Next lesson

Next Lesson clearly shows the student and the next teacher where to pick up. It also sets up the success of the following lesson. 

Here are guidelines to make everyone's job easier.

  1. If the student is on only one book, you can just write the lesson, page, part, and exercise (as needed, depending on the course).
    • You do not need to include the name of the book as it is apparent in the profile.
    • If the student is on two books, write out the name of the one you worked on.
  2. Do not use acronyms. 
    • Students often don’t understand them. Students often mention that they find acronyms confusing. 
    • New teachers may find them confusing. 
    • The student profile already has the course.
    • It increases the likelihood of typos and mistakes.
  3. Do not include level. (For example Biz Result, not Biz Result Upper-Intermediate.)
    Why? 
    • The student profile already has the course level. If it is missing or wrong in the profile, update the profile. Leaving it as is just kicks it down the road for the next person.
    • Teachers make a mistake with this more often than you’d think. 
  4. Start the next lesson at the beginning of an exercise, not in the middle. 
    • If you won’t have time to finish the exercise, don’t start it. 
    • You might tell the student, “We have a few minutes left, so you can do exercise 3 next lesson. For now, let’s review what you learned today.”
    • If the exercise is difficult for the student and so you aren’t able to finish, then in the next lesson, review the part you covered. 
    • You might write a note to the next teacher, “We did ex3 up to q4, but it was tough. Go back to the start of ex3 and practice again.”
    • If the exercise is easy but you got side-tracked and didn’t finish, then assign the rest for homework.
  5. Include material. 
    • Some students like discussions or prefer to bring up their own topics. That’s fine, but give direction and help the student look ahead so the next teacher can prepare. 
    • If they like articles, choose an article with the student and include a link in the next lesson box. 
    • If they want a discussion, say “Discussion about [topic].” Encourage the student to pick a resource to bring to the class. 
  6. Do not say, “Please ask”. 
    • All teachers already ask. 
    • If the student has specific circumstances, they should be put on the Freestyle course, information should be added to their profile, and if necessary, give the next teacher advice in the Message to next teacher. 
    • It does not help the teacher prepare for the next lesson.
  7. It shifts responsibility to the teacher--students should be encouraged to take control and have a plan for the next lesson.