High frequency word lesson plans

Using a Predictable Text to Teach High-Frequency Words

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Overview

As a little boy searches for his cat in Eric Carle's Have You Seen My Cat? he repeatedly asks the titular question only to have to answer "This is not my cat!" when he's met with tigers, lions, and other felines that clearly aren't the boy's cat. This lesson uses Carle's predictable text and a repetitive format to help students learn high-frequency words. Students develop fluency as they participate in a choral reading of the predictable text. After reading the story, students construct sentences using the words found in the predictable text. At the conclusion of the lesson, students have the opportunity to write and illustrate their own stories by creating a stapleless book.

Featured Resources

Stapleless Book: This interactive tool allows students to create their own stories using high-frequency words.

From Theory to Practice

The reader, the text, and the task: Learning words in first grade (Johnston)

• The focus of any reading program should be on finding meaning in delightful stories. Children will not be able to construct meaning, however, unless they are able to read the words effortlessly.
• Word learning can be enhanced by the manner in which a predictable text is used and by the follow-up activities that are employed. In addition to studying words in context, students should also study words in isolation. Words could be placed in a word bank to use for games and frequent review. Sentences from the predictable text could be written on sentence strips and cut apart. Students could then be asked to use those words to rebuild the sentence in sequence.
  

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

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Grade Select12K

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Printouts

Websites

The Official Eric Carle Website

Preparation

Student Objectives

Students will

• Recognize high-frequency words through the reading of a predictable text
• Compose sentences using high-frequency words from a predictable text
• Write their own stories using the format and high-frequency words from a predictable text

Session 1

1.	Initiate a discussion of pets with your students by asking questions such as: Do you have any pets? Has your pet ever run away? How did you find your lost pet?
2.	Have You Seen My Cat? to the class. After reading, discuss the story with your students.
3.	Have You Seen My Cat? is a predictable text that lends itself well to choral reading activities. Using a Big Book version of the text, invite the class to read the story with you. Point to each word as the students are reading. Two sentences are repeated throughout the book: "Have you seen my cat?" and "This is not my cat." If you are not able to obtain either a Big Book version or multiple copies for students to read from individually, have students read along with you by writing these two sentences on the chalkboard.
4.	Present two sentence strips to the class. One strip contains the sentence, "Have you seen my cat?" The second strip contains the sentence, "This is not my cat. " Ask students to read the two sentences with you.
5.	Cut the sentence strips apart into individual words, keeping each sentence's words together.
6.	Shuffle the two groups of words from the sentence strips and display each sentence's words in random order.
7.	Ask a student to assemble one set of sentence strip words to form the sentence, "Have you seen my cat?" (Make certain that there is a slip containing the question mark.) Then ask another student to assemble the other set of sentence strip words to form the sentence, "This is not my cat." (Include a slip containing the period.)

Session 2

1.	To review the story, read aloud Have You Seen My Cat? to the class. Discuss the story with the students.
2.	Give each student a copy of the Word Cards. Ask students to cut the words apart then assemble the cards to form the two sentences: "Have you seen my cat?" and "This is not my cat. " Students can use the blank cards to write alternate endings to the sentences.
3.	Invite the class to share their alternate endings of the two sentences. Write students' responses on the chalkboard.
4.	Have students write their own story using a similar format. Students can expand upon the predictable text and write similarly themed sentences in a variety of formats. For example, students might write, "Has anyone seen my rabbit?" and "I have not seen your rabbit." After writing their story, students can input their text into the interactive Stapleless Book. This interactive enables students to type the text for their story, then fold the 8½"x11" printout into a book. Room can also be left in the book for students to draw pictures and illustrate their story.

Extensions

• Invite students to work in pairs writing sentences using a format similar to Have You Seen My Cat?. Students can work at the chalkboard or use small dry-erase boards at their seats. For example, one student might write the sentence, "Have you seen my turtle?" His partner would then write the response, "No, I have not seen your turtle."
• Working in pairs, students can create rhyming words by accessing the interactive Construct-a-Word. This interactive enables students to create words by combining onsets and rimes. Help students select the at ending to begin making words that rhyme with cat.
  
