Developing a Lesson Plan

Last time I discussed creating training plans in general. This time, I’m going to break down developing a lesson guide in specific. I’m going to use my templates (PDF or XLSX). If you have Excel, I suggest downloading the XLSX file (if you don’t have Office 2010, you can still use it, you just have to get the patch from Microsoft to open the file), otherwise use the PDF and hand write out the guide. One more suggestion before we get on to the meat of the project: keep records of your guide it can help for future classes covering the same or similar topics or as necessary in other situations.

 

This is my standard template for my lesson guides. As you can see, at the top, I identify which class. For me the class name is “Roswell Judo Club, Adult Class” (or one of the other classes I run). Below that is the “Class:” section, here I identify what level class, such as Junior 1, Rokyu, or Semester 1, for example. This helps me identify what the group of students is the target for this lesson guide. Finally, for the header section, I identify the date for this lesson. This helps me know when I will teach or have taught this particular lesson. If I have to be away for a lesson or several, this helps the assistant instructor know what the plan for teaching is for whichever day he or she teaches.

Weekly Goals. These are very important. Without goals, as I’m sure most have heard, you haven’t any idea where you’ll go. I only have three weekly goals for any level of student. Three goals, for two to four hours of class a week, are about as many as an instructor or coach can truly impart. Choose the three most important things for your students or athletes for that week. Anything more and you’ll spend more time doing less important activities.

Let me talk about goals for just a minute or two. In judo you have two major types of students: the Competitor and the Non-Competitor. How you treat these two doesn’t matter to me at all. At Roswell Judo Club, we have more students learning about judo rather than competing. This means that most of my lesson guides emphasize learning techniques and practicing rather than developing athletes to win tournaments. You may have the opposite. Whichever direction you go, make sure your goals are appropriate.

Back to Weekly Goals, let’s look at examples of a weekly goal, in my class, the goal for my first semester college students (this week) is learning Kesa Gatame, how to Bridge and Roll Escape from Kesa Gatame. So, for this week, even though we’re off for Labor Day, I have to concentrate their classes on getting into Kesa Gatame from standing, Bridge and Roll, then escape. That means that I shouldn’t concentrate on any one throw, just any throw into Kesa Gatame. Nor should I concentrate on other hold downs. Nor should I concentrate on other escapes than the Bridge and Roll. If I waste what little time I have in class on developing their Seoi Nage or some other throw, then I’m wasting their time and no instructor or coach should do that to their students.

Well, I hate to do this, but I’m going to break this up into three more sections, one on Warm-ups, Ukemi, and Technical Instruction.

What do you think of it so far?