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Lesson Planning Ideas

• Allow several hours for planning, especially if you are new to tutoring.
• Decide what skill you will teach, keeping in mind your student's competency levels, goals, and interests.
• To help define the learning objective, complete this statement: “By the end of this lesson, my student will be able to-”
• Choose a variety of activities that include reading, writing, listening and speaking. Some of the activities should be designed for review or reinforcement.
• Be aware of your student's particular learning style. You may also find the theory of Multiple Intelligences a useful tool in teaching to your student's strengths.
• Choose textual materials carefully, and involve your student in making these choices, especially after the first few lessons.
• Remember to emphasize a “real life” application of the skill you are teaching.
• Think about how your student will practice what you teach. Will you give homework? Does your student have time to do homework?
• Remember to include a break! Allow time to stretch, get a cup of coffee or just relax for several minutes.
• You might find this form useful for lesson planning in general.
• Throughout the lesson, use your eyes and ears to discover which skills give your student difficulty. Also ask your student at the end of the lesson how things went. You may want to use a Tutor Log to to record the highlights of the lesson and your ideas for what to do next. Remember you will want to build on the skills you are teaching, and teach something new each time.