  
• Copy the blank Bingo Game worksheet to create a customized review game for the class. Write the words have, you, seen, my, cat, this, is, and not on the chalkboard. Distribute the blank Bingo Game worksheets and tell students to write the words in the blanks. Students can write the words randomly in any blanks they choose. There are 25 blanks and only 8 words. Consequently, the words will appear more than once on each card. This repetition will be beneficial and will assist students in learning the words. When the class has finished writing the words on their cards, you can use them to play a bingo game.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Use the Student Evaluation Sheet to measure the effectiveness of this lesson for each student.
• Observe each student's participation in the choral reading of a predictable text.
• Keep anecdotal notes on each student's enthusiasm and comfort with the activity.
• Evaluate each student's ability to read the high-frequency words contained on the Word Cards.
• Evaluate each student's ability to form sentences using the high-frequency words contained in a predictable text.

48 Fun Sight Word Activities That Work

Teachers are always on the hunt for great sight word activities. Sight words are any words readers recognize automatically “by sight”—for fluent readers, that’s almost all words! High-frequency words, the most commonly occurring words in written English like those on the Dolch list, are often thought of as the most crucial sight words.

It’s a myth that blindly memorizing every letter in a sight word is the only way to learn it. The science of reading tells us that linking sounds and letters is the most effective way for kids’ brains to learn any word. Many common words are easy to tackle using beginning phonics skills (like “at,” “can,” “him,” etc.), so staying true to a strong phonics curriculum is one way to support kids’ sight word learning. Even irregularly spelled words have decodable parts, e.g., kids can use the sounds of “s” and “d” to help with “said,” even if the “ai” is unexpected. Experts often call these words “heart words” to call out for kids that they should learn the unexpected word parts “by heart.” (If all this is unfamiliar to you, it can feel overwhelming, but you’ve got this! Check out teaching guru Jillian Starr’s explanation for more help.)

Check out these low-prep and engaging sight word activities for both teaching and practicing words.

1. Map it and drive it

This is a genius way to introduce words with appealing materials: Say the word, represent each sound with a LEGO brick, write letters for each sound, and “drive” to read it.

Source: @droppinknowledgewithheidi

2. Smush play dough for each sound

Set up a routine that works for any word. Play dough squishing for each sound is the ultimate multi-sensory component.

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Source: @playdough3plato

3. Map words with a magnet wand

It is so super-satisfying to drag those magnetic dots around! Watch the video below for lots of tips on introducing a word using this process.

Source: @warriorsforliteracy

4. Make a mini book

Lots of handy info in one place for your little learners.

Source: @hughesheartforfirst

5. Tap it, pop it, learn it!

Hardwire those words in kids’ brains with this comprehensive word intro routine. (You had us with the pop its!)

Source: @hellojenjones

6. Find and swat words

An oldie but such a goodie. Find a word in an array and WHACK! Swat it with a fly swatter!

Source: @kids_play_learn_laugh

7.

Serve up sight word pancakes while practicing spelling them aloud.

Source: @bee_happy_teaching

8. Wear heart word bracelets

Make kids feel like sight word VIPs.

Source: @teachingmoore

9. Search for sight word balls

Write sight words on ball pit balls with a chalk marker or dry-erase marker. Kids can race around hunting for balls to read and toss in a basket, or hunt through a big tub of balls for a certain word.

Source: @preschoolforyou

10. Start a sight word band

Loud but oh-so-fun! Feel the rhythm while tapping and reading sight words stuck to homemade percussion instruments.

Source: @earlyyears_withmrsg

11. Drive on a sight word path

This is one of many fun ways to use magnetic tiles for learning! Kids love “knocking down” word tiles with a toy car as they read each one.

Source: @travisntyler

12. Use sticky notes to inspire sight word sentences

Have kids stick words on items that give them ideas for sentences. “My Mom said to wear a helmet!” = so good!

