expressions to help you explain, emphasize, and communicate the material. However, be careful not to develop distracting habits such as pacing or repeatedly adjusting your glasses or hair. To find out if you are unconsciously doing anything that may be distracting to your audience, have a colleague observe one of your classes or have your class videotaped. To schedule a videotaping and teaching consultation, call The Teaching Center at 935-6810.
• Develop a teaching persona. Decide how you want to be perceived and what mannerisms you want to have. For example, do you want to be quiet, humorous, formal, or informal? Whatever persona is right for you, aim to convey confidence and ease. Move with certainty and assuredness, and be careful not to seem pompous or intimidating.
• Show passion and enthusiasm for the topic. If you are not interested in the subject, you cannot expect your students to be interested, either. Point out the fascinating aspects of what they are learning.
• Do not read your notes or slides. Doing so will lower your energy level and lead your audience to feel less engaged.
• Interact with and pay attention to your audience. Make eye contact with the students, not with the wall or chalkboard. Build a rapport with the class. Make sure the class is with you (following and understanding what you are discussing). If they appear to be lost, take additional time to explain points and to ask and answer questions.
• Do not take yourself too seriously. Be able to laugh at yourself and your mistakes. Feel free to bring humor into the classroom, but direct it at yourself, rather than at your students’ questions and ideas.
• Keep track of the time. Do not start early or end late. The students often do not recall or listen to information presented after the class period is technically finished.

Effective Use of the Chalkboard and Visual-Aids

Using the Chalkboard

• Write legibly and big enough that your writing can seen in the back of the room.
• Think about the organization of the material on the board.
• Fill one board at a time, starting at the top of each board and writing down.
• Do not scrunch in words at the very bottom of the board or in the margins. The students in the back will not see the words at the bottom, and no one will see the words in the margins.
• Underline or mark major assumptions, conclusions, etc.
• Use color to emphasize points.Before the course starts, determine which colors are most visible in the back of the room.
• Erase a board only when you have run out of room.
• If you find a mistake on a previous board, do not erase it. Cross it out, then write the correction in, which is what the students must do.

Using Visual Aids, such as PowerPoint Slides

• Do not use visual aids unless they serve a clear and important purpose. Visuals should aid quick comprehension and support the main points.
• Book and check out the presentation equipment in advance.
• Talk to your audience and not to the screen.
• Use the visuals to enhance your presentation, not as a substitute for a verbal presentation.
• Use a pointer, if necessary.
• Coordinate the audio and the visual.
• Design your visuals with clarity and simplicity in mind.

Effective Design and Meaningful Organization of Content

Visual Design Suggestions

• Use single words or phrases.
• Organize the content visually.
• Choose a font that is easy to see. Choose a font that is simple, plain, and easy to read such as Times New Roman, Ariel, or Helvetica. Select a font size that is large enough to be seen at the back of the room. The minimal acceptable size is typically 24-point. Use both upper- and lower-case letters; all upper-case letters are difficult to read.
• Keep the design simple. Too many words, graphics, or different colors are distracting and cause students to miss the important points.
• Use short quotes, not long extracts, from documents.
• Assign a title for each visual. Doing so will help your audience organize and retain the information on each visual.
• Use summary lists.
• Limit the number of ideas on each visual. For example, limit the number of bullets on a page to approximately 4 to 6. Each bullet should be short, approximately one line. Do not crowd the visual with text; it will be too difficult to read.
• Use color for emphasis and organization. Color is useful, but needs to be used judiciously. The color should be used for emphasis or for distinguishing among data. Think about the color wheel: adjacent colors blend together and colors directly opposite each other are contrasting and provide better readability. Reds and oranges stand out, but are hard to continually focus on; therefore, use these colors only for emphasis. Greens, blues, and browns are easier to continually focus on, but do not grab a person’s attention.
• Design diagrams and tables that are simple and clear, with readily recognized symbols. Your audience must be able to read all data in your diagrams and tables. Often, this means that you will have to simplify a more complex or detailed table or diagram that has been prepared for a printed format.
• Use horizontal (landscape) layout, not vertical (portrait). Screens, video monitors, and computer monitors are shaped for a horizontal, not a vertical, format. In addition, a horizontal format is easier to project in rooms with low ceilings.

