Interviews with Mentor Teachers about Lesson Planning

Interviews with Mentor Teachers

Disclaimer: I did these interviews in person and then had the teachers transcribe their answers to me (as best as possible) in email to make it easier to have the information at hand. As a result, I will have my full interviews below and my summaries as well.

Steven Zimmerman (English Teacher)

1. How long beforehand do you plan a lesson?

The first year I was planning a couple days in advance. I didn't want to plan too much ahead because your schedule can get blown really quickly in a thousand different ways, so if you plan too far ahead it just ends up needing to be redone over and over. For subsequent years, I already had a good idea for 75% of the lessons I wanted to do throughout the year, so I could easily take the old lessons and modify/expand them for the current group of students. Once again, I would plan them out a few days in advance. In general, it’s a good idea to know what your week will consist of before you walk in the door on Monday.

2. What is your "process" of determining what needs to be expressed through the lesson?

When first creating lessons, I try to hit a few of the standards and make sure there is a logical flow with previous units and future units. If lessons jump all over the place, then kids have trouble remembering previous information. I try to break each subject down into 8 units (2 per quarter), and from there break it down into component lessons. But it really depends on the subject.

3. What determines what materials and knowledge are presented in the lesson and what are not?

It is highly dependent of the group of students. Some years I would have students grasp lessons very quickly, so I didn't need to go into too much depth or drill a point home through repetition. Other years, the lesson seems to be written in Greek and the kids just don't get it. In those cases, you need to rework it or change it or come up with an entirely new lesson taught in a new way in order to reach the kids that aren't getting it. The more detailed the lesson is, the longer it takes to plan. Because of that, I found my lessons in later years to be much more complex because I could build on them each year with what time I had. It helped already having the base of the lesson.

4. How long does it take you to plan a lesson?

It can vary widely. For simple things like vocab, it can be very quick and easy to plan a lesson. For more complex topics, especially when discussing literature being read in or out of class, it can take hours. But once again, having the framework from previous school years to build upon is a big help and a big time saver.

5. Do you already have specific activities planned or do you get creative upon having to cover the material? Planned ahead homework assignments or other assessments? 

Most of it is pre-planned, but it is always a good idea to have a collection of "in case of emergency" activities to do in case the lesson ends up being much shorter than you anticipated. Also, if you teach the same class to multiple groups, some groups finish quicker than others. In those cases, you need to get creative with your remaining class time. Likewise, I usually planned out homework in advance, but sometimes we did classwork that the students did not finish in time, and it became homework.

6. Do you use a template? Why or why not? 

For creating the actual lesson plans, no, because our school did not collect them. But there are templates available for our teachers to use for those that just like to be organized that way. I think templates are a good idea overall as long as filling out the lesson plan doesn't turn into a 5 hour drag that takes away from the teacher's teaching or planning time. Paperwork should be quick and painless.

7. What do you think makes your lesson applicable and relevant to students?

Grammar is hard because they'll often just ask you "Why do I need to study this? I already speak English." I try to show them it is applicable by (1) referencing when they would need to have good grammar (job interviews, which career paths, writing for publication, etc.), (2) Showing them examples of real-life stories involving improper English (especially with humor, such as someone with a protest sign with incorrect grammar or spelling error), (3) Including students in my tests and quizzes (this doesn't necessarily make it relevant, but it does increase their interest and investment in assessments when the quiz includes a story about them)

8. Technology, yes or no or always or never?

For ELA, technology is good for writing papers, conducting internet research, creating flash card decks or pop quiz games, and for looking up vocabulary in dictionaries and thesauruses. I try to keep it 50/50, however, because it is also important that students learn to use good handwriting, learn how to spell properly without a spell check, and recognize and/or write cursive.

9. What makes a lesson good?

If the kids enjoy it and remember it. It is hard to get both at once, but it is really rewarding when you see them several years later and they mention to you "That time we talked about X, Y, or Z in class".

10. What is your favorite lesson and why?

I would make up my own vocabulary lists once we finished our vocabulary book. One of the lists was based on German loan words and included "schadenfreude." That was a riot every year because 6th grade kids thought it was just the greatest word in the world. They would tell the funniest stories and they would ALWAYS remember that word for years and years afterwards.

Jillian Tarkany (French Teacher)

1. How long beforehand do you plan a lesson?

That depends.  I prefer to have everything in order at least the afternoon before, but sometimes it happens the morning of if there's a lot going on.  Sometimes I'll sort of sketch out vague lessons at the beginning of the chapter or make a list of things to cover for the week, and that list gradually morphs into specific lesson plans.

