Schemes of work, units of work and lesson planning

Planning is critical and underpins effective teaching, playing an important role in shaping students’ understanding and progression. In order to achieve an effectively planned lesson, a number of factors must be considered. These include pupils’ prior learning, the ways that pupils learn the requirements of the curriculum and appropriate methods of teaching to suit the needs of all pupils and resources available. The knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes appropriate for a young person entering the world of work in the 21st century are vastly different to those that were considered appropriate even 15 years ago. In order to actively engage pupils from the outset of the lesson, an interesting and relevant starter activity must be planned. Think of this as the ‘hook’ to draw pupils in to the lesson. This activity may draw upon and/or assess previous understanding or might present a challenge to pupils.