Source: @kinneypodlearning

13. Write words on a sensory bag

So easy: Fill a zip-top bag with a small amount of kid-safe paint, seal well, and have kids practice “writing” sight words with their finger or a cotton swab.

Source: @makeitmultisensory

14. Wear a sight word crown

Wear your word proudly and practice reading others’ words. Fun in person or virtually.

Source: @mrsjonescreationstation

15. Play a magnetic-tile board game

We love new ideas for ways to use magnetic tiles for sight word activities. Easy to set up and fun to play.

Source: @twotolove_bairantwins

16. Spell words to a familiar tune

Get sight words stuck in everyone’s head, in a good way. We’d add a line for chanting the sounds in the word!

Source: @saysbre

17. Feed a word monster

Nom, nom, nom.

Source: @ecplayandlearn

18. Search for the pom-pom under sight word cups

Read all the words as you try to find the cup that hides the prize.

Source: @la.la.learning

19. Play sight word KABOOM

This classroom classic is perfect for sight words. If you need a refresher on the rules, Jillian Starr covers them.

Source: @essentiallykinder

20. Roll and write words

Roll, write, repeat.

Source: @mylittlepandamonium

21. Write words with rainbow colors

Bonus points for aromatic markers.

Source: @mylittlepandamonium

22. Trace words with flashlights

Stock up on batteries because kids never get tired of this!

Source: @giggleswithgerg

23. Find words in plastic eggs

Give kids a checklist of words to find as they open each egg.

Source: @blooming_tots1

24. Spy words around the classroom

Just add a magnifying glass and clipboard to make kids feel like supersleuths!

Source: @readingcorneronline

25. Find words in the morning message

Don’t forget about old standbys! This is one of our favorite ways to get kids to recognize sight words in connected text.

Source: @tales_of_a_kinder_classroom

26. Build words with bricks

Such a great use of extra building bricks!

Source: @raysinkinder

27. Write words in sand

Easy-peasy to set up and keep neat if you use plastic pencil boxes.

Source: @teacherhacks

28. Spell words on a construction site

Bulldozing over each word to read it is the best part!

Source: @planningplaytime

29. Spell words with toy cars

Drive on over!

Source: @lozlovesprep

30. Park in a sight word “parking lot”

This one is easy to modify based on whatever toys are available in the classroom or at home.

Source: @msbendersclassroom

31. “Plant” words in play dough

Watch those reading skills grow!

Source: @planningplaytime

32. Build words in a sensory tub

Because spelling is just more fun when your hands are covered in beans!

Source: @coffeeandspitup

33.

That eraser track makes for a perfect word card holder!

Source: @moffattgirls

34. Or write words on the window!

Everyone wants a turn to write on the window!

Source: @kindergarten_matters

35. Shhh! Discover words written in invisible ink

Write words in white crayon and reveal them with watercolors on top!

Source: @teachstarter

36. Dot-paint words with a cotton swab

Calming and effective.

Source: @sightwordactivities

37. “Type” words on a keyboard

Busy day at the sight word office! Use a keyboard cover or any old keyboard.

Source: @lifebetweensummers

38. Read words before heading through the door

The line leader can double as the word pointer during transitions.

Source: @ms.rowekinder

39. Read the word the teacher’s wearing!

Wait, is there something on my shirt?

Source: @theprimarypartner

40.

Choose a winning word when the music stops!

Source: @joyfulinkinder

41. Play sight word hopscotch

If you can’t get outdoors, tape on the floor works just as well.

Source: @wheretheliteracygrows

42. Play tic-tac-toe

I’ll be team “the.”

Source: @create_n_teach

43. Go sight word bowling

No bowling pins? Use half-filled plastic water bottles instead.

Source: @thecreativeteacher_

44. Ready, aim, read

Just throw a beanbag at a word target if foam darts are a no-go.

Source: @laurens_lil_learners

45. Play muffin tin ball toss

Toss and read. It’s easy to use colored muffin cups to prep different sets of words.

Source: @homeschooling_fun_with_lynda

46. DIY sentence flash cards

Authentic use of words in context for the win.