Content Organization Suggestions

• Plan the content. Think about the type of students in the class, the goals for the course and the current session, the type of material to be presented in the current session, and the type of media, if any, that you are going to use.
• Provide a structure. Each class session or presentation should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
• List objectives or provide an outline at the beginning of each class session. Providing an outline helps students identify the most important points and follow the lecture or discussion more effectively.
• Organize course content with a theme or storyline. How do you want to arrange the material? How does each part of the material relate to what comes next.
• Remember that a typical student’s attention span is 15-20 minutes. Every 15-20 minutes, either change your teaching method or change activities. Use different teaching methods in one session to keep the students’ attention and to reach students who have different learning preferences. (See Teaching with Lectures .)
• Allow for pauses and “wait-time.” Wait-time is the pause after the instructor either asks a question or asks for questions. Students need time to think of a response to a question, or to think of a question to ask. Do not be afraid of silence. Most instructors wait 1-3 seconds for a response. However, increasing the wait-time to 5-10 seconds dramatically increases the number and quality of responses. (See Asking Questions to Improve Learning .)

Clark, Donald. “Making Presentations that Audiences Will Love.” PowerPoint Presentation. http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/templates/presentations.ppt .

—.“Monthly Speaking Tips.” LJL Seminars. http://www.ljlseminars.com/monthtip.htm .

“Common Visual Aids.” Faculty Development Committee. Honolulu Community College. http://letsgetengaged.wikispaces.com/file/view/using_visual_aids.pdf

“Creating Visual Aids That Really Work: Designing Effective Slides Using PowerPoint.” Effective Communications Group (ECG), Inc.  http://ecgcoaching.com/library/ps/powerpoint.php

Davis, Barbara Gross. “Delivering a Lecture.” Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1993.

Edwards, Paul N. “How to Give an Academic Talk.” School of Information. University of Michigan. http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtotalk.pdf .

McKeachie, Wilbert, et al. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

“Presentations.” Teaching and Learning Center. Eastern Kentucky University.

Sammons, Martha. “Students Assess Computer-Aided Classroom Presentations.” The Journal Online, May 1995. http://thejournal.com/articles/1995/05/01/students-assess-computeraided-classroom-presentations.aspx?sc_lang=en

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Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning

Stiliana milkova center for research on learning and teaching.

A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done effectively during the class time. Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for the class meeting.  Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates these three key components:

• Objectives for student learning
• Teaching/learning activities
• Strategies to check student understanding

Specifying concrete objectives for student learning will help you determine the kinds of teaching and learning activities you will use in class, while those activities will define how you will check whether the learning objectives have been accomplished (see Fig. 1).

Steps for Preparing a Lesson Plan

Below are six steps to guide you when you create your first lesson plans. Each step is accompanied by a set of questions meant to prompt reflection and aid you in designing your teaching and learning activities.

(1) Outline learning objectives

The first step is to determine what you want students to learn and be able to do at the end of class. To help you specify your objectives for student learning, answer the following questions:

• What is the topic of the lesson?
• What do I want students to learn?
• What do I want them to understand and be able to do at the end of class?
• What do I want them to take away from this particular lesson?

Once you outline the learning objectives for the class meeting, rank them in terms of their importance. This step will prepare you for managing class time and accomplishing the more important learning objectives in case you are pressed for time. Consider the following questions:

• What are the most important concepts, ideas, or skills I want students to be able to grasp and apply?
• Why are they important?
• If I ran out of time, which ones could not be omitted?
• And conversely, which ones could I skip if pressed for time?

(2) Develop the introduction

Now that you have your learning objectives in order of their importance, design the specific activities you will use to get students to understand and apply what they have learned. Because you will have a diverse body of students with different academic and personal experiences, they may already be familiar with the topic. That is why you might start with a question or activity to gauge students’ knowledge of the subject or possibly, their preconceived notions about it. For example, you can take a simple poll: “How many of you have heard of X? Raise your hand if you have.” You can also gather background information from your students prior to class by sending students an electronic survey or asking them to write comments on index cards. This additional information can help shape your introduction, learning activities, etc.  When you have an idea of the students’ familiarity with the topic, you will also have a sense of what to focus on.

