PPE1B – Spring 2009

Renata Matušincová

                                     Classroom Time Management


This essay will deal with classroom time management which is an inevitable part of every teacher’s
work. The essay will give the reader brief information about the basic principles of classroom time
management and lesson planning.


As classroom time is very valuable, it is important to spend it in a reasonable way. It is,
therefore, advantageous to do activities which students normally cannot do outside the class on
their own, like speaking or listening as opposed to more time-consuming writing and reading. Before
the class, the teacher should always define objectives and try to remain focused on them. On the
other hand, it is also important to be flexible and reshape the lesson according to students’
demands.


As far as lesson planning is concerned, it is always a very advantageous procedure that proves the
teacher’s effort and involvement and gives the lesson a particular form. It helps to set the
objectives and specify the material that will be needed. Finally, it helps the teacher to decide
which methods and techniques to use in order to achieve the aim. Generally, a successful lesson
should consist of the following stages: warm-up and lead in, main activity, calming down and
follow-up activity.


Warm-up and lead in introduce the topic. These stages can take various forms ranging from
brainstorming to vocabulary practice. They should allow the teacher to learn about level of
students’ knowledge and motivate students to work. Main activity with its climax represents the
topic of the lesson itself and comprises the majority of the class time. Depending on the aim and
focus of the lesson, different teaching methods can be used to support and facilitate students’
learning. Calming down usually functions as a general revision of the topic covered. It allows the
teacher to check students’ understanding and provides an immediate feedback.  It also helps to
manage the classroom atmosphere. Finally, the follow-up activity can be either completed in the
class or done as homework. This might be used when teachers need to link the successive lessons
together or when they want to give students more practice.


Even though all teacher would most probably agree that the time they spend in class is
insufficient, there are occasions when they find themselves facing the class with no activities to
fill the remaining time. For that reason it is more than advisable to have some short and simple
time fillers in store and be ready to use them. These activities keep the students thinking and
they are enjoyable as they include various games.



References:


McKenzie, Alicia. Time Management in the Classroom. 2006.  Teaching Assistants’ Training Program.
University of Toronto. 16. April 2009. <http://www.utoronto.ca/tatp/timemanagement.pdf>.


Harmer, Jeremy. The Practice of English Teaching. Harlow: Longman, 1991.