Source: @teachertipsandtales

47. Play sight word checkers

King me! If kids don’t have a partner available, they can “play” with a stuffed animal and get double practice.

Source: @sightwordactivities

48. Play sight word Guess Who?

Set up this game once and use it forever.

Source: @lessons_and_lattes

We’d love to hear—what are your favorite sight word activities? Share in the comments below.

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Plus, what are sight words?

how to quickly learn English words

Have you ever learned a set of new words in English, repeating them several times, listening to the transcription and looking at usage examples, but when you need to remember this word after some time, it does not pop up in head instantly? It seems to be “spinning on the tongue”, but it’s impossible to remember for sure.

Regular vocabulary replenishment and the study of thematic vocabulary is the key to a rich English language. But here's how to make sure that new words are deposited in memory for a long time?

Today we will share the secrets of how to learn and easily memorize English words.

How many words you need to know

Before talking about techniques and techniques for memorization, I would like to say that learning English words and learning English is not the same thing. After all, the language is alive, it uses the rules of grammar, and the translation of the same word may vary depending on the context.

So even if you memorize ten thousand words from the Oxford Dictionary, there will be no sense if you cannot use them in live speech.

Naturally, the standards for word proficiency for a native speaker and for an English as a foreign language learner are very different.

The average active vocabulary of an English speaker, which he regularly uses in everyday life, is from 10,000 to 20,000 words. But the passive stock can be from 50,000 to 100,000 words.

For those who study English as a foreign language, the numbers are quite different. So, for a general understanding of oral speech and superficial communication, knowledge of about 1000 high-frequency words will be enough. 3,000-4,000 words are enough to keep a conversation going on general topics and watching simple movies and series. But if you want to understand up to 100% of speech, you will need a supply of about 20,000 words.

You can test your vocabulary with a special test: Vocabulary test. His results are pretty accurate, especially if you answered honestly.

The number of words learned does not guarantee that you will communicate freely. It is important to approach vocabulary replenishment wisely: not to cram everything in a row, but to concentrate on the most frequently used words and thematic vocabulary.

Start with basic topics such as family, home, work, city, weather, animals, food, travel, and so on.

The most frequently used words in English are called high frequency. You can take new vocabulary from ready-made lists of such words - then you will quickly master colloquial speech and be able to start applying new knowledge as early as possible.

Learning all the available sets of words is simply pointless. It is unlikely that you will need advanced medical terminology, unless you are going to build a career in the field of medicine. Similarly, if you need special words on a narrow topic, learn them. It is not necessary to know by heart all the terms and special vocabulary if you do not apply it in life.

Where to get new English words

The main source is thematic vocabulary. On the Internet and in teaching aids, you will find enough sets of words for different levels.

There are also special textbooks for increasing vocabulary and dictionaries of the most high-frequency words.

Progress does not stand still: many new words and slang expressions have appeared recently, and some have fallen into disuse. Keep your finger on the pulse and write down new words as you encounter them in TV series, movies, articles, podcasts and the media.

By the way, movies, series, articles and books are a great source of new words. Regular viewing of videos with subtitles is good because unfamiliar words are used in an interesting context for you, which means they are remembered faster. The same rule applies to printed materials: find articles on the topic of your profession or area of ​​interest, and also read your favorite books in the original.

How to quickly learn and remember English words

Flashcards

The method of memorizing new words using cards has been used for a long time, but it does not lose its relevance. It is convenient and accessible to everyone. The meaning is simple: on one side of the card you write the word in English, and on the other side you write the translation. You can make cards yourself with only the vocabulary that you need, or use ready-made thematic sets.

For best effect, choose cards with pictures. Visually, we remember information much easier, and in the future, the word will quickly come to mind if you just remember the picture.

Today, instead of ordinary paper cards, there are many mobile applications and web-based memorization simulators. It is enough to download the application to your smartphone. So the necessary virtual cards will always be at hand. The application itself will remind you which words you have already learned and which are worth looking at again, and will offer material for repetition.

