Page 13 - Primary Year 4 SK SoW

3. Pre-lesson and Post-lesson tasks

Pre-lesson activities activate and review pupils’ prior knowledge by, for example, reviewing
relevant learning from a previous lesson or using a short activity as an opportunity for pupils
to share what they already know about the lesson topic or language. Pre-lesson activities
provide an opening to the lesson and get pupils in the right frame of mind for listening to and
using English. They are often whole class activities which are fun and engaging. Pupils are all
active in these activities physically as well as mentally. This can help teachers to manage
energy levels before settling pupils into their learning.
Post-lesson activities are short activities that take place at the end of lessons to review and
consolidate the learning from a lesson. Although post-lesson activities can be fun and should
not be too challenging so that pupils leave the class in a positive frame of mind, they are an
important stage that should be planned by the teachers. During the post-lesson stage, teachers
can conduct a quick and informal evaluation of the lesson and the pupils’ understanding of the
learning that have taken place. Post-lesson activities can be used for formative assessment
and can give teachers an overall evaluation of the pupils’ development and indicate any issues
individual pupils might have. Evaluating learning in the post-lesson stage is particularly useful
when new language is introduced for the first time or followed up from a previous lesson.
Therefore teachers should give careful consideration to the purpose of the post-lesson
activities that they choose for their lessons. Post-lesson activities are not optional extras to be
done if there is time. Teachers should plan and make sure to leave a few minutes for post-
lesson activities, even if they are running short of time in their main lesson stages.

Each lesson includes a suggestion for Pre-lesson and Post-lesson tasks. Some of these are
outlined in the Learning Outline, and sometimes teachers are directed to the textbook. In other
lessons, teachers can refer to and choose a suitable task from the lists below. Teachers can
also create their own pre- and post-lesson activities provided that they fulfil the function
described above.

Suggested Pre-lesson tasks

Below are 12 lesson tasks which teachers may choose from or adapt for the Pre-lesson section
within the Learning Outline in the Scheme of Work. These pre-lesson tasks are suitable to
begin almost any skills-focused lesson and require minimal materials and preparation. They
are simple for pupils to participate in. Teachers can, of course, use their own pre-lesson tasks
whenever they think that these would be more suitable for the pupils they teach. Each pre-
lesson task takes about 5–10 minutes of class time.

These tasks are the same for Primary Years 4-6. The language and vocabulary focus will be
different, however, and some tasks can be modified for more proficient pupils, as noted in the
task description.

Note: Those marked with an asterisk* could be used at both pre- and post-lesson stages.

Primary Year 4 SK Scheme of Work 14