Section 3.4 - Lesson Planning
Once
you and the learner have determined the goals he/she wants to
reach, the next step is to do some lesson planning. As the resource,
Journeyworkers Approaches to Literacy Education with Adults
you were given so aptly points out:
"What are we going to do in lessons?"
Read this question again before deciding on your answer. The
most important word in the question is "we." Both
of you are responsible for the content of lessons. When you
tutor with an adult, the two of you form an interdependent relationship:
the adult feels the need or desire to become literate; you have
the knowledge and skills to help the adult achieve literacy.
Neither of you can carry out your role without the other's participation.
The two of you also share responsibility for decisions about
lessons. Together, you decide what areas of reading and writing
to work on. It is your job to present strategies, but your "partner"
has a say in the choice of topics and materials (p. 67).
There
are several questions you should ask yourselves when planning
lessons:
§
What (goals) do we hope to accomplish
in this session?
§
What will the learner have to do in
this session?
§
What will I have to do in this session?
§
What materials will we need?
§
How will we know if we have made progress?
Although
there are many different formats that can be used for setting
up your lesson plan, the example given below addresses the questions
we asked above. You may add or revise as needed to suit each
individual situation.
Lesson Plan: Study Skills
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Details
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Comments
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Objective(s)
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The learners will use the computer to
visit 3-4 sites about effective studying and come up with
ways of improving his/her own study habits.
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You may want to find the sites in advance
if your learner is new to the computer (i.e., rather than
have him/her search). If so, be sure to check all URL's
prior to the learning session to ensure they are still
working.
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Skills/ Knowledge
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·
Research effective study habits
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Demonstrate good note-taking skills and ability to use
the computer (the Internet and a word processing program).
·
Describe ways to improve own study habits.
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This activity should only be used with
students who are comfortable with operating a computer
(using the Internet, a word processing program, and a
printer).
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Materials and Resources
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Computer with:
o
access to the Internet
o
word processing software
o
printer
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Paper, pencil or pen
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Check equipment and Internet access before
the learning session.
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Learning Activities
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·
Search on the Internet for and bookmark 2 to 3 sites about
study habits
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Read through each site and make notes about what factors
are important to improving study habits
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Prioritize which habits he/she thinks are most important
to studying effectively
·
Write out some problems he/she has when studying and make
suggestions for improving these
·
Develop a checklist on the computer for effective study
and print out several copies to use when studying.
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The learner could open a word processing
file rather than writing the information down by hand.
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Integration of Literacy Skills
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·
Reading, writing, spelling, computer
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Organization and presentation of material
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Researching
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Critical self-reflection
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Evaluation
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·
Ability to use the various features of the computer with
little or no assistance
·
Ability to take relevant notes and organize information
appropriately
·
Understanding of own study skills and self-assessment
of improvements and remaining problem areas.
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Other
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It is beneficial to have the learner
complete a study checklist you have developed together
discuss how the strategies helped or were not useful.
Where problems still exist, discuss alternative strategies,
revise the study checklist, and repeat this activity.
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The
format of the lesson can vary from very informal to quite formal
depending on the individual situation and the learner(s). For
example, if you are tutoring someone one-to-one you might want
to use a less formal approach, whereas if you were working with
a group, you would likely use a more structured approach. Whatever
the case, a general plan for learning sessions is shown below.
Format of a Learning Session
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Time
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Activity
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Comments
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10 minutes
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Review
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i.e., material from previous lesson(s)
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10 -15 minutes
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Warm-up activity
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e.g., reading, a math game, etc. This
activity is just to get you both "warmed up"
and should not involve any active teaching or learning
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1 - 2 hours
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Main activity
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As much as possible the learning session should integrate
core literacy skills
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The activities should be active and authentic
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Remember to give learners a break about halfway through
this longer session
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10 minutes
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Closure
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Summarize material and informally assess learning
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Provide and receive feedback on how you both think the
session went
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Review any homework assignment
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Discuss what will be learned in the next session(s)
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15 minutes
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Wind down/fun activity
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E.g., play a game such as Boggle, just
talk -- anything that will end the session on a relaxed
note and leave the learner in a positive frame of mind
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A
sample lesson closure form has been included below. It can be
used to wrap-up each session. It will help you both to identify
where the lesson went well and where it did not, as well as
areas or material you still need to work on. It will also help
you to look ahead and do some short-term planning for the next
learning session(s).
Lesson Closure Form
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Learner
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Tutor
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How did the learning session go?
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What worked?
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What didn't?
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What was easiest?
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What was most difficult?
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What material do we still need to work
on from this session?
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What needs to be done before the next
session?
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What will we cover in the next session(s)?
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Please
remember that there is no perfect way of conducting a learning
session. Every situation will be different and you may have
to adjust your approach. After you gain experience in tutoring,
however, this will become easier and you will feel much more
comfortable adjusting things as the situation requires.
Resources:
·
Lesson Planning Resources
- Huntington College
·
Thematic Unit
Planning - Central Illinois Adult Education Service Centre
·
The
Gateway – a comprehensive database of lesson plans including
vocational and adult/ education.
On to Section 3.5
Back
to Contents
(Page updated July 2002)
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