Do you think this is a good lesson plan?

[hadeelkouta]

I've been asked to write a lesson plan on whatever topic I want, and here's what I came up with:



LESSON PLAN
DATE : 5th January 2014 TIME : 8.30 -9.30 a.m.
CLASS : Grade 10 NO. OF PUPILS : 20 pupils
THEME : Critical Review
TOPIC : Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
SPECIFICATIONS: 1. Allow all students to take part in reading the play out loud in class
2. Give out a brief summary of the play
3. Discuss the themes/ symbols/motifs present in the play
4. Allow students to share their thoughts about the play

OBJECTIVE: 1.By the end of the lesson pupils should be able to:
2. Have a clear understanding about the themes/symbols/motifs
3. Write a critical review about Hamlet

PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE: Pupils have previously analyzed Macbeth and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
MORAL VALUE : Organization of the paper and a good handwriting

TEACHING AIDS: 1. Hamlet, in print.
2. Role playing
3. Internet use

Please tell me what you guys think.

Thank you!

[Scheherazade]

I am on the phone right now but at first glance:

Your second objective is not SMART; how will you know whether they "have" that understanding? What are the indicators you will seek?

You need to clarify what you mean by "organisation of paper" and "good handwriting". use of paragraphs, legible, introduction, conclusion?

Is this the format used at your school? It seems rather restricted.

[hadeelkouta]

Well I figured I will be able to know whether they have that understanding through the discussion we will be having.

Actually, the professor left us the choice to write a lesson plan using whatever format we want and that's all I could come up with. You think I should add anything else?

Thanks a lot.

[hadeelkouta]

oh and for the record, our textbook is "The Practice of English Language Teaching" by Jeremy Harmer.

[Scheherazade]

From a professional point of view, "I will know" is not enough. You need to list your indicators. When do you need this? I will try to send you a more detailed reply later on.

What are you studying and what is the aim of this assignment?

[hadeelkouta]

hmmmm, thank you a lot.

I'm studying English literature (Masters). And well my professor said that we need to design a lesson plan on whatever topic we want, that is about it.

[hadeelkouta]

oh and I have like a week or so to hand it in.

[sandy14]

It is not detailed enough. You outline what you aim to achieve, but do not set out how you are going to achieve it.

1/ Which part of the play are you going to read out? There's not enough time to read the whole play. Also reading aloud is not necessarily the best use of time. A video/DVD of the scenes followed by a discussion might be a better use of time. Could the students read the play in groups, or do you have any specific scenes in mind? How much do you intend to read, and which themes exactly do you intend to cover?

2/ What is your warm up activity? You say the students have prior knowledge of Shakespeare - you should be using this knowledge to get the students active in the class. For example - you could start with historical knowledge of Shakespeare, think about themes in Macbeth, use of language - there almost certainly be overlap with Macbeth & hamlet. You need to ask the students what they already know.

3/ How are you going to discuss the themes/motifs/symbols? You could put the students into pairs/small groups and get them to find them, give the students a starter - for example you could give them a theme or an image (different groups could get different themes) and then get the students to read a section of the play and tease out the meanings. You need to be more specific.

4/ How are you going to assess the learning? How are you going to know what the learners have learnt about the play in your lesson?

5/ I think you are being too ambitious in your objectives - writing a critical review is something I'd expect after a series of lessons. Writing a critical review encompasses a lot of skills - you may need to give them an example of a critical review and discuss the purpose of one. A discussion of the themes is part of the process, but there is a bit more to Hamlet than that. In addition you say "internet use" but you are not clear on how it is to be used. What websites/internet do you expect them to use? A student on facebook is using the internet, but that isn't your objective.

6/ I would expect to teach Hamlet over a series of sessions and expect the SS to produce a critical review at the end of the sessions. I'd break it down into historical background of play and historical context, characters, use of language, themes, essay writing (how to use quotations) and discussion of essay questions and then a bit of time for independent research/drafting. You're not going to teach the whole play in one hour - be more realistic. You might get a discussion on the main themes from selected scenes in the play.

7/ Moral development - not overly familiar with this theme - but you've missed the opportunity to learn from the play. What do we learn about suicide, murder, revenge, madness and sin from Hamlet. Hamlet is rooted in a moral universe where the supernatural happens when morality goes wrong. Shakespeare's father is not in heaven because he is not absolved from sin, was Hamlet right to stab Polonious, what would Ophelia do today?

[hadeelkouta]

Thank you so much. The thing is I know I was brief, I didn't know I should be indicating specific details. You're absolutely right about not being able to read the whole play in one session, I should specify one scene and discuss it. You've been a great help. Thank you again.

[sandy14]

Go to the Times Educational supplement website & create a free log-in. On this site there are resources and lesson plans. This will show you the level of detail to expect, at least from a UK perspective.

[Mohammad Ahmad]

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