Develop a creative introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking. You can use a variety of approaches to engage students (e.g., personal anecdote, historical event, thought-provoking dilemma, real-world example, short video clip, practical application, probing question, etc.). Consider the following questions when planning your introduction:

• How will I check whether students know anything about the topic or have any preconceived notions about it?
• What are some commonly held ideas (or possibly misconceptions) about this topic that students might be familiar with or might espouse?
• What will I do to introduce the topic?

 (3) Plan the specific learning activities (the main body of the lesson)

Prepare several different ways of explaining the material (real-life examples, analogies, visuals, etc.) to catch the attention of more students and appeal to different learning styles. As you plan your examples and activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Build in time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to different applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding. These questions would help you design the learning activities you will use:

• What will I do to explain the topic?
• What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?
• How can I engage students in the topic?
• What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help students understand the topic?
• What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?

(4) Plan to check for understanding

Now that you have explained the topic and illustrated it with different examples, you need to check for student understanding – how will you know that students are learning? Think about specific questions you can ask students in order to check for understanding, write them down, and then paraphrase them so that you are prepared to ask the questions in different ways. Try to predict the answers your questions will generate. Decide on whether you want students to respond orally or in writing. You can look at Strategies to Extend Student Thinking , http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P4_4.php to help you generate some ideas and you can also ask yourself these questions:

• What questions will I ask students to check for understanding?
• What will I have students do to demonstrate that they are following?
• Going back to my list of learning objectives, what activity can I have students do to check whether each of those has been accomplished?

An important strategy that will also help you with time management is to anticipate students’ questions. When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Think about and decide on the balance between covering content (accomplishing your learning objectives) and ensuring that students understand.

(5) Develop a conclusion and a preview

Go over the material covered in class by summarizing the main points of the lesson. You can do this in a number of ways: you can state the main points yourself (“Today we talked about…”), you can ask a student to help you summarize them, or you can even ask all students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points of the lesson. You can review the students’ answers to gauge their understanding of the topic and then explain anything unclear the following class. Conclude the lesson not only by summarizing the main points, but also by previewing the next lesson. How does the topic relate to the one that’s coming? This preview will spur students’ interest and help them connect the different ideas within a larger context.

(6) Create a realistic timeline

GSIs know how easy it is to run out of time and not cover all of the many points they had planned to cover. A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn. Instructors also agree that they often need to adjust their lesson plan during class depending on what the students need. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Having additional examples or alternative activities will also allow you to be flexible. A realistic timeline will reflect your flexibility and readiness to adapt to the specific classroom environment. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:

• Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each
• When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take
• Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points
• Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
• Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan

Presenting the Lesson Plan

Letting your students know what they will be learning and doing in class will help keep them more engaged and on track. You can share your lesson plan by writing a brief agenda on the board or telling students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in class. You can outline on the board or on a handout the learning objectives for the class. Providing a meaningful organization of the class time can help students not only remember better, but also follow your presentation and understand the rationale behind in-class activities. Having a clearly visible agenda (e.g., on the board) will also help you and students stay on track.

Reflecting on Your Lesson Plan

A lesson plan may not work as well as you had expected due to a number of extraneous circumstances. You should not get discouraged – it happens to even the most experienced teachers! Take a few minutes after each class to reflect on what worked well and why, and what you could have done differently. Identifying successful and less successful organization of class time and activities would make it easier to adjust to the contingencies of the classroom. For additional feedback on planning and managing class time, you can use the following resources: student feedback, peer observation, viewing a videotape of your teaching, and consultation with a staff member at CRLT (see also, Improving Your Teaching: Obtaining Feedback , http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P9_1.php and Early Feedback Form , http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/earlyfeedback.pdf).

To be effective, the lesson plan does not have to be an exhaustive document that describes each and every possible classroom scenario. Nor does it have to anticipate each and every student’s response or question. Instead, it should provide you with a general outline of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and means to accomplish them. It is a reminder of what you want to do and how you want to do it. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both students and instructors learn from each other.

