A good plan answers three questions: what will learners be able to do at the end, how does each stage get them
there, and what could go wrong. scripts/plan_scaffold.py turns an outline into a timed plan;
scripts/plan_check.py reviews a plan for the faults trainers flag most often.
Trigger Conditions
Activate this skill when the user:
- Wants a lesson plan for a language class (any language, any level)
- Is writing a CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL or in-service teaching practice plan
- Has a plan whose timing, aims or staging feels wrong
- Asks which lesson shape to use for a grammar, vocabulary, skills or task-based lesson
Detailed lesson shapes: ppp-lesson-structure-planner, task-based-language-lesson-designer. Activities: communicative-activity-generator, warm-up-icebreaker-generator. Mixed-level classes: language-lesson-differentiation-planner.
Workflow
1. PROFILE -> level (CEFR), number, ages, L1s, previous lesson, needs
2. AIM -> one main aim as a learner outcome; 1-2 subsidiary aims
3. SHAPE -> choose PPP / TTT / skills / TBL from the aim (references/lesson-shapes.md)
4. STAGES -> name, stage aim, minutes, interaction, procedure, materials
5. LANGUAGE -> meaning, form, pronunciation, CCQs for each target item
6. BUILD -> python scripts/plan_scaffold.py lesson.json > plan.md
7. CHECK -> python scripts/plan_check.py lesson.json (fix every high finding)
8. PROBLEMS -> anticipated problems with concrete solutions; flexi stage; board planAsk for anything missing from step 1 before writing; a plan for "intermediate adults" with no other detail is generic. When the user gives only a topic and level, propose an aim and a shape and say so.
Writing the main aim
| Weak | Better |
|---|---|
| To teach the present perfect | By the end, learners will be able to ask and answer about life experiences using present perfect + ever/never |
| Ss will understand phrasal verbs | Learners will be able to use six travel phrasal verbs in a hotel check-in role play |
| Reading | Learners will have practised reading for gist and detail in a news article about plastic waste |
Full guidance on aims, stage aims, interaction codes, timing and anticipated problems: lesson-plan-anatomy.md.
Review Codes (plan_check.py)
| Code | Severity | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| LP001 | high | Main aim missing or describes the teacher |
| LP002 | high | Stage minutes do not add up to the lesson length |
| LP003 | medium | Main aim uses understand / know / learn |
| LP004 | medium | Stage with no stage aim |
| LP005 | medium | Teacher-fronted time above 40% |
| LP006 | medium | Pair or group task with no feedback after it |
| LP007 | medium | Language lesson with no freer practice |
| LP008 | low | Stage over 20 minutes |
| LP009 | low | No anticipated problems |
Output Format
Deliver: class profile, aims, target language analysis (for language lessons), the stage table from
plan_scaffold.py (time, stage, stage aim, interaction, procedure, materials), anticipated problems and
solutions, board plan. Include instructions and ICQs for the main tasks. Then the plan_check.py result.
Scripts
python scripts/plan_scaffold.py lesson.json > plan.mdKeys: title, level, minutes, learners, main_aim, subsidiary_aims, stages (name, aim, minutes, interaction, procedure, materials), problems (problem, solution). Stages without minutes share the remaining time. Exit codes: 0 written, 1 stages exceed the lesson length, 2 read or JSON error.
python scripts/plan_check.py lesson.jsonSame JSON. Exit codes: 0 no high findings, 1 high findings, 2 read or JSON error.
Additional Resources
| File | Content |
|---|---|
| lesson-plan-anatomy.md | Plan components, writing main and stage aims, interaction codes, timing, anticipated problems |
| lesson-shapes.md | PPP, TTT, guided discovery, receptive and productive skills, TBL and ESA shapes with timings; choosing a shape |
academic-english-eap-course-planner
Plan English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses: pre-sessional, in-sessional, foundation, IELTS preparation and discipline-specific EAP, with syllabus strands (academic reading, lecture listening and note-taking, essay and report writing, paraphrase, summary and synthesis, referencing and plagiarism, seminars and presentations, academic vocabulary, critical thinking), a 10-week pre-sessional outline, exit assessment, IELTS-CEFR alignment and academic style (formality, hedging, cohesion, reporting verbs). Estimates study hours and weeks to close an IELTS gap from overall or per-skill scores (IELTS rounding, minimum per skill, priority skills, feasibility before a deadline), and checks learner texts for contractions, informal words with academic alternatives, unhedged claims, 'you', And/But/So starts, rhetorical questions and missing citations.
actfl-proficiency-curriculum-mapper
Map world language curricula to the ACTFL framework: proficiency levels (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, Distinguished with sublevels), functions, contexts, text types and accuracy, proficiency vs performance, the three modes of communication (interpretive, interpersonal, presentational), the 5 Cs World-Readiness Standards, backward-designed thematic units with Integrated Performance Assessments, typical programme targets and FSI time estimates. Looks up approximate ACTFL-CEFR-ILR equivalences with what each level can do, and checks a unit map for missing modes, rehearsed skits mislabelled as interpersonal, translation or word lists as interpretive tasks, and units without an integrated performance assessment.
adult-literacy-esl-lesson-builder
Build lessons for adult ESL learners who are developing literacy (LESLLA learners: pre-literate, non-literate, semi-literate, literate in a non-Roman script): learner profiles and sensitive initial assessment, principles (oral language first, known to new, systematic phonics with adult-relevant text, repetition, classroom skills, respect for experience), a lesson routine (oral warm-up, review, new grapheme, blending, segmenting, decodable text, writing, functional literacy, Language Experience Approach), a phonics sequence for adults, sight words, functional literacy targets (forms, signs, medicine labels) and portfolio assessment. Checks whether a reading text is decodable with the letter-sound patterns and sight words taught so far, catching untaught digraphs, listing non-decodable words with the untaught part, and suggesting the most useful next patterns.
authentic-material-lesson-adapter
Turn authentic material (news articles, podcasts, videos, songs, menus, timetables, adverts, social media posts, forms, infographics) into language lessons by grading the task rather than the text. Selects texts for interest, relevance, exploitability, coverage, cultural load and rights; finds the 4-6 words to pre-teach, words to gloss on the page and words learners can ignore, plus names and cultural references to explain, with reading time by level; and builds a lesson shape (lead-in, pre-teach, gist or scanning, graded detail task, language focus on chunks and register, response) with task ideas per material type and level from A1 to C1. Covers copyright, fair dealing and fair use, Creative Commons and attribution.
can-do-statement-writer
Write and review can-do statements for language courses, units, lessons and learner self-assessment, CEFR or NCSSFL-ACTFL style: action (observable verb) + text or situation + level-specific conditions, learner ('I can') and descriptor ('Can') versions, progressions of one activity from A1 to C1, and coverage of reception, production, interaction and mediation. Includes a verb bank by mode and level and condition and text-type banks. Lints statements for teacher-centred phrasing, knowledge instead of use (learn, know, understand the passive), missing context, two skills in one statement, vague quality words, grammar items as outcomes, overlong statements and missing modes in a set.
cefr-aligned-syllabus-builder
Build language course syllabuses aligned to the CEFR (A1-C2, plus levels, Companion Volume 2020): entry and exit levels, guided learning hours and course length (with an L1-distance adjustment), syllabus type (topic, functional-notional, task-based, skills-based, multi-strand), unit-by-unit can-do outcomes, grammar from a core inventory by level, vocabulary, functions, pronunciation, balance of reception, production, interaction and mediation, recycling and assessment points. Checks a syllabus for units without can-do statements, core grammar for the level not covered, items above the course level, skills missing from most units and units with no vocabulary or functions.