So you've got a couple of lessons that didn't quite work out.  Another couple that you are tired of using.  Great. Anyone who's been teaching for any length of time has this situation.  The question is what to do about it?

Well you could simply 'toss out' your old plans and ideas.  By that I simply mean stop using them.  Then you need to create something new to fill that void. This is always a viable option.  However it can be quite time consuming, and you've got no assurance that the new plan will work any better than the old, or be any more interesting.

Assuming that the lesson wasn't a complete failure here a few things I normally try

• tweak it and use it again (change duration, focus, order of presentation/production, add/remove elements etc.)
• take the best parts and roll them into a new activity
• recycle the materials into a totally different purpose
• redirect the focus of the activity and see if it works better (e.g. if it was a writing activity, try it as a speaking activity)
• give it to another teacher to see what they can do with it (always be honest about your experiences when doing this).

Your time is valuable.  Don't waste potentially good materials and ideas until you have tried to make them work under different scenarios.

Any other ideas about how to do this?  Leave tips in the comments below.  Everyone will benefit.

Cheers,

Eric

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