Notepad

The good old way that is still popular. Write down new words in special notebooks in two columns: word-translation.

The trick is that when you write, you remember not only the translation of a word, but also its correct spelling. Write down frequently used phrases with this word or set expressions here. In the future, with repetition, these phrases will be deposited in your head and will be easily remembered as soon as you imagine the word written in the notebook.

Mindmap

This method is suitable for those who love diagrams and drawing.

Highlight a few words on the subject. For example, house (house). Draw it in the center and make arrows to related words (in our case, rooms in the house). In different parts of the sheet, write: bathroom (bathroom), living room (living room), bedroom (bedroom), dining room (dining room). After, for each of the rooms, write a few words that apply to it. For example, bed (bed), pillow (pillow), sheets (sheets) - to the bedroom, and shower (shower), towel (towel), mirror (mirror) - to the bathroom.

Mentally following this visual pattern, it will be easier for you to remember the words that belong to a particular category.

Rules for memorizing new words easily

Here are some useful tips and principles for those who want to quickly learn English words and not forget anything in a day.

Explore interesting topics

After learning the basic set of words, it is often tempting to learn something "that" in order to shine in a conversation with a foreigner. Yes, there are beautiful words, the use of which in speech can amaze the interlocutor. But, say, why do you need to know the word "lightning" in English if you do not know the word "speed"?

It has been proven that interesting information is better absorbed and remembered much faster. Therefore, learn those words that are in your area of ​​\u200b\u200binterest. Everyone needs a solid vocabulary base, but each of us has our own passions and hobbies, so collect more information on your favorite topic. Do you like sports? Then watch matches, listen to commentators and read articles on this topic. Do you like to photograph nature and travel? Then subscribe to popular bloggers or watch the National Geographic series of programs. Look for new interesting words where they are used.

Don't waste time memorizing those words that you rarely use even in your native language.

Learn words in context

It's not enough just to learn a new word - you also need to be able to apply it. Therefore, immediately look at the examples where it was used, in what context, for what purpose, and so on. Try to make up your sample sentences with a new word and find its use in speech. Imagine when and how you might need to use this word: come up with a situation and play it several times.

The golden rule here is to learn to ignore the words you don't need. When learning new vocabulary, there is a great temptation to learn it “in a crowd”, and this is not quite the right approach. When you encounter a new word, look through all the options for its use, but remember only the most frequently used ones.

Learn set phrases

Many beginners to learn English make the same mistake: first they build a sentence in Russian in their head, and then translate it. But the norms of our languages ​​are very different, and a foreigner may simply not understand what you mean.

Therefore, along with new words, memorize common collocations and their use in speech. So, “take a photo” in English will be “take a picture”, and not “do a photo”, as many would translate, and “break a record” - “break a record”, and not “beat a record”.

Remember opposites

Opposites not only attract, but are also better remembered. This technique is good to use when memorizing adjectives. For example, it is better to learn words in pairs along with antonyms: good-bad (good-bad), big-small (big-small), happy-angry (happy-evil) and so on.

Thanks to this technique, you will be able to remember not only the desired word, but also its antonym, which will immediately pop up in your memory.

Understand difficult words

Many foreign words consist of several simpler ones. Having met a compound word, take it apart and see how they are translated separately. This will help you build associative links and make it easier to remember the word.

For example, the word microbiology (microbiology) consists of two words - micro (small) and biology (biology). It turns out that having analyzed this word, you will learn not one, but three new concepts at once.

You can often guess by analogy how similar words will sound in English. To do this, make a list of common prefixes (un-, dis-, con-, micro-, etc.) and suffixes (-able, -ly, -ent, -tion, -ive, etc.) and remember what they mean. In the future, when you meet a new word, you can easily guess its meaning.

Don't forget grammar

As soon as you come across a new word, you need not only to parse it thoroughly, but also to learn the grammatical rules that correspond to it. So, a new word may be just a different form of a word you already know.

Also, learn more verbs and memorize their situational use. For example, having learned the forms of irregular verbs according to the table of tenses, you will no longer know one word, but three.

