Top Tips for Creating a Dynamic Lesson Plan for Teaching English

Back in the day, an English lesson would be a one-way process of information from the teacher with little to no interaction between the students. The learning process was static and there was no room for flexibility. Today, we are more clued up and we have discovered the merit in how classroom interactions support critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

No matter where you are in your teaching career, dynamic learning methods can be applied to effectively connect students with English learning objectives and improve student retention .

Whether you are an established English teacher, an NQT English teacher, or a teacher’s assistant, you will find these top three tips to be useful when creating a dynamic lesson plan. 

A lesson plan should include a set of clear objectives that define what you want your students to learn. Here is an example of a clear learning objective: “By the end of this lesson, students will be able to recognise an Adverb in a sentence”.

For dynamic lesson plans, ask yourself the following questions to reach SMART objectives:

Specific — is your objective clear, well-defined, and age-appropriate?

Measurable — do you have a method to evaluate the success of the learning objective?

Achievable — can the objective be achieved using the resources available to you?

Realistic — is the objective realistically in line with the students’ current knowledge/skills?

Timely — is there is enough time to learn the objective through interactive activities?

Once you have defined the learning objective for your dynamic lesson plan, you can create games and activities that you know will engage your students and allow them to grasp your key messages.

Include multiple learning activities for each objective. This way, students with different learning abilities can approach the lesson in different ways.

In this regard, technology has started to play a huge role in dynamic teaching strategies, mostly because today’s students find it natural to learn using computers and other digital devices.

The value of enlisting the help of technology in the classroom cannot be overlooked. Did you know that an average of 74% of teachers use digital game-based learning to enhance their lessons?

Whether you are teaching your students how to read with enthusiasm or write with meaning, engaging and exciting learning activities are what will capture their attention.

Benjamin Bloom, known to many as a pioneer within educational psychology, revealed in his 1984 study that when students received “personalised instruction” they outperformed 98% of their peers.

The great thing about dynamic teaching methods is that they can be adapted to fit the unique requirements of each student. This approach recognises that every class and every student is different. For example, the lesson you gave on metaphors that worked perfectly last year may not be appropriate for your current class.

Consider how the students in your class perform and how they prefer to learn before creating a lesson plan. Collect feedback and evaluate how the personalised instruction worked for your class to improve the next one. This fine-tuned approach will help to engage your students and ensure they get those “ah-ha!” moments.