2. What is your "process" of determining what needs to be expressed through the lesson?

Since I already know my goals for the unit, this is usually just a matter of thinking of what 1 or maybe 2 things can and should be covered that day.

3. What determines what materials and knowledge are presented in the lesson and what are not?

Again, it mostly has to do with the unit as a whole.  In French 2 and 3, those units are the textbook units normally, with maybe a little bit of adaptation.  In French 4 and AP, because I am preparing them for advanced real-life communication, the textbook units seem very artificial, so I create my own units.  Sometimes those units are concepts in francophone culture (the deportation of Jews in France, creole music in the Caribbean and Louisiana, Marie Antoinette), sometimes they are themes that are just important to be able to talk about (family-children relationships, the environment, cooking).  Those topics are all broken down into small components and from there it's just a matter of what I can fit into 45 minutes.

4. How long does it take you to plan a lesson?

If it's from a textbook and course that I've taught from for 2 years or more, than it can take just a few minutes.

If it's something newish but I have taught something similar or already have materials for it, it can take 10-20 minutes.

If it's something I'm teaching for the first time and I don't already have any materials for it, I expect it to take at least an hour.

5. Do you already have specific activities planned or do you get creative upon having to cover the material? Planned ahead homework assignments or other assessments? 

I LOVE when I have the chance to get creative about it but that depends on the amount of time I have and what else is going on.  If it's the end of the quarter, I'm sorry, but grading is taking precedence and lessons will be much less creative.  But if I have the time, I love to create something new.  My favorite is to teach through media, so if I can find a pop song or news story or image or poem or whatever from a francophone source then I can build on that it the students really prefer that to the textbook or worksheets.  

In class, to assess along the way, I ask questions to the class at every step.  Sometimes I call on volunteers, but I also have a stack of note cards with each student's name on them so I can call them randomly.  I love this because the students all know that they can be asked anything at any time.  When I use the cards, I don't accept "I don't know" as an answer.  I'll help the student get there by giving hints or re-explaining or giving them time to look it up, but I think it's really important that every single person is accountable for the information.  This is tough at first and feels like a lot of time is wasted, but a few weeks into the school year, they are all used to the process and I really think it makes them pay attention and push themselves more.

I give very little homework and it's usually basic grammar practice that I check only for completion and go over by having the students write their answers on the board or read out loud.

I give difficult quizzes frequently but it's not a large percentage of the final grade.  In levels 2, 3, and 4 I give a test around every 3 weeks.  In AP I give a quiz each Wednesday and a test each Friday because there is so much to cover.  Their quizzes are also very difficult but they can use their notes.

6. Do you use a template? Why or why not? 

Every year I plan to do this and never do!  I don't think I'm a template person.  The way I write lessons is I have them in a binder on loose-leaf paper, usually labeled by the day of the week.  After that, the information is listed on how it comes to me instead of how it's listed for other lessons.  For me, this makes it easier to put the most important reminders first.

7. What do you think makes your lesson applicable and relevant to students?

With teaching a foreign language, this is easy!  I teach what they will actually use when they go to France of another Francophone country!  Like I said, I use as much media as possible.  I try to use very current media, but even if it's not, it's still authentic.

We also talk a lot about what's going on in our lives.  Every Monday, we chat for however long the class wants to, in French only, about the weekend.  I also like to every once in a while make a worksheet about Despicable Me or Taylor Swift or something else in pop culture.  

The funny thing is, sometimes when it's more real-life, the students don't do as well on it because they are used to lessons being very systematic and basic.  For example, I have one worksheet where you have to answer questions about Batman using a new grammar structure.  Even though the grammar you use is incredibly basic, they have a hard time with it because they want to just be able to copy a model and fill in the new words instead of actually thinking about the answer.  Some students say they would rather have a fill-in-the-blank activity instead of one where you have to come up with ten sentences yourself, even if it's on a topic they like.  A lot of students just want to get the work done and get the good grade instead of learning how to use the information in a more real-life way.  But for me, I know that the latter is more important and do my best to show the students why it should be our priority.

8. Technology, yes or no or always or never?

Sometimes =)  In a foreign language class, it's all about communication.  Face-to-face communication is still important, so a lot of my class is us talking to each other.  But technology is great for presenting information and showing media.  

