Lesson Planning
As a Yipiyap, one of the most important skills you'll need to develop is effective lesson planning. Whether you're tutoring on a 1:1 basis or running a small group session, having a well-structured lesson plan can make a significant difference in the quality of your sessions and the success of your tutees. This article will walk you through the essentials of lesson planning, providing you with practical tips to create engaging, effective, and flexible lessons.
Why Does Lesson Planning Matter?
Having an effective lesson plan can help you:
1. Stay Organised: A clear plan ensures that you cover all necessary material without losing track of time.
2. Build Confidence: Knowing what you’re going to teach and how helps you feel more prepared and in control.
3. Engage Students: A well-structured lesson keeps students interested and motivated.
4. Track Progress: Planning allows you to set and achieve specific learning goals with your students.
How does my placement school affect my planning?
Some schools will have a very structured plan in place for your tuition, meaning they know exactly what areas they’d like you to focus on throughout the year and will provide you with all of the resources they’d like you to use.
However in some schools, they may be a little bit more fluid with their plans. They will give you the subject areas, but ask that you use your own resources and methods to teach the students.
Therefore, it’s important that when you begin your placement, you take the time to meet with your key contact and identify their preference. If you are asked to use your own resources, please remember that we have heaps of lesson plans and worksheets readily available on our Resource Hub, so please do take advantage of this.
Once you have selected what you’d like to use or perhaps created your own resources, feel free to run this past your key contact to make sure they are happy - if this gives you more confidence.
How do you plan effectively?
Step 1: Get to know your students!
Understanding your students’ needs, strengths and weaknesses is crucial for effective lesson planning. There are a number of things you can do to tackle this.
Meet your key contact
Firstly, once you have been given your timetable and you know who you’ll be supporting, arrange a meeting with your key contact or the students’ classroom teacher. The objective of this is to find key information that they think you should know about the students. The kinds of questions you could ask are:
What are their current knowledge levels?
What challenges do they face?
How do they learn best?
Make detailed notes and keep them somewhere safe, they’ll come in handy for when it comes to meeting your student!
Top tip: If your key contact has not given you specific areas to focus on and has given you more independence, you could print out a copy of the exam specification and go through this with the student(s). Ask them to highlight areas that they are unfamiliar with, and this can form the basis of your sessions throughout the year.
Prepare an introductory lesson
Always prepare an introductory lesson that you can use for the first time you meet a student. The purpose of this lesson is to not only gauge how they learn and what their strengths and weaknesses are, but to also build a strong foundation for a relationship between you, setting you up for successful future sessions.
In this lesson, it’s a good idea to create a presentation, and things you could include are:
About me section. Why have you decided to become a Yipiyap? What are your interests? What are your future goals? What is your purpose at school?
About you section. This could include both personal questions like, what are the student(s) interests? But also educational questions. For example, ask them what they like about the subject? What areas are they confident in? What do they struggle with?
Step 2: Identify Lesson Objectives
Before you start planning, determine what you want your tutees to learn by the end of the session. A lot of schools use the SMART tool to do this, which outlines that learning objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART).
For example, instead of saying, "We’ll cover language techniques," a more specific objective might be, "By the end of the session, students will be able to use emotive language to engage their audience”.
Use the diagram below to help set your targets!
Step 3: Structure Your Lesson
A typical lesson plan includes the following components:
1. Introduction (5-10 minutes)
Warm up: Start with a task that will grab your learners attention! If you have a visual learner, you could find a quick video that links to the focus area. If you’re studying a book, it could be a quick clip of one of the scenes they need to remember!
Review: Briefly review previous material to build on prior knowledge. If you studied quotes in your previous lesson, bring those same quotes back and ask the students what they can remember about them.
2. Main Activity (20-30 minutes):
Teach: Present new information or skills using a method that suits the students’ learning styles. This could be demonstrated through a presentation, or perhaps you using the whiteboard and going through some example questions. The main aim is to teach!
Practice: Allow students to practise the new material with your guidance. This could be through exercises, discussions, or problem-solving activities. Again, tailor these activities to your student(s) once you know what works best for them.
3. Wrap-Up (5-10 minutes):
Review: Summarise key points to reinforce learning.
Assess: Check understanding through a quick quiz or discussion. This is an opportunity for you to see what they have retained and what you may need to cover in their next session.
Our Top Tips
Be Flexible
While it’s important to have a plan, flexibility is key in tutoring. Sometimes, students might need more time on a certain topic or might be ready to move on faster than you anticipated. Here’s some steps you can take to accommodate for this:
Be prepared to adjust your lesson plan as needed.
Bring some extra worksheets and resources
This will ensure that your students always have something to do during your lesson and no time is not wasted!
Reflect
After each session, take a few minutes to reflect on what went well and what could be improved. Ask yourself:
Did the students meet the learning objectives
Which activities were most effective?
Were there any challenges? How can they be addressed in future sessions?
Answering these questions will help you form the basis of your future sessions. You may need to make some minor changes, it’s OK to trial and error for your first few lessons!
Ready to start planning?
As a Yipiyap, lesson planning might seem daunting at first, but with practice, it will become second nature. Remember that the most important thing is your commitment to helping your tutees succeed. By following these steps, you’ll create lessons that are organised, engaging, and effective, paving the way for your students' success and your growth as a relatable peer mentor. Remember, if you need any support with lesson planning, please do let your RD know and we can give you advice, as we have been in your shoes. Never be afraid to ask for support - your key contacts would rather you ask than you sit and dwell on things.