58 Part II: Putting Your Lesson Together
If your students don’t know any of these things, you may want to reconsider
whether they’re ready for the task. It’s really discouraging for your students
when you set the activity and then start back pedalling because the class
can’t cope.
A letter writing session with students who know the grammar can have a run-
ning order like this:
- Students read a letter from one friend to another and analyse the layout
and typical expressions.
- You explain that the class is going to write letters about the UK and have
them brainstorm their favourite sights.
- Find out why students like the sights and put the adjectives they use on
the board.
- Put a plan of the letter on the board showing how many paragraphs to
write and what kind of information should go in each one.
- Have them write.
Setting Aims and Objectives
At the planning stage of your lesson, you need to think about your aims and
objectives:
✓ Aims are the overall points you want students to understand as a result
of the lesson.
Sample aims may be:
- To provide revision and practice of the present perfect.
- To increase rapport amongst the students.
- To teach vocabulary for hobbies and interests.
- To teach students to express likes and dislikes using the structure I
(don’t) like + a gerund (a verb with ‘ing’ added).
✓ Objectives are the skills you want students to be able to demonstrate
by the end of the lesson or their accomplishments during the lesson.
Objectives relate to specific activities.
Sample objectives may include specific goals, for instance that students
should:
