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Planning the lessons

Planning the lesson in advance is necessary .How you decide to teach the lesson objective for that day depends largely upon your own creativity and personality. However, it is important to take into consideration "the mood" of the group. Some activities work great one day but not the next. Break the lesson into categories. Here is a suggested plan to follow:

1. Greetings/Openings
Children feel more at ease in familiar situations. Therefore, it would be wise to establish a set pattern for them to follow as the class begins each time.

2. Review
Children have short attention spans and will easily forget what took place last time you met. A simple review will help "re-acquaint" them with what they are learning as well as serve as an effective introduction to the new lesson objective.

3. Lesson objective
The lesson objective will, of course, vary from week to week. It should, however, always be consistent with the overall curriculum. The new lesson objective should be introduced in an exiting manner as something "new" that you are going to teach.

4. Activity
Certain activities should be planned for every class period. Children enjoy a variety of things to do. What is important to remember is that your students will need a time for both movement and rest. Therefore, an active "game" should be planned as well as an activity that is more restful.

5. Cultural note
Be sure to introduce some aspect of the culture of one of the countries where the target language is spoken.

6. Closing
Just as it is important for the children to have a standard opening to follow, they should also have a standard closing. Not only will this help to serve as a guideline for them to follow, but it will help to tell them that it is time for the language lesson to end.