How to plan a lesson

In public schools, or when teaching with other teachers it is usually necessary to have some neat lesson plans.  
However, so far I have hardly met a lesson that went like plan~ and I find it much more important to be able to adjust to the kid's mood than pulling through a plan I have thought out.

So, now I make it very simple:
I sit down (usually on Mondays) and check all my classes' last lessons.  Then I write down what I think of doing in this week's lesson, very very roughly.

Like this>>>>



January, 20th


Phonics:  
When is your birthday practice
BM put on your ...for review. (race)
Pre:  Do you like WINTERSPORTS?!
HW...T's birthday is in Feburary, etc. 覚える
earphone test


January, 27th
When is your birthday//When is his/her birthday?
with correct answer, BM can put on one clothes:  say "BM put on your..."
What's your favorite winter sport?  Play charades  >>next week!


Every day I take a few minutes after class to add notes, erase what I didn't do, or copy it somewhere else with a note when to do it.
(e.g. the ">>next week" means, I didn't manage to do this topic this class, but the kids have already prepared for it, so I will do it first next week.

That's all.
In the beginning I used to write down some games for each topic as well, but now those activities just come to my mind any time, so I don't need to  write out and decide the games in detail.

If I want to try something new, or if it goes beyond GE, the notes get a bit longer:



September, 11th
Write about me　続き
（use puppet and make a sport gesture;  students have to guess by asking: Did you go ...ing?)
What do you think of this> check HW do song and continue the topic
New topic
Baby Dinosaur, what did you do?
reading; I bet I can
September, 18th
What do you think of this?
I think it's ...write comment to each other.
add new words and make word dictionary.
what did you do?  race(RPS)
charades:  did you ...?Yes/No
_______________________________________________________________________________________
or here another class:


January, 26th
FROG and TED reading 
find solution to "What if ..."in the book.
e.g. What if he got lost in the woods>>Toad gets a torch


create similar story:
On setsubun/Valentine
without the clock part and without the "What if " part


winter sport:  I like + noun>>ski is no noun so you add ing
be verb same:
What are you doing?  I am ...
game, 
ask each other, "What are you doing?"
Then next round, determine one lier.  Everyone has to change the question to:  what is she doing?


Class game
combined with jeopardy:
I like/I don't like
I am/ I am not
Do you like /  Are you?
HW
write story:
"Olaf goes snowboarding:
Who is Olaf.

That's basically all I do for lesson planning.  So, summing it up:
5 minutes per class to write down what I did that lesson, how it was and what I set for HW.

5-10 minutes per class to write down, what I am going to do the next lesson.

How about printing and worksheets?
Not much really!  I do usually not use any.  They are my last tool, if I feel really sick and have no energy to teach, which may happen once or twice a year.  
I do print the evaluation sheets especially for kindergarten and 1st grade.
So, these classes you can add an extra 2 minutes for prep time, to choose the page you need and print it.

And phonics?
I print the workbook in 3-4 turns.  About 30 pages each time.
I file it neatly.  then again I don't have to think about it for a couple of months.
Printing and filing for 8 students takes about an hour.  The printer does most of it, just make sure you are around, do something else in between that needs to be done.
(I have my classes in my house, so I can prepare dinner or clean the bathtub!!!LOL)