Observed Lesson Plan Template

Teacher L&PM observations

Nant Paung
Teacher Observer Josh McIver Class SPI 3
Pwar
Time 12:00 – 1:00 Date 2. 11 .19 Class size 20

Class profile (a brief description of the class including learner needs)
The class consists of altogether 20 students, 9 males and 11 females, ages between 13 ­ 15. They meet for three hours once a week with 
me on Saturday and three hours on Sunday with Ei Aung.

Almost all the students have been attending classes at BC for at least three terms and only one student is new to the BC. Most of the 
students are high school students and they are all attending government school on weekdays. They are learning English to have a 
better learning opportunity in the future. 

All students like games and activities during lessons and they response quite well to all speaking activities with different people and 
group tasks except Chan Yu who is very shy and always just whispers to the class. They work better when they are in the same group 
with their close friends.

As for today lesson, they will talk about their unforgettable memory in the past using simple past and past continuous theses.

Teaching aim(s) for the lesson – language/skills
Main aims: By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to understand the meaning and usage of past simple and past 
continuous tenses and will have practiced using them in the context of “unforgettable memory”.

Subsidiary aims: To provide clarification and practice saying their unforgettable memory using past simple and past continuous 
tense.
Outcomes for the learners
By the end of the lesson, learners will have prepared and talked about their unforgettable memory to the class.

Language/skills analysis

Meaning/Form

The past simple and the past continuous help us to show how two past actions or situations are connected.

Past simple

The past simple shows us that an action was in the past, not in the present.
 Regular past simple verbs have -ed at the end (e.g. wanted, played, arrived).
 Irregular verbs have a different form, usually with a different vowel sound (e.g. wake → woke, find → found, feel → felt).
i. Me and my friends wanted to play with firecrackers on my 25th birthday.
ii. We felt very nervous when we found out the firecracker was very loud.

We make the negative with didn't and the infinitive verb.

We didn’t know what to do.
We + didn’t + infinitive

We make the question form with did and then the subject and infinitive verb.
Did you feel scared at that time?

Did + you + infinitive

Past continuous
The past continuous shows us that the action was already in progress at a certain time in the past.

 What was your friend doing when her mom came out? She was hiding.

What + was/were + V-ing

 This means that she started hiding before her mom came out and she was in the hiding place when her mom arrived.

The past continuous can also show that an activity was in progress for some time, not just for a moment.
 We were cleaning the house all morning.

We make the past continuous with was or were and the -ing form of the verb.
 She couldn't come to the party. She was working.

Past continuous and past simple

Was/were
When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that+ the
V-ing
past simple action happened in the middle of the past continuous action, while it

was in progress.
 My friend was hiding when her mom came out.
hiding Action in progress Her mom came out during that time

We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action. (First / longer action and immediate action)
First and longer action is in past continuous tense and immediate action in past simple tense.
 I broke my leg when I was skiing.
Broke immediate action
Was skiing First/ Longer action

Simple Past Past Continuous Tense

• Completed actions • Actions that start first
• Immediate actions • Longer actions
• General actions at a specific time • Actions in progress at a specific time
• when • While 
• when

Pronunciation
 My friend was hiding when her mom came out.
/maɪ 'frend wɒz 'haɪdɪŋ wen hɜ: ‘mʌm keɪm 'aʊt /

Stress and Intonation

 My friend was hiding when her mom came out.

 What was your friend doing when her mom came out?
 Did you feel scared at that time?

Differentiation (considering any individual/sub­group needs)
All students have equal level of communicative skills and are all from similar backgrounds, so no differentiation is needed for the class.

Course fit (Why are you teaching this content at this point in the course?)

This is the beginning of unit 2 and in unit 1 the learners have learnt and practiced simple present and simple past in the context of my 
generation and my life. This lesson stays on similar theme and will prepare the learners to look back to their past and extend their 
knowledge on using past tenses correctly. In the next lesson, they will practice reading skills in the context of inventions so that they 
will be prepared to talk about what inventors invented in the past and how they think about them.
Anticipated problems and solutions
 Problems Solutions

1. learners may omit was or were  1. Monitor and remind students
when using past continuous  to use the target language 
tense.  correctly.

2. Students may practice saying  2. Make students notice the 
the target language using  stress and intonation by 
monotone without stress and  drilling.
intonation.

3. Some students may be too shy to  3. Monitor and encourage the 
speak in front of the class. learners to speak confidently.

Reference for materials/resources
Materials in TC / Teachers/ Whity/ TLR/ SPI 
Self­created worksheets

Teacher learning focus

To design materials to encourage learners’ engagement

Stage  Stage Aim Procedure Interaction Time

1. To generate learners’ interest in the  Show some pictures to elicit Tr’s unforgettable moment.
Lead in topic. T – Ss  5 mins
Elicit the story (S ­ 3)

2. To engage learners’ interest and  Stick parts of tr’s story on the walls
Text curiosity in the topic Ss
Ss go around and read the story in 2 min
5 mins
Share what they remember with group members S – Ss

(s – 4)
3. Ask some questions about the story to get marker sentences. T – Ss 
Noticing To make ss notice the TL 5 mins
Write the answers on the board
4.  To highlight the meaning of the target  Ss observe the marker sentences and answer the questions  Ss – Ss 
Meaning  language related with the meaning of TL.
(groups compete answering the questions)
Feedback on power point
8 – 10 
mins
Give ss a table titled simple past vs past continuous and  Ss – Ss 
different situations.
Ss in group think carefully and put the situations under correct 
column.

5. To clarify the form of the target  The forms of TL with blanks on IWB Ss
form language
Ss work out together to fill in the form
5 mins
To check the understanding of ss Feedback S – Ss 

6.  To clarify and practice pronunciation of Drill the marker sentences and elicit word stress and intonation T ­ Ss

Pron the target language 5 mins
Ss then practice saying the sentences with their group members Ss – ss 
7.  To provide an opportunity to practice  Rip and run  Ss – ss 
Controlled  the target language
practice Ss fill in the blanks with correct tenses 8 – 10 
mins
Feedback on IWB

8. To provide an opportunity to use the  Ss make notes for their unforgettable memory. Ss – Ss  15 mins

Freer  target language
practice Ss in pair talk about their unforgettable memory using TL.
Ss _ Ss 15 mins +
(optional) Ss present their friend’s unforgettable memory to the  (will 
class. continue 
in the 
next part 
of the 
lesson)