{"id":3930,"date":"2022-01-23T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?p=3930"},"modified":"2022-03-28T10:55:38","modified_gmt":"2022-03-28T15:55:38","slug":"a-simple-lesson-plan-structure-english-teachers-can-steal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/a-simple-lesson-plan-structure-english-teachers-can-steal\/","title":{"rendered":"A Simple Lesson Plan Structure English Teachers Can Steal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every teacher knows that routines are key to classroom management and moving students forward. But when you’re just starting your career or moving to a new school, it can be difficult to create your own lesson plan structure from scratch. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, we’d all be able to pop into our colleagues’ classrooms and see how they do it, but this is often impossible. Instead, I thought I would share my own lesson plan structure for the curious!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My Class Setup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My daily “flow” was the same every day, regardless of what I was teaching.<\/strong> In an alternative, Title I school, I think this was key for keeping expectations high and behaviors in check. It also led to less student anxiety because they always knew what to expect from me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the sake of providing some context, it’s important to note that my school was on a block schedule.<\/strong> This meant that there were four ninety-minute class periods throughout the day. (Teachers taught three and had one ninety-minute prep. Why don’t more schools do this?!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So my lesson plan structure is built around a ninety-minute window with my high school English students. However, I think this general structure can be easily adapted to different class lengths. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lesson Plan Structure: Warm-up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every one of my classes began with a warm-up.<\/strong> These were almost always grammar because I believe that to truly teach mechanics, you must review them every single day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
My students really struggled with grammar, so I used these Grammar Warm-ups<\/a> to review daily.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

(Not interested in grammar warm-ups? How about a Poem of the Week?<\/a> With these activities, students analyze a different piece of a poem each day to review their understanding of literary terms!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, students would walk into the classroom and pick up their warm-up worksheets on the way in. <\/strong>This double-sided worksheet would have their grammar warm-ups<\/a> for Monday through Friday. Each day, they would complete that day’s task, and then they would turn in the whole sheet on Friday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expectation was that they would complete warm-ups for days that they were absent on their own. If they knew they were going to be absent on Friday, I let them try the warm-up and turn in the worksheet early if they wanted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These warm-ups would be very simple to complete–probably three to five minutes for students who had paid attention in class. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implementing Warm-ups In Practice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After the bell rang, I would walk into class and go over the warm-up directions in case any students were confused or hadn’t taken the time to read the directions. If there are any literary terms or content we had gone over recently, I also take some time to review that term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, my usual script might go something like this: “Ok, readers and writers! On today’s warm-up, you’re being asked to underline independent clauses. Do you guys remember what an independent clause is?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on how awake or knowledgeable my students were that day, we would define the term together. If students seemed confused, I might do the first one with them as an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cover<\/a>
Not sure where to start with daily warm-ups? Try these Poem of the Week Bell Ringers<\/a> and bolster your students’ literary analysis skills!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Then I would give them another two or three minutes to complete the warm-up as I took attendance or checked some email.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My classroom was equipped with a document camera that I used to project the warm-up to the class. After the given amount of time had passed, I would project the daily warm-up and go over it with my students. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on my students, their anxiety\/understanding, and the amount of time the warm-up was taking, I usually did a mix of students sharing their answers and me coaching them through finding them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the warm-up, students paying attention should have either confirmed their answer was correct or corrected anything they got wrong. At the end of the week, their warm-ups should be easy points for them, which motivated many students to do them in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picking a Warm-up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So what should your warm-up activity be? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cover<\/a>
These done-for-you Journal Prompts<\/a> are one more warm-up you can use to boost students’ writing endurance!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I chose to use the Grammar Warm-ups<\/a> with my senior students because they needed the extra practice.<\/strong> Our district-wide assessments for seniors were grammar-heavy. I also knew that whether students were heading to the military, work, or college, they were going to need basic grammar skills after leaving high school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But maybe your students need reinforcement elsewhere? I recommend choosing warm-ups based on the skill you most want your students to improve. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For my Creative Writing class, that meant analyzing and reading poetry every day with my Poem of the Week Warm-ups. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you believe your students just need to write more often, you could have them journal every day. (Try these Journal Prompts!<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if your students just need to up their reading volume, you can always start with five to ten minutes of independent reading daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classroom Management Tip<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After the bell rang and I walked into the classroom, I always took a moment to see who was on task. Those who had met expectations–begun their warm-ups–always got vocal praise from me. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Jim, thanks for working on that warm-up right away.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Maggie, I’m so excited to see a pencil on your desk today. You look ready to learn!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Holy cow, Carmen! You’re almost done?! I thought today’s warm-up was really going to stump you guys!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a little elementary, but compliments for simple achievements accomplish two things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, it’s an easy way to sprinkle more positive reinforcement into your classroom.<\/strong> When students are challenging, it’s hard to find time to reward behavior instead of just calling out the bad stuff. Building time into my day intentionally to praise students meant my positive to negative reinforcement ratio was more positive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, this was a subtle way to point out to the other students that they were not meeting expectations. <\/strong>Often, students will realize their neighbor just earned a compliment and then scramble to get their own worksheet or pencil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My students hated<\/em> being called out negatively in front of their peers, but this tactic avoided that while still making it clear who wasn’t meeting expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lesson Plan Structure: Agenda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After going over the warm-up, I moved into the day’s agenda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I kept my agendas on a simple Google Slides presentation. When I taught remotely or hybrid, this document was nice because I could share it with my students or post it to my class’s Google Site as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going over the agenda only takes about thirty seconds and since I already had everyone’s attention from reviewing the warm-up, the transition doesn’t take long. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the agenda still up, I give students directions for moving into the lesson for the day. This might include grabbing their independent reading books, our classroom novel, or pulling out a packet we’ve been working on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your agenda is also a great place to share your learning targets.<\/strong> I didn’t always have time to deep dive into the targets with my students (and often they were obvious–we’re learning about semicolons today so I hope you learn how to use a semicolon). But it’s nice to have them posted somewhere<\/em> in case admin drops by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n