Additional Resources

Video clips of GSIs at the University of Michigan actively engaging students in a practice teaching session: https://crlte.engin.umich.edu/engineering-gsi-videos/ 

Plan the First Day's Session: How to create to a lesson plan for the first day of class:  http://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/pre-semester-intro/first-day-plan/

Fink, D. L. (2005). Integrated course design. Manhattan, KS: The IDEA Center. Retrieved from https://www.ideaedu.org/idea_papers/integrated-course-design/

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Khan Academy Blog

What High-Quality Lesson Plans Are and Why They Need to Be Available to Teachers at Every Stage of Their Careers

posted on October 4, 2023

By Aviv Weiss , Senior Product Marketing Manager for Educators at Khan Academy and former Teacher

Teaching is the world’s most important profession because it molds future generations. Teachers face the daunting task of educating students effectively and ensuring they grasp all the necessary concepts. To achieve this, teachers must utilize high-quality lesson plans. Lesson plans are vital in guiding teachers’ daily activities in the classroom, and they provide a framework for the course. 

In this blog, we will explore what a lesson plan entails, share tips for creating an effective lesson plan, cover the benefits of using lesson plans, and show how Khanmigo can help with the creation of lesson plans. 

So, What Is a Lesson Plan?

A lesson plan is a comprehensive guide that outlines the objectives and expected learning outcomes for a particular topic or class session. They provide essential details on what a teacher intends to teach, how they will teach it, and the methods they will use. Lesson plans break down complex topics into understandable pieces, making it easier for students to grasp the content and stay engaged in the learning process. And, they offer teachers and the broader instructional team a road map for the day. 

Tips for Creating Effective Lesson Plans

• Identify clear learning objectives for the class session: Clearly define what you want students to learn or achieve during the class session. This will serve as a guide for planning and delivering instruction effectively.
• Choose activities that align with the learning objectives: Select activities that directly support the identified learning objectives. These activities should engage students and provide opportunities for them to practice and apply what they have learned.
• Incorporate formative assessments to gauge student comprehension: Use ongoing assessments throughout the class session to monitor student understanding and progress. These can include quizzes, discussions, or other interactive activities that allow you to gather feedback and adjust instruction as needed.
• Anticipate potential questions and roadblocks to provide clarification: Anticipate common questions or areas where students may struggle to understand the material. Be prepared to provide clarification or additional examples to help students overcome these roadblocks.
• Reflect on the lesson plan’s effectiveness through pre- or post-class review: Before or after the class session, take time to review and reflect on the effectiveness of your lesson plan. Consider what worked well and what could be improved for future sessions. This reflection will help you continuously refine your teaching approach.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Lesson Plans:

• Lack of clear objectives: Failing to define specific learning goals can lead to confusion and ineffective instruction. For example, a lesson plan without clear objectives may result in students not understanding what they are supposed to learn.
• Overloading content: Including too much content in a single lesson plan can overwhelm students and hinder their ability to grasp key concepts. For instance, trying to cover multiple topics in one lesson may result in shallow understanding rather than deep learning.
• Ignoring student engagement: Neglecting to incorporate interactive and engaging activities can make the lesson dull and uninteresting for students. For instance, relying solely on lectures without any hands-on activities or group discussions may result in disengaged learners.
• Lack of differentiation: Failing to address the diverse needs and abilities of students can lead to exclusion and limited-learning outcomes. For example, a failure to provide alternative activities or resources for students with different learning styles may hinder their understanding.
• Inadequate assessment strategies: Neglecting to include appropriate assessment methods can make it difficult to gauge student learning and adjust instruction accordingly. For instance, relying solely on written tests without including formative assessments or projects may not provide a comprehensive view of student progress.

Use our AI prompts for better lesson plans

How can khanmigo help with the creation of lesson plans.

As mentioned earlier, Khanmigo is an AI-powered teaching assistant developed by Khan Academy. It is a particularly powerful instructional designer (i.e. lesson planner) and data analyst. .