9. What makes a lesson good?

It's good when the students are engaged and interested AND they also get information that they can put to use.  For this to happen, it needs to be somewhat predictable, so they can follow it, but at the same time not monotonous.  A lot of students will ask "When are we ever going to use this???" so we need to be pre-emptive in showing them from the very beginning of the lesson a believable way in which they will use this.  A good lesson needs to be at a good pace, which is hard to have, especially in a big class.  It needs to include visual and auditory presentations and assessments.  

10. What is your favorite lesson and why?

Oh I have so many favorites!!!  I'll give you 2--one from lower-level and one from upper level.

For lower-level, the one that comes to mind first is an introduction to 2 relative pronouns.  I love it because it's so hard but my students get it really quickly.  Instead of starting it by presenting the relative pronouns, I give them sentences (in French)  that have relative pronouns in them but they have to fill in a blank with a noun.  I make the sentences extremely basic at first but then they get more complicated, and I make them as realistic as possible.

Here are some examples, translated into English.

A class at school that I like is ______.

A channel on TV that is boring is ______.

A food I eat a lot is ______.

_______ is movie that I've seen more than 20 times.

_______ is the best-looking actor/actress.

First I call on students to read their answers.  Then we go back and translate all the sentences to make sure we all know what they all mean.  We go through this process with both relative pronouns.  Then I explain that "that" is a relative pronoun and have them write that down.  Then they have to underline "that" in every sentence.  Then I'm able to explain it deeper, compare the two pronouns, and do practice sentences that require them to choose the relative pronoun.  It works because the students can see how relative pronouns are useful in real-life, they have a list of relevant examples to consult, and it's been broken down in an extremely basic way.

For upper-level, my lessons are not so much presenting grammar and vocabulary explicitly, but are about communication.  Something I do a lot is present news videos from Euronews.com.  Usually I show the students the topic and ask them what they already know about it (in French, or in English if I do this for lower levels).  Then we watch and listen to the video and ask them what they saw and heard.  Then I give them a transcript of the article with blanks and they listen 4 times and complete the blanks.  Then we go over it and translate or re-phrase parts of the most important parts.  Then we answer short-answer questions about it.  This usually takes up a class period, and the next day we'll go more in-depth with it and maybe analyze the point of view or compare it to another article on the same topic or have them write sentences with certain words/structures in the article or do more listening practice with it.  (This can be done in lower-levels too, but you have to choose an article on a topic they already know about, make the fill-in-the blank section only a short excerpt or only like 5 easy blanks, and emphasize that you don't have to understand every detail in order to get the basic gist of the report.)

Summary and Reflection:

Both Steven and Jillian are fairly experienced teachers. Each have been in the field for about a decade, which compared to my measly two (almost three!) years seems like a lot longer. They are also close friends of mine, and incidentally, when I am having an issue related to school or parents or kids, I will give either, or both, a shout. I also believe that a good deal of my lack of planning after the first year has to do with the fact that neither of them planned a ton after their first years. Both know their material and the standards/objectives that need to be taught, and as result, they already have planned internally how to handle the lessons.

From these interviews, I figured out that I have adapted a good deal of my “lesson planning” from these two teachers. I plan way far in advance by breaking down the units into quarters and semesters. I have a general idea of what needs to be accomplished by a certain time, and I throw together the week’s timeline of events either the Monday before or the Sunday afterwards. We all tend to become comfortable with what we have used because so far it has worked with pretty good results from our students academically and socially. We all also tend to lean towards thinking outside of the box when it comes to activities and education because it makes the lessons more memorable for the students. Teaching is supposed to be about getting the students to respond to the material being introduced in class, and making it relevant sparks interest and intrigue, allowing students to actually be invested in the lessons. Discussion is a huge forum for student involvement, and I think that I have stolen that from Steven and Jillian.

Sometimes I kind of wish I did more lesson planning that was done bit by bit, and I realize that is the entire purpose of this module unit, but in the same movement, I wouldn’t change the way I do things either. I like being able to be understand the concept of a lesson plan and a template, but in all reality, isn’t a lesson template just a compilation of objectives, standards, assignments, and assessments? There really is no one unique template that is correct for every teacher on the face of the planet. I honestly think that there is no right way to lesson plan if you come out with the same results of having the lesson broken down and prepared for your class. I’d like to think that as long as my students were absorbing the material and then able to use it in classroom assessments or outside of the classroom, and enjoy it, then I have done my job correctly. True, there will a person telling me I’m not doing it the “right way” or the “Common Core way” or in the school template, but if I’m getting the results, then I think my “template” is pretty okay.