Use associations

Associative memory is a good thing. It helps to “pull out” the right word from the bins of consciousness without much difficulty. Therefore, when studying, it is good to use flashcards with pictures.

This is especially important for abstract concepts, which are abundant in the language. If you learn words without pictures, imagine them in your head. You can mentally draw a word in the air, give it a color or some form.

By the way, the funnier the association, the faster the new word will be remembered. For example, the word clever is translated from English as “smart”, and in Russian it sounds like the name of a clover plant. Building a sentence: You’re so clever! (You are so smart!), and for a funny association in Russian, imagine it as “Well, you are a clover!”.

You can even make up a funny story or phrase with a new word. Choose the most unexpected combinations, and you will be surprised how easy they are to remember.

Use new words in speech

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn ”(Tell me - and I will forget. Teach me - and I will remember. Involve me - and I will learn).

One of the surest ways to quickly remember a new word is to find its use in everyday speech. If you attend courses or study with a teacher individually, use the words you just learned as often as possible. Specially build sentences with new words and do not forget about spelling: use the studied vocabulary in written English.

Make it fun

Above we have already talked about mobile applications and games for memorizing new words. Install this on your smartphone, make a selection of words that interest you and complete tasks regularly. These can be quick games with cards with translation in both directions, composing phrases with words, and so on.

Programs will help you identify words that are especially difficult for you and will focus on learning them.

Don't forget about funny songs or rhymes to remember. Basically, they are used in children's education, but sometimes they help adults. In addition, you can always come up with your own funny rhyme to the word, which activates associative memory.

Consider your type of perception of information

The same methods of memorizing new English words are not equally suitable for everyone. Choose an approach depending on your type of perception. There are three of them: auditory, visual and kinesthetic.

Audiobooks, music or podcasts are suitable for the audience. In order to memorize new words, auditory learners need to read them aloud, repeat and analyze them several times.

Visuals are best suited for the card method, as well as other pictures, tables, and visual aids. They are better off watching movies and series with subtitles, and also follow the accompanying text when listening to podcasts.

It is easier for kinesthetic learners to memorize new words by writing them on paper. Active gestures come to the aid of this type: imagine a situation when you use a new word and repeat the accompanying hand gestures. For example, remembering the word cup (cup) - pretend that you pick up a cup and pour tea into it. Later, the reproduction of these gestures will help to remember the situation and the word itself.

Whatever type of perception you have, during memorization and repetition, try to fully concentrate on the word being studied. This means that at the time of its repetition, you must clearly imagine it in your head, how it sounds and what it means. If you begin to repeat the learned words mechanically, then the likelihood that they will be deposited in memory for a long time is noticeably reduced.

Spaced repetition technique

In order for a new word to forever be stuck in the head, it is important not so much how to repeat it, but when to repeat it. It's best to do this when you feel like you're about to forget a new word.

Effective memorization and timing of repetition of new information was developed by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus. According to his research, you need to repeat a new word at least 9 times in order to remember it. And it's better to do it like this:

• 15 minutes after familiarization
• One hour after last repeat
• Three hours after last repeat
• Next day
• Two days after last repeat
• Four days after last repeat
• One week after the last repetition
• Two weeks after last recurrence
• One month after last repeat

When repeating new words, it is also important to use them in context: to form a phrase or phrase with them.

In conclusion, let us briefly repeat the main points that are necessary for easy and quick memorization of new English words:

• Learn only the necessary and useful words.

  These are basic sets of high-frequency words and vocabulary from your area of ​​interest. Don't forget about verbs, set phrases and colloquial phrases.

• Learn words in context

  If you found a new word in an article, song, film, memorize it right away with the context. If you learn a “lonely” word, then come up with a context for it yourself. Do not try to learn all the meanings of a multi-valued word, take into service only the most used ones. And again, don't forget about context.

• Use the word in conversation

  If there is no opportunity for conversational practice yet, come up with your own examples and situations when it would be useful for you to use this word. For effective memorization, it is desirable to meet the word in 7-9different situations.

