Adapting lesson plans to other levels

It starts to resemble an investigation board. You think about the topics that you can teach at the same time, the activities that you need to tweak just a bit to have a good fit for the other group and the worksheets that need little to no changes. My last post focused on Compound Words for Starters. Using this plan, I would like to show what changes need to be made for Starters (A1), Mover (A1+) and Flyers (A2) levels.

Let’s start with a list of things that needs to be taken into consideration while adjusting lesson plans.

Age

Starters are the youngest ones and they are normally between 4-6 years old. Movers are the transitioning period with 7-9 years old and Flyers are the oldest ones with 10-12 years old. Remember that this is just a rule of thumb and the age can vary. Based on the age you need to choose appropriate activities for each group. That means that Starters and Movers will be very excited about colouring meanwhile, Flyers may already ask for a different type of activity.

Motor skills

It’s perfectly fine to add cutting and glueing to your lesson plan for Starters. It’s a type of activity that allows them to follow English instructions while developing their motor skills. It’s also a type of activity that will take some time to be completed. Movers may also be interested in this activity but it will be done in a much shorter time. You shouldn’t really bother Flyers with their motor skills development. They may find this activity fun but in small doses.

Energy level

Starters will be hyped up and need to run around, jump, dance and sing. Movers have a very similar level of energy (at least in my experience) and may actually enjoy some of the similar activities. Flyers are more relaxed and can sit down for a longer period of time. They may enjoy a kinetic activity every now and then but they do not like to sweat.

Reading and writing skills

When choosing activities for the little ones, it’s best to limit reading activities to a minimum. I like to ask them to read the tasks or flashcard names but longer pieces of reading will put them off. Movers on the other hand are quite excited about reading (especially role-play comics). However, limit the tasks to a minimum as reading can be quite tiring in big amounts. In my opinion, a text with fives sentences should be more than enough. Flyers are perfectly fine with longer texts. They may not enjoy them but they can do longer pieces of reading without any issues.

The same goes for writing. My group of Starters only started enjoying writing in the second semester when they got a bit more familiar with the letters. Even then, there are plenty of errors and they need help with showing them how certain letters look like, so limit writing to one-word answers. Movers can write well! They will take their time to show you their calligraphy but you can already ask for one-sentence answers. Flyers have no problems with writing but just like with reading, you may hear complaints.

Okay, so now let’s look at three different lesson plan outlines depending on the level you’re teaching.

STARTERS	MOVERS	FLYERS
Lead in: Draw a picture of a raincloud and a bow in a form of a math equation. Elicit the words and put them together to make a rainbow. Draw a rainbow and revise colours.	Lead in: Students read a short text with compound words. Highlight one word and divide it into two separate words (e.g. ____ + ____ = rainbow). Following this example, students work in pairs to find more compound words.	Lead in: Read a short text containing compound words. Tell students that in this text there are 8 words that have something in common. Students work in pairs to find the common factor. If it’s too difficult you can give a hint until students know what they are looking for.
Song: As a part of revision you can sing a song about a rainbow or maybe you can find a song about compound words to introduce your students to the topic.	Vocabulary revision: Students use the words from reading to label the pictures.	Teach compound words: Explain the meaning of compound words. Students write and divide the words into two single words. The activity ends with students naming these words.
Flashcards: Take flashcards of two words that make compound words and revise them. This is a form of vocabulary revision. Use 6 separate words that make 3 compound words.	Teach compound words: Explain the meaning of compound words. Students divide the words into two separate words.	Vocabulary revision: Students use the words from reading to label the pictures.
Teach compound words: Take the flashcards and put two words together. Following the lead in, display the words on the board in the form of a math equation.	Flashcard game: Do it in pairs and treat it like a competitive activity. Students get flashcards of compound words and single words. Students race to put two words and the compound word they make. Additionally, you can ask them to match pictures with labels.	Flashcard game: Do it in pairs and treat it like a competitive activity. Students get flashcards of compound words and single words. Students race to put two words and the compound word they make. Additionally, you can ask them to match pictures with labels.
Follow instructions: Ask your students to sit down and read short few words sentences. Students take turns reading instructions and colour the objects on the worksheet.	Anagrams: Students solve the anagrams of single words.	Anagrams: Students solve the anagrams of single words.
Match compound words: Using the coloured pictures, students draw arrows to match the words together. They can use the flashcards on the whiteboard to help them.	Match compound words: Students match the words from the previous exercise and write them below corresponding pictures.	Match compound words: Students match the words from the previous exercise and write them below corresponding pictures.
Writing practice: Students write three compound words and then draw the new words in the boxes.	Optional video: Students watch a video on compound words and guess the words. Click here for an example of an interactive video.	Writing practice: Students write five sentences using compound words.
Game: Play a memory game. You can preface this game by hiding the cards around the classroom and finding them to match them in pairs first. Put the cards face down and find pairs that make compound words.	Game: Play a memory game. Put the cards face down and find pairs that together form compound words.	Game: Play a memory game. Put the cards face down and find pairs that together form compound words.
Free time project: To help your students cool down, ask them to sit down and pick two words at random. Students write the words down and draw the new object.	Free time project: Ask your students to sit down and pick two words at random. Students write the words down and draw the new object.	Free time project: Ask your students to sit down and pick two words at random. Students write the words down and draw the new object.

As you can see a lot of the activities are the same and the only differences are the wordlists used for these exercises. Starters level reading is limited to reading and following instructions. Movers and Flyers start by reading a short text and in the case of Flyers, they are the ones who need to guess the topic of the class. It’ll make them a bit more excited about the reading exercise and will encourage them to read it more than once.

Another difference is in the teaching of compound words. The concept is introduced much later for Starters and Movers than for Flyers. Flyers also get a full explanation of compound words and will use this phrase in class.

Flashcards are used at all levels, but in the case of Starters and Movers, you can play certain flashcard games like flashcard race, jumping on named words or showing flashcards for split second to hear the pronunciation and check their understanding. In case of Flyers you can play games to put flashcards together in a form of math equations (____ + ___ = ____). This is enough to check their vocabulary knowledge.

It’s also a good idea to play a song or show a video of compound words. Starters and Movers will definitely enjoy that part of the class. Flyers may find it a bit childish and boring already. You can check their speaking and writing skills instead.

The common factor for all three levels are the memory card game and the final project. Even though Flyers aren’t very keen on drawing, they may find this task quite fun, especially if you stay away and let their creative juices flowing.

So as you can see, it’s possible to adapt the topic and certain activities across all the levels. You need to model your language accordingly and make sure that all the activities are age-appropriate. Below you can download the flashcards, memory cards and worksheets that you can use with three levels.

DISCLAIMER: Remember that these are only my suggestions for the activities and their order! It’s based on my experience with the young learners and depending on your students and their level you may use a completely different approach.