When you are a teacher, a big part of the challenges that you face involves getting your lessons right. Unless they are well planned from the start, it is much less likely that they will run smoothly and your pupils will get the learning experience they richly need and deserve. As well as learning a few of the top tips that will help your lessons to go smoothly, it is also worth knowing and understanding a few of the major mistakes you should avoid. This way, you know what not to do as well as what to do, which will certainly help you out in a big way. So, let’s look closer into a few of the mistakes that are made time and time again in lesson planning.
Not having a clear end goal
While you can plan a fantastic lesson with all the bells and whistles using resources like https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/lesson-plans/kindergarten/, if you do not have a clear end goal in mind, it is much more likely that your lesson will meander on without a purpose. Therefore, you need to start with the idea of what you want the kids to take away from the class in the first place. This way, everything you plan out will have this firmly in mind and be geared toward this direction. While you may have the best idea for a lesson in the world, if you don’t set it up properly, it will not achieve its aim and will be ultimately useless.
Taking exactly the same lesson from someone else
While it is all well and good to get some resources from elsewhere, you should avoid simply copying and pasting a lesson plan from somewhere else, as your students will not be able to learn effectively that way. This will likely lead to a situation where you will become complacent, and it also won’t be adapted to the individual needs of your class at the heart of the plan. Even if you are the one who planned the lesson in the past, it is still going to be worth taking a closer look to determine whether it needs some
Not prepping all the materials thoroughly
A big part of the lesson will come down to the materials you require to complete the job. This means ensuring that you prep all of your materials ahead of time and check that they are all in the right condition. For example, many teachers rely on tech in the modern world to help them out in their lessons. However, it would help if you made sure that there are no technical issues that will derail your lesson before it has even had a chance to get properly started.
Failing to plan out a clear structure
You also need to make sure that you have a clear lesson structure in front of you, as well as some rough timings for how long each part of the lesson is going to run. For example, there is simply no point in dragging out the introduction so that it takes up half of the class. On the other hand, you need to make sure that the kids are sufficiently ‘warmed up’ to be able to take in the main messages of the lesson, ensuring that they get the most out of what you have planned.
Not building enough variety into your lessons
This is a worthwhile general tip to bear in mind. Rather than one that is specifically all about a single lesson in front of you, it is certainly worth ensuring that your classes are packed with variety. If you keep using the same structure repeatedly, it is much more likely that your pupils will become accustomed to what you are doing and less likely that they will take in the main information of the lesson. On top of this, when you make your lessons entertaining, children will have a more positive mindset towards what you are teaching them and will be more likely to engage in class.
By avoiding all of these common mistakes made in lesson planning, it will help to ensure that you create the type of learning exercises packed with useful information that your class can take away and will apply to their everyday lives. Unless you do this effectively, it is much less likely that you will be a successful teacher and the type of educator renowned for the quality of their lessons. While some of these may seem obvious, it is worth reminding yourself of the lessons time after time.
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