Examples of Lesson Plans Generated by Khanmigo

Khanmigo : In this activity, we’ll talk about your class goals and develop a humanities lesson plan together! What topic and grade level would you like to focus on for this lesson? Teacher : Year 5, world history, ancient civilizations. Khanmigo : Fantastic! I’m thrilled to collaborate with you on a Year 5 World History lesson. Now, would you like to dive right in and see a rough draft of the lesson plan, or would you prefer to add more details to customize it to your classroom’s needs? Teacher : A rough draft would be great. Khanmigo : Alright, let’s dive right in! Here’s a rough draft for a Year 5 World History lesson focusing on Ancient Civilizations: Objectives/Standards: Understand the key characteristics of ancient civilizations. Identify the contributions of ancient civilizations to modern society. Essential Question: How have ancient civilizations shaped the world we live in today? Materials: Textbook or online resources on ancient civilizations Chart paper and markers for group work “Ancient Civilizations” by Jane Shuter (Year 5 appropriate text) Hook: Ask students: “If you could time travel, which ancient civilization would you visit and why?” Lesson Activities: Introduction: Review the class purpose and objectives. Discuss what an ancient civilization is and provide examples. Direct Instruction: Read aloud from “Ancient Civilizations” by Jane Shuter, focusing on the key characteristics and contributions of each civilization. Collaborative Practice: Divide students into groups and assign each group an ancient civilization to research. Each group will create a poster highlighting the key characteristics and contributions of their assigned civilization. Discussion: Each group will present their poster to the class. After each presentation, discuss how the civilization has influenced our world today. Assessment: Formative: Teacher will circulate during group work to assess understanding and provide guidance. Summative: Each student will write a short essay on how one ancient civilization has influenced a specific aspect of our modern world. Potential Higher-Order Thinking Questions: How might our world be different if this civilization had not existed? Can you identify any modern practices or technologies that originated from this civilization? Extension Activities: Students can research and present on lesser-known ancient civilizations. Students can create a timeline showing the rise and fall of different civilizations. Differentiation: For students who need additional support, provide a list of key characteristics and contributions to look for during their research. For advanced students, challenge them to compare and contrast two different civilizations. Would you like to add more details to customize this lesson, or does this draft meet your needs?

Khanmigo can do this for you in one click.

Lesson plans are at the core of effective teaching. In this blog, we have explored what a lesson plan entails, tips for creating effective lesson plans, and pitfalls to avoid. Additionally, we have shown how Khanmigo can help teachers create effective lesson plans and we provided examples of lesson plans generated by Khanmigo. Utilizing lesson plans allows teachers to harness the full benefits of their education experience, leading to better results in the classroom environment.

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What is ‘Presentation, Practice, Production’ (PPP)?

And how can i best use it in my classroom.

Presentation, practice, production (PPP) is a lesson structure, a way to order activities in your lessons.

Although quite old and heavily criticised over the years, PPP is probably the most commonly used lesson structure in teaching English to foreign learners today. It’s also still widely taught to new teachers and seen on initial teacher training courses like the CELTA and CertTESOL.

Most course books that you’re likely to use will structure their chapters in ways similar or the same as PPP, meaning that you’ll get a lot of exposure to this method.

As the name suggests, there are three stages to this lesson structure, which we’ll look at now.

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The ‘presentation’ stage

This is where the language is introduced, or ‘presented’ to the learners, usually by introducing a context or situation. For example, you could:

Tell or act out a short story or anecdote ( “I woke up this morning with a nasty cold… AHHH-CHOOO! I went to the doctor and…”)

Play a short audio clip

Show a clip from a movie or TV show.

Show objects you’ve brought in (e.g. newspaper cuttings, plane tickets, hobby materials)

The aim is to ensure students understand the context and get them thinking about it. You could elicit ideas or suggestions from students, get them to talk to each other about what they know or think about the situation, etc. This also helps them start to remember the language and vocabulary they already know about the topic (or ‘activate the schemata’, if you want the fancy term for it).

The ‘practice’ stage

The ‘practice’ stage is when students use the language in a controlled way. This stage is sometimes divided into two — a controlled practice and a freer practice. Again, among many things, you could get students to:

Drill sentences or sounds, chorally or individually.

Substitution drill in pairs

Sentence matching activities

Gap-fill exercises

Pair work asking and answering questions

The aim of this stage is accuracy . Error correction is important in this stage, so monitor the students closely and take time to correct errors immediately. A delayed error correction section after the activity would be useful for target language errors that seem to be common.

The ‘production’ stage

The ‘production’ stage is where the language is used more openly. Things like:

Communication tasks

Collaborative tasks

Discussion activities

The focus of this stage is using the language as fluently and naturally as possible , as students would do outside of the classroom.