• Use vivid associations

  It doesn't matter what association comes to your mind when you meet a new word. The main thing is that it should be bright and memorable. And also to match your type of thinking and “work” for you.

• Memorize words using the interval method

  It is better to repeat the learned words after a certain period of time than to cram every day: in this way the word will be deposited in long-term memory and will easily “pop up” in the right situation.

By memorizing 10 new words a day, in a month you will expand your vocabulary by 300 words, and by the end of the year - by more than 3000 words. This is enough to confidently speak English in everyday life.

How to make an English lesson plan

In my last year of university, I started working as an English tutor (I studied at Dobrolyubov NGLU, majoring in theory and methods of teaching foreign languages ​​and cultures). But my lessons did not seem to me as successful as they could be, and I did not have a clear answer why this was happening.

After graduation, I started working at a language school, where I began to devote much more time to the methodology and for the first time thought about the importance of planning. Then I realized that the secret ingredient necessary for a successful lesson is lesson plan.

• The lesson becomes whole. This is a kind of journey from point A to point B. Without a plan, you will be thrown from side to side, as if you are on a ship on the high seas during a storm, and students will wonder, “What was that?”
• Control over the lesson. You know where to start, how to move from one activity to another, what possible questions students may have, what to do if you finish early, etc.

Before planning a lesson, it makes sense to develop template , a template that is visually convenient for you ( I use this template ), which will include all the elements of the lesson you need.

1. Date
2. Lesson duration
3. Student name/group number + level
4. Lesson topic
5. Purpose of the lesson
6. Materials to be used (textbook, additional materials, question cards, photographs, etc. )

• Introduction
• Main body
• Conclusion
• Homework
• Comments

This form will help you not to forget anything when planning a lesson.

The first step is to define the purpose of the lesson. The goal is always the answer to the question “What new knowledge will my students leave the lesson with?” So the lesson becomes meaningful, and all its elements are tied to one goal.

Having defined the goal, you can proceed to the introductory part of the lesson — warm up. It serves to get students talking, arouse their interest, intrigue and smoothly lead to the topic of the lesson.

As a speech warm-up, choose conversational exercises in which students need to share their opinion, explain something, describe, tell, etc.

• Optimal warm-up time is 5-10 minutes
• Variety - each lesson should have a different warm-up, so try not to start all the lessons the same way with the mundane "How are you?"

The key part of the lesson, which is aimed at the presentation and development of new material.

The content of the main part should be directly related to the purpose of the lesson - then each task becomes meaningful. Remember, the main thing here is not the number of tasks, but their quality. Despite the variety of materials, books, textbooks and activities, it is important to dose assignments and make the most of what you give your students.

The second thing to keep in mind is the variety of tasks. Whether you're working with children or adults, it's important to keep the class as varied as possible to keep students engaged and engaged.

Alternate gap filling with flashcards, pairing with group assignments, move students around, let them write on the board for you, create a dynamic and stimulating learning environment.

Please allow 5-10 minutes for the final part of the lesson. Do not plan anything new, do not introduce new grammar or vocabulary. By this point, the students (no matter how interesting the lesson was) were already tired.

This is the perfect time to play a little, summarize the lesson, give homework, and answer the final questions students have left.

# 1. Enter the approximate amount of time that each task will take to complete.

#2 . Think over and write down in the plan how you will present the rules for completing assignments to students. The explanation should be clear, concise and understandable.

# 3. Write down any questions/difficulties students might have . Think about how they could be solved

# 4. Think and write down how you will move from one task to another. The transition should be smooth and logical.

# 5. Opposite each task indicate the source — the page and number of the exercise in the textbook; if we are talking about additional materials, indicate the sequence number of the task, for example, activity 1)

# 6. Always keep the plan at hand .

# 7. Prepare extra activity in case the lesson ends early.

#8. After lesson , analyze your plan and note which tasks worked and which did not. Consider how you can avoid similar problems in the future.

Planning a lesson is necessary and very important! At the beginning of a teaching career, lesson planning can be time consuming and very detailed.

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