| Lesson plan cover page | |
| Country | Qatar |
| Name | Anwar Maalej |
| CiSELT workshops attended on course to date | I have attended five workshops so far. |
| Workshop title | |
| Brief description of context, location and time (size of classroom, facilities/resources available, time of day, lesson length, etc.) – 50 words maximum | I taught the lesson in a classroom which is not very big, especially after lockers had been put at the back, which makes my movements relatively uneasy. It is equipped with a data-projector and speakers. An excellent wireless internet access is available. The lesson was taught in the morning from 8 to 9 am. It lasted 45 minutes. |
| Brief description of learners (how many, age, level, special needs/behavioural issues, etc.) – 50 words maximum |
My students are in grade 12. They are 18 years old with mixed abilities. Indeed, the class represents a ‘myriad of levels’, ranging from beginners to intermediate. Students come from different countries which influences the way they are arranged in class and the way groups are formed. At least four students have serious difficulties in using English to communicate and one has communication problems and catered for by the AESN department. |
| Brief description of the new idea and why chosen (50 words maximum) |
Actually, during the previous workshops, there were many ideas that I could find inspiring and suitable to be part of my teaching. However, I believe that the students’ age and linguistic competence along with the lesson’s nature influence in deciding about which activity to adopt. Eventually I have decided to adopt the table completion activity (cf. Lesson Planning Coursebook p7) because I found it very interesting and could help organize ideas visually and help students recall information and define logical relationships. I have tailored it to the needs of my students and to the lesson’s requirements. The original activity consisted of a gapped table that the students are to fill with pieces of paper with the missing information; I have modified it to include pictures instead. |
| Lesson plan cover page | |
| How does the lesson fit with syllabus/timetable? (30 words maximum) |
The lesson was a part of cluster C (the use of functional language). The cluster focuses on different types of functional writings including letters, memos, reports, emails, staff meetings and cover letters. It is the fourth lesson after students have been introduced to email-writing and became able to distinguish between formal and informal language used in writing. |
| Learning outcome |
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| Materials and references (attach worksheets) |
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| Anticipated problems (50 words maximum) |
Not all the students will be able to produce a memorandum by the end of the lesson. Some of them have problems in writing. Some of the students will have problems answering questions about the video in the starter activity. |
| Proposed solutions (50 words maximum) |
I have devised differentiated worksheets that respond to the needs of the low-achievers and high-achievers in the same time. Moreover, relying on a group-work class mode would alleviate such difficulties. |
| Language Analysis (if appropriate) – cover meaning, form and pronunciation |
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| Observer comments (if appropriate) | |
| Lesson procedure | ||||
| Time | Teacher activity | Student activity | Interaction | Stage aim |
| 10 min | Distribute the worksheets. Tell the students that they are to watch a video about the main differences between a memo and a letter. Ask them to define the target audience, the speaker’s purpose and spot the differences as defined in their worksheets. | Students are to watch the video about the main differences between a memo and a letter. They are to fill in the worksheets with the possible target audience, the speaker’s purpose and the differences between the memo and the letter. | Teacher – student
Student-student |
Identify the differences between a memo and a letter |
| 5 min | Go through the answers with the students. Accept any relevant answers. | Students peer-correct their answers. | Student-student | Identify vocabulary related to memorandum from a video
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| 10 min | Explain the task and set it.
Go round the groups and monitor the students’ work. After they finish, display the correct answers for the whole class (PowerPoint slideshow) |
In their groups, the students are asked to match the pictures portraying different steps of writing a memo to the suitable captions.
Check their answers. |
Student-student | Follow the different steps to write a memo
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| 10 min | Explain the task and set it.
Go round the groups and monitor the students’ work.
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In groups, the students to read three memos and decide about the possible subjects and write it in the subject line. Then they complete a gapped memo with given words. | Student-student | Discuss and evaluate the best way to write a memo |
| 15 min | Explain the task and set it.
Go round the groups and monitor the students’ work.
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In groups, students choose on of the suggested topics to write a memo by following the model given in the previous task | Student-student | Write down a memorandum following an imaginative situation
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| Reflection | |
| What went well? Why?
(refer to the learners, learning outcomes and stage aims, lesson procedures, tasks / activities and materials) |
Overall, the lesson was done the way I planned for. The transition was smooth and the students showed a clear involvement. During the group activities, the students showed a great sense of complicity and support; I just had to explain few things as the pictures were self-explanatory and the activities matched their abilities. More able students contributed to the flow of the lesson in an effective way. I had the same positive feedback from my colleagues who taught the same lesson in their classes. Further, I think that the learning outcomes have been successfully achieved as the students could easily answer my questions about the discrepancies between letters and memo at the beginning of the following lesson. |
| What didn’t go well? Why?
(refer to the learners, learning outcomes and stage aims, lesson procedures, tasks / activities and materials) |
I reckon that I was not totally satisfied at the end of the lesson. Notwithstanding my good anticipation and the quality of the material I have concocted, the time that remained to the production part of the lesson proved to be insufficient. The low achievers were even reluctant to start drafting the first line in the body of the memorandum. They would have shown more interest had the activity been presented in a different way. Maybe a jumbled memo that has to be reordered and written down would have settled the issue. |
| What changes will I make next time? Why? | |
| Result | |
| Trainers’s comments, advice and suggestions | |