View Content #27669

This activity is designed to help teachers engage in planning for proficiency-oriented lessons.  

Outcomes:

Teachers will be able to:

• Articulate learning targets for a proficiency-oriented lesson and the critical content associated with those targets.
• Articulate classroom activities that engage learners in observation, analysis, and extension of targeted language functions.
• Articulate classroom activities that engage learners in goal setting and reflection.

Materials: Lesson Design Template

Procedure:

1. Begin by identifying your goals. Make sure to only list 1-3. For example, as part of a unit on travel, teachers may wish to articulate the following goals:

• I can understand weather reports and other weather descriptions that I listen to.
• I can suggest what to wear based on the weather details that I hear and read.

2. Next, articulate only the critical structures, vocabulary, and strategies that you will focus on as part of the lesson. For the aforementioned learning targets, teachers may wish to focus on present progressive (3rd person singular only), complex future (3rd person singular only), weather expressions, and a suggestion giving strategy in the target language (e.g. for Spanish learners,  you might choose forming a question with negation).

3. After that, articulate the learning experiences that learners will engage with as they acquire the lesson’s targeted knowledge and skills.

• Observe-Notice-Interpret: Articulate activities that will help learners take inventory of what they need to know for a language function. Typically, these activities require considerable work in the interpretive mode. Some common activities you might see at this phase include observation journals, inductive reasoning, genre analysis, and introduction of critical content via direct teaching.
• Analyze-Process-Interact or Present: Articulate activities that will help learners closely examine the language in question. Typically, these activities involve the interpersonal and/or presentational modes. Some example activities might include marking texts, analyzing notes, partner discussions, and the practice of language learning strategies.
• Apply-Extend-Interact or Present: Articulate activities that will help learners practice language and/or enhance their understanding of targeted language functions. Typically, these activities involve the interpersonal and/or presentational modes. Some example activities might include outlining and planning a future creation, language simulations, jigsaw activities, and research.

4. Finally, protect time for learners to engage in evaluation and reflection. Sometimes, this phase will involve in-depth analysis of the work that the learners have created over time, and other times, it may involve shorter activities such as peer review, quick, holistic self-evaluations, or exit tickets.