Experience really is the best teacher. In almost  24 years in the field of education , one  thing I  have gained understanding    is the preparation of a  lesson plan .And If I am to unearth  the quality of good lesson plan ,  it must be  simplified and  well organized.How can this be done? Let me share some  personal pointers to do this. This might be of help to the  teachers especially the beginning ones.

1. Study the learning competencies and be clear of the concepts and the skills that the students should learn. If the concepts are not yet clear, it is highly suggested that the teacher should have a further review or study of these. Otherwise the teacher will be confused what to write in the plan considering that the new template as provided in DepEd Order under procedure  has ten parts which are the following: reviewing the past lesson/presenting the new lesson, establishing the purpose of the lesson, presenting the first instances of the lesson, discussion of concept  no.1and practicing skill no 1, discussion of concept no. 2 and practicing  skill no. 2, developing mastery, generalization and abstraction of the lesson, practical application to daily living  , evaluating learning and reflection.

1. Using the lesson plan template and anchored on the learning competencies ,write   under discussion of the  concept no.1and  practicing the skills    no.1  the  concept  and the strategy to be used . Do the same  if there is another concept and skill that the teacher should let the students learn under discussion of the new concept no.2 and practicing skills no. 2. These parts should be filled up  first for the following reasons/observations. Teacher oftentimes neglects  this/these part/parts because the attention and focus  are  in  the first three parts when infact for me, the teaching  of concepts and skills are the most important  part among the ten which should  also occupy the highest number of minutes in one hour period .
2. Think of the strategy  to be applied   in the discussion part depending on the lesson whether  direct instruction, indirect, experiential, interactive  independent and other  strategies that will  let the students learn the concept and skills and at the same time trigger the critical thinking skills of the students. Combination of different strategies is also possible. In this way teacher –centered instruction can be avoided. Students should be the ones to discover the concept and not as passive recipients of knowledge from the lecture of the teacher.

1. Think again of the strategy  on how the lesson be generalized. In some lesson plan I read,the teacher simply asks: “What did you learn today?” Aside from this, teacher can have other ways . Please take note also that there should be  no discussion or giving  inputs here. It is expected that everything is taken in the  discussion parts.

1. Go back to the first three parts and  have these filled. The first three parts may just serve as appetizer in presenting the purpose and the initial phase of the lesson. Review may not be necessary if it is not a continuation of the present lesson.Discussion should not be on this parts rather to ignite the interest of the students.These should not eat also  much of the time. In one hour period, these parts should consume 10-15 minutes.

1. Consider also the transition signals from one part to the other part to establish connection  ,and synchronization  with the Learning competencies and to ensure smooth flow of the parts. Example from the Discussion of concept No.1 to  Concept No 2 in language class , a teacher might say: “Okey, you have learned already figurative language as one literary device in writing a poem. Now, we will be talking another literary device which is   imagery”. Another example from the discussion to the developing mastery, a teacher may   say: “Do you have  questions?” Students answered “None”. “Teacher will say again: “For you  to learn  further the different literary  devises, let us have an activity..”. If it is unlocking of difficulties  after the presentation of the terms, teacher will say: “You will meet these words in the selection so please remember  their meaning.” Transition signals will guide  the students where they are now in the lesson. The Teacher , however, should avoid saying what part of the lesson they are now  just like : “ Okey class, we are now in the generalization part of the lesson”.

1. In finding practical application of the lesson in daily living, teacher may   use  situation where the students can apply the concept or skills. Although it might not be wrong asking the student this question: “In what situation can you apply our lesson today?”Would  it be  better if the teacher  already cite situation where the students can apply the concept /skill learned?.

1. For Classroom Observation Tool (COT), in any part of the lesson integration across the curriculum, literacy and numeracy  , contextualization  and others can be included in any part of the lesson.

1. Think also of the different ways on how to evaluate the learning of the students that will develop their  critical thinking . Questions should follow the different levels  from the lowest  up to highest.  When the evaluation is subjective, there should be rubrics on how to rate the students’ performance.

1. After considering those pointers, the teacher can start now writing the plan from first part to the last part guided already of the notation in each part .Then, he  can now  expect a simplified and well organized plan  since before  writing the  lesson plan, it  should be planned first.
2. For additional activities, make sure that there is a reference given if the students will look for the activity . Teacher should also consider the residence of the students and time of the preparation. It should not be forgotten that students  in junior  have  atleast eight learning areas to attend to.
3. After the execution of the plan, the  reflection part of the lesson should not be left unfilled. This is now the chance for the teacher to assess the teaching and learning process. What went right?,what went wrong? and how will it be improved? serve as guide  questions of the teacher in writing this  part . Reflection is necessary for professional growth.

Presently,the teachers  in Bicol region are not bothered anymore in the preparation of daily lesson plan since chosen teachers already prepared the plan  for execution of all teachers  as required  by the new Regional Director of Region V Bicol  Sir l Gilbert Sadsad, however as teachers,it is still better to fully understands the intricacies of the preparation. When a teacher knows what and how to teach ,he feels fulfillment and satisfaction in the profession especially if the outcome of the teaching-learning process is positive despite the problems that teachers suffer such as crowded rooms and behavioral problem  of some students.

At present too,   DepEd is faced with challenges on how to improve the performance of the students and undeniably there are   various factors that contribute to the poor quality of learning  and who knows the kind of  lesson plan a teacher prepares  might be one of them since teaching starts already in the preparation of   simplified and well organized lesson  that only the teacher with dedication,  commitment and passion  can do.

Happy teaching to all  teachers. “Para sa bata, push natin ito”.