Let’s plan our learning (no-prep lesson plan)

Last week I shared my review of a simple lesson planner. As promised, today I want to deliver a short lesson plan that will help your students understand the idea of planners, and maybe even create their own study planners.

Time: 45 mins
Level: A2+
Age: teens, adults

Introduction (10 min)

Start with a short chat about learning. You can make a list of the most problematic things about studying and suggest that some people don’t really know how to study efficiently or how to find time for extra study. You may ask your students to share three greatest obstacles on their way to master English and see whether some issues are common. There probably will be, and that will make your students feel definitely better about their own problems. After all, they’re not alone in their efforts and struggles.

Favourite learning tips (15 min)

Share some learning tips and ideas that help you learn – sometimes sharing personal experience may be a great idea, and I believe this is the case. For example, I show the photo of a drawer full of highlighters and post-it notes and talk about my style of learning. You may also use this presentation to show the idea of various learner types and the best (also, the worst) studying tips. Encourage students to discuss various ways of learning and ask them to share 2-3 learning methods that would work with them.

The Wheel of Productivity (15 min)

On this page you will find a very useful tool, the wheel of productivity, to help you and your students get a visual representation of your daily organisation and discuss the possibilities of learning in atypical situations (audiobooks while commuting? Memrise while waiting for a sports club?):

You can also have a chat about morning routines and how we can make them as pleasant as possible (if it’s possible at all, huh) – you will find a really interesting infographic on this page:

Summary (5 min)

Sum up the tips and ideas you have mentioned. Ask your students which ideas they would like to try and use in their life – ask to note them down and once in a while chat about their successes and challenges.

Online? No problem!

In case you still work online, you can use the great infographic on this page and discuss the differences in learning routines between online and offline education.

Have fun while making great plans!