Theory behind Presentation, Practice, Production

This is where PPP gets criticised. It started in the 1960s, and language learning theory has developed considerably since then. Academics who study second language acquisition get annoyed at how PPP doesn’t tick any of the boxes for how we’re supposed to learn a language and yet is still so widespread.

Some learning assumptions behind presentation, practice, production are:

Students should be told the grammar rules and then practice them (a deductive approach).

Language learning is a skill like any other and should be practised as such.

There should be a high level of teacher control, slowly handed over to learners as the lesson progresses.

Language is a series of items that can be learned in sequence.

The target language should be practised by removing unnecessary language to help focus.

All of these have been shown that this isn’t how we best learn languages (in fact, the opposite is largely true!).

However, it isn’t all bad. Here’s my opinion on the advantages and disadvantages of PPP:

It’s easy to learn for new teachers.

It’s very flexible.

It’s easy to plan for and has a logical progression.

It works for most types of classes, including larger classes.

Most course books use this or a similar method to structure their lessons and chapters.

Disadvantages

Research shows that it may not be the best way to teach/learn a language.

Weaker learners may overuse the target language from the practice session, so it sounds unnatural.

Learners may not know how to use the target language in different contexts.

It can be boring if used repeatedly for higher-level students.

Thoughts on Presentation, Practice, Production

Academics are often far removed from the classroom and the real world, studying the individual phenomenon in isolation.

I’ve often seen a light bulb moment for students whilst teaching PPP (although one could argue that it’s not strict PPP, and it’d be hard to isolate the teaching method from other variables). Teaching over a period of time with this method, you do see students improve. Consider also that it’s not done in isolation — you should be getting your learners to interact in English naturally and read extensively outside of class, for starters.

Presentation, practice, production works. Maybe not as well as something like task-based learning (TBL), but TBL takes longer to plan and implement, which becomes very difficult when your teaching hours are high.

Sure, so it might not be theoretically perfect, but it does work.

How to adapt the PPP method

Also, I believe it has evolved from the ‘traditional’ PPP approach described above. Here are some ways you can adapt the classic PPP structure:

Spend more time in the presentation stage eliciting.

Turn the deductive aspect of explicit grammar instruction into an inductive aspect (so learners have to figure out the patterns themselves).

Add collaborative tasks during the practice stage, which learners must use the target language to complete successfully.

Include meta-learning strategies so students can learn how to learn.

Include more incidental language throughout the class so learners hear language in a more natural context.

Change the final stage into a task, such as you’d find in task-based learning .

These changes turn PPP into something else, a blended approach that addresses many of the criticisms of PPP.

Other structures have sought to improve upon the model of PPP. Variants include ESA (engage, study, activate) and CAP (context, analysis, practice)

However, the simplicity of PPP and its notoriety have kept it the most widely used model. I doubt it’s going away any time soon.

If you liked this article, you’ll love my books:

📝 Lesson Planning for Language Teachers - Plan better, faster, and stress-free (4.5 ⭐ , 175 ratings).

👩‍🎓 Essential Classroom Management - Develop calm students and a classroom full of learning (4.5 ⭐, 33 ratings).

🏰 Storytelling for Language Teachers - Use the power of storytelling to transform your lessons (4.5 ⭐, 11 ratings).

🤖 ChatGPT for Language Teachers - A collection of AI prompts and techniques to work better, faster (4.5 ⭐, 10 ratings).

💭 Reflective Teaching Practice Journal - Improve your teaching in five minutes daily (4.5 ⭐, 16 ratings).

📄 PDF versions available here.

