2.

THE SYLLABUS

This is usually based on a specific subject curriculum. The Syllabus contains a summary of
the content and long term objectives of teaching a subject. It guides the content to be taught
in school. It also outlines the objectives to be achieved at the end of the course. The syllabus
only provides a framework for teaching in a given subject and should be used hand in hand
with the recommended textbooks.

3. SCHEME OF WORK
This is derived from the syllabus. It is a breakdown of a given syllabus into units that can
easily be taught in each lesson. It is a plan indicating what content is to be covered by both
the teacher and the learners during the teaching-learning process. It also indicates what long-
term objectives and instructional objectives are to be achieved and at what time within the
duration of the course.
It can be said to be a projection of what a teacher intends to cover with a class within a
specified period of time which is usually one school term.

Factors to consider before making a scheme of work

1. Available time: for instance for English language we have

6 lessons for forms 1 & 2
8 lessons for forms 3 & 4
2. Syllabus content
- The amount of content to be covered depends on the duration of the course.
Planning should be for a specified period of time and should include only the
content that can be covered within the allocated time.
3. School calendar
- Consider school events in the course of the term. i.e. speech days, mid-term,
sports-days and public holidays.
- No planning should be done on the identified days hence should be omitted from
the scheme of work.
4. Availability of resources
- Whatever resources one intends to use, should be easily available. In case
specialized equipments are required, the procurement of the resources should be
done well in advance.
5. Methods of teaching
- Methods to be used in teaching should be selected beforehand. Different language
skills will require the use of different methods of teaching.

Advantages of preparing a scheme of work

(Ask students to research on the advantages of preparing a scheme of work).
 CONTENTS OF A WELL PREPARED SCHEME OF WORK
1. Administrative details
- Title
- Name of school
- Subject
- Class level
- Term
- Year
- Name of student & registration number in case of a teacher on teaching practice.

2. General objectives/Long term objectives

- Long-term in nature and are to be achieved after a teaching level is over. i.e.(for
instance in an English language term)
By the end of the term, the learner should be able to:
1) Construct grammatically correct sentences using the grammatical items learnt.
3. References:
Materials used by the teacher to enrich teaching textbooks, charts and articles
in teacher’s possession.
The rest of the contents are placed in a table having columns
4. Body of a scheme of work

Week Lesson Topic/Content Instructional T/Learning T/L Remarks

Number objectives activities Resources
1 1 Nouns: By the end of Lesson
Abstract Nouns the lesson, Discussio objective
the learner n 1 and 2
should be Listening achieved
able to: Taking :
1. notes learners
2. able to
3. construc
t
sentence
s using
abstract
nouns
2 1.
2.
3.

4
5
6
2 1
 2
3

i) Week – should be labelled from first to last

ii) Lesson number – specific lesson in the week when teaching will take
place.
iii) Topic/content – topics and sub-topics are indicated here.
iv) Instructional Objectives
Statement of proposed desired change expected to occur in the learner in form of
thoughts, actions and feelings after being exposed to a learning/teaching
experience.
- They are short-term to be achieved within the lesson. i.e. The stem;

By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:

Should be written at the head of the column in each page of the scheme of work

- Should be written in terms of the learner’s observable behaviour.

v) Learning activities
- All that goes on in the classroom to promote learning and teaching.
- Entails all the techniques used by the teacher to teach and learning activities in
which learners get involved.
- They are dependent on the objectives and content in 3 & 4.
vi) Resources
- Teaching and learning materials
- May be in form of books/objects or audio visual aids
- Used to bring reality closer, hence aiding in the achievement of objectives
- Choice of resources is dependent on lesson. Objectives and content.
vii) Remarks
- Last column – used for self evaluation
- Contains summarised comments made by the teacher
- Teacher gives a brief comment on whether the lesson was a failure, success or
partly so.
- Give reason why the situation was so.

4. Lesson plan
- This is a work plan detailing what is to be covered in a single lesson.
- Brief written account of the lesson preparations
- Takes the teacher step by step through the lesson.
- Guides the teacher on the time available, learning activities and resources to use in
the classroom.
- Translates the objectives in the scheme of work into specific instructional (short
term) objectives to be achieved within the lesson.
 Contents of a well made lesson plan

1. Personal/Administrative details
- Placed at the top of the page
- Usually in tabular form
- Include;
 Teachers name
 No reg. (if student Teacher)
 School, class
 Date and time
 Subject and lesson topic
 Week and lesson number
2. Instructional objectives
 Stem written at the head of a list of objectives; thus
By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:
 Avoid “at the end of the lesson.” Implies both teacher
and learners will remain passive till the end of the
lesson. Attainment of objectives should take place
during the learning process.
 Avoid “a leaner must ---“learn cannot be forced to
achieve the objectives.
 Should be stated in terms of the learner’s observable behaviour. This
should be explicitly stated.
 Should be measurable
 Should state the content.
 Avoid abstract/descriptive words i.e
- Know
- Understand
- Believe
- Enjoy
- Appreciate
- See
- Hear
- Listening
 Action words should be used instead. i.e.
Explain identify
Distinguish perform
Draw list down
Recite construct
Demonstrate Discuss

 Objective should be realistic; neither too ambitious nor aim to achieve

too little.
  Should be simple and clearly stated.
 Should correspond to the topic and goals in the scheme of work
i.e.

By the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:

 List down Five dramatic techniques used by the author in two minutes.
Analysis
List down- behavioural terms – can be observed
Five – Level of performance
Dramatic techniques- Content
Two minutes – Condition of performance.

3. Body of the lesson plan

- Divided into four columns
- Step/Time, Content (topic), T/ Learning activities and Resources.
 Time
-Divided between the three phases of the lesson plan (5,30,5.)
-Further sub-division is done of the 30 minutes in the lesson development.
 Content:
- Should correspond to the scheme of work
- Main points – Not details of the topic
- Details should be in the teacher’s notes.

Reading a passage on “Choice of marriage partner”

Step Partner Time Content

1. 5 minutes Students’ opinion on Marriage Partners Discussion.
2. 5 minutes Explanation of difficult terms
3. 10 minutes Silent reading of the passage
4. 15 minutes Response to comprehension questions and discussion
of the same in groups.
5. 5 minutes Review of lesson, homework.

 Learning activities
- Should be stated in terms of the activities learners will be involved in.
 Resources +--

Books as well as any other teaching aids to be used in the lesson.

(ref to text) Pg 181.

Body of a lesson plan

Step/Time Content/concept Learning activities Resources

Introduction: Students’ opinion on Learners engage in a
5 minutes Marriage Partners discussion on choice of
Discussion marriage partners
Lesson
development:
1.
5 minutes
2.
10 minutes

Chalkboard

Class Subject/Topic Date

Illustrations i.e. New words - Main points Displays
- Learner
contributions

Record of work

Details the work has been comprehensively covered in the course the term. Includes work that was
covered during the normal lesson and that which was covered during remedial time.

Week Lesson Work covered Remarks

Number
1 1 Abstract Nouns Lesson objectives
achieved (Remedial
Lesson)
2 Lesson objectives
achieved