One of the problems with teaching is that there is never enough time and things almost always take more time than we’ve planned for in our lessons.
So what happens is that the real important stuff, the activities, the “giving it a try”, the practicing is usually always cut short by the bell in the traditional lesson plan and delivery.
So why not go “upside down”? Start with your activity – let students “have a go” and then work backwards.
Did the students do the activity with a minimum of problems? What do students still not “get”? What now do I have to review and teach more directly, explicitly given my observations?
Many times, you won’t even need the drills, exercises, explicit practice and instruction once you see students having a go at it and that they indeed can produce the language features, functions you’re focusing on.
So try it! Be more deductive. Let’s do last things first!