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• Identifying learning styles Mark as done
• 1.3 LEVELS OF COGNITION Mark as done
• Introduction to Bloom's taxonomy Mark as done
• How Bloom’s Taxonomy is useful for teachers Mark as done
• 2.1 FOUNDATION AND RATIONALE Mark as done
• Introduction to Active Teaching and Learning Mark as done
• Defining Active Teaching and Learning Mark as done
• Rationale for Active Teaching and Learning Mark as done
• 2.2 METHODS, TECHNIQUES & TOOLS Mark as done
• METHODS FOR ACTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING Mark as done
• Problem-based learning Mark as done
• Project-based learning Mark as done
• Learning stations Mark as done
• Learning contracts Mark as done
• TECHNIQUES FOR ACTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING Mark as done
• Groupwork Mark as done
• Demonstration Mark as done
• Presentation Mark as done
• Brainstorming Mark as done
• Simulation Mark as done
• Storytelling Mark as done
• Drill Mark as done
• TOOLS FOR ACTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING Mark as done
• Quiz Mark as done
• Roleplay Mark as done
• Low cost experiments Mark as done
• Flashcards Mark as done
• Videos Mark as done
• Images Mark as done
• Charts and maps Mark as done
• Diagrams Mark as done
• Student portfolio Mark as done
• 2.3 BARRIES IN INTEGRATING ACTIVE TEACHING Mark as done
• Identifying Barriers Mark as done
• 3.1 INTRODUCTION TO CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATION Mark as done
• Defining classroom management Mark as done
• The role of the teacher Mark as done
• Defining classroom organization Mark as done
• Classroom seating arrangement Mark as done
• Overview of classroom seating arrangement styles Mark as done
• Benefits of effective classroom management and organization Mark as done
• 3.2 STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Mark as done
• The teacher as a model Mark as done
• Desired learner behaviour Mark as done
• Rewarding learners Mark as done
• Types of rewards Mark as done
• Reinforcing learners Mark as done
• Delivering a reinforcement Mark as done
• 3.3 LESSON PLANNING Mark as done
• Definition of a lesson plan Mark as done
• Components of a lesson plan Mark as done
• 4.1 INTRODUCTION TO ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION Mark as done
• Definition of assessment Mark as done
• Formative vs. summative assessment Mark as done
• Assessment for learning Mark as done
• Assessment vs. evaluation Mark as done
• 4.2 CLASS ASSESSMENT TOOLS Mark as done
• Assessment rubrics Mark as done
• Self-assessment Mark as done
• Peer-assessment Mark as done
• 4.3 REFLECTIVE PRACTICE Mark as done
• Definition of reflective practice Mark as done
• The reflective cycle Mark as done
• 5.1 CONCEPT OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Mark as done
• Introduction to teaching and learning materials Mark as done
• Purpose of teaching and learning materials Mark as done
• 5.2 TYPES OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Mark as done
• Traditional and innovative resources Mark as done
• Podcasts Mark as done
• Screencasts Mark as done
• Educational videos Mark as done
• Educational posters Mark as done
• Open Educational Resources (OERs) Mark as done
• 5.3 CHOOSING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Mark as done
• Integrating instructional materials Mark as done
• Factors to consider when selecting instructional materials Mark as done

About this course

• 11 hours study
• 1 Level 1: Introductory
• Course description

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General Teaching Methods

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Presentation

A presentation delivers content through oral, audio and visual channels allowing teacher-learner interaction and making the learning process more attractive. Through presentations, teachers can clearly introduce difficult concepts by illustrating the key principles and by engaging the audience in active discussions. When presentations are designed by learners, their knowledge sharing competences, their communication skills and their confidence are developed.

• Define the objectives of the presentation in accordance to the lesson plan (lesson planning)
• Prepare the structure of the presentation, including text, illustrations and other content (lesson planning)
• Set up and test the presentation equipment and provide a conducive seating arrangement and environment for the audience (lesson planning)
• Invite the audience to reflect on the presentation and give feedback (lesson delivery)
• After the presentation, propose activities or tasks to check the learners’ understanding
• Use Mentimeter for interactive presentations and to get instant feedback from your audience (consult this written tutorial on how to use Mentimeter).
• An infographic; graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge, is an innovative way to present. Use the digital tool Canva to create your own infographics (consult this  written tutorial  on how to use Canva).
• Use Google Slides or the Microsoft software PowerPoint , to easily create digital presentations.
• The purpose of a presentation is to visually reinforce what you are saying. Therefore the text should contain few words and concise ideas organised in bullet-point.
• Support your text using images .
• Provide time for reflection and interaction between the presenter and the audience, for example by using  Mentimeter .

    Techniques/ Demonstration                                                                Techniques/ Brainstorming

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