Making Lesson Plans and Materials for Online Classes

One of the first questions to ask yourself when you are planning for your online classes is: “What is the main resource you will be using to teach your students?” Will you have a book for the class? PowerPoints? Specific vocabulary? Specific worksheets? It’s important to know what your main resource is and then plan based on that. 

One main thing to understand is that lessons will always take a bit more time to do in online classes due to having to make sure everyone is on the right page and following along together during the lessons. Also having to mute, unmute, and to use your resources will take a bit from your time in your lessons due to the digital interface, so you should always plan your online classes accordingly. 

Another great material to use is random picture generator websites. During the start of class or the end of class you can open up with a random picture (or one related to recent lessons) and create a discussion with your students. For more advanced learners you can ask them to be more descriptive and for more basic learners you can ask them to tell you what you can see in photos amongst other things. 

One of the best and most common materials teachers use is YouTube. The vast number of videos on various topics (talks, songs, educational videos, etc.) on YouTube is enough to incorporate videos from the site into your lessons. Whether it is younger or older learners, YouTube has plenty of videos for helping to spark discussions or to use directly in your lessons for teaching. 

When it comes to making your lesson plans and materials, always think about what you have time to make in class and what is reasonable to do during your class time. Too many videos can mean that your students won’t get enough exposure to speaking, while not having any videos or interactive materials for your lesson can bore your students. Try to keep a good balance of activities, direct teaching, and videos all together in order to not only make your students have an easier time, but for yourself as well.