Components of a Scheme of Work

What is a scheme of work? Why do teachers need a scheme of

work? Can a teacher teach without a scheme

of work? What is/are the link between a scheme

of work and the curriculum? The syllabus?

What purposes does it serve? What are the main components in

writing out a scheme of work?

Reflection questions

A scheme of work in its broadest sense of the word is a long term plan to show how teaching has/ should be organised.

As a teacher decisions need to be made about what will be taught, which will rely on other forms of interactive materials and in which order they will be sequenced.

A Scheme of Work: a review

The teacher should review the scheme regularly to check on progression through the course and to check that resources are available for what is being taught. Why?

A Scheme of Work: a review

Who are they? What do they need to learn? When do they need to learn it? Where do they need to learn it? Why do they need it? How will you teach them to meet their

needs?

Identify your students’ needs

Who do I need to plan and prepare for?

What do I need to plan and prepare? When do I need to plan and prepare? Where do I need to plan and prepare? Why do I need to plan and prepare? How will I plan and prepare?

Planning and preparing a SoW

Begin by breaking down the year into chunks. How many themes/topics/ language skills do you need to teach?

Allow yourself a couple of weeks at the end for revision and assessment - or games.

Allow a week at the start for introductory lessons.

How to prepare a SOW

Decide how long you'll need for each of these chunks. Perhaps you'd have about 2-3 weeks per chunk. Think about what resources you'll need.

Textbooks? Mahjong paper? Computers? Other materials?

Write these in the Resources column. (Some schemes of work have a 'resource' column.)

How to prepare a SOW

SEKOLAH KEBANGSAAN HULU KINTA, PERAKSCHEME OF WORK FOR YEAR ______ 2014

WEEK DATE/DAY

TIME/CLASS

THEME/TOPIC

LANGUAGESKILLS

SYLLABUS SPECIFICATIONS

REMARKS

Sample

1. Understanding the syllabus.

The teacher may not necessarily be involved in the initial stages of curriculum development, but (s)he is expected to interpret the curriculum and implement it correctly.

This calls for a thorough understanding of the syllabus and the content, in order to achieve the stated objectives.

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO BE BORN IN MIND WHEN PREPARING A SCHEME

OF WORK:

1. Understanding the syllabus.

The teacher is expected to act like a policeman or a judge who is called upon to administer the law though he did not make it. It is therefore very important that the teacher be thoroughly conversant with the curriculum in order to implement it successfully.


OF WORK:

2. Preceding and succeeding syllabus content

Topics from the syllabus may not be arranged in the order in which they are supposed to be taught. Some topics will require the knowledge of the previous ones while others are quite independent.

The teacher should identify the essential learning content and also arrange the content in logical teaching order considering the proceeding and succeeding syllabus content.


OF WORK:

3. Existing scheme of work for the subject If a scheme of work is already available for

the subject, it would be a waste of effort and time for the teacher to break new ground again.

In this case, the teacher can revise the existing scheme to suit his/her students and to bring it up to date.


OF WORK:

Reference materials The teacher should be familiar with reference

material that is available for effective coverage of the topics in the scheme of work.

There is nothing more disturbing than finding out that a topic that is already covered could have been more interesting, enjoyable and even better understood if certain materials or teaching aids that are available in school had been utilised.


OF WORK:

Examination The type of examination the students

are being prepared for should bear in mind that some levels require more revision time than others and therefore, scheme for revision appropriately.


OF WORK:

Time estimation Although there are about 40 weeks in a year, it is

not usually possible to use all these for effective teaching for a variety of reasons.

The number of effective teaching periods varies according to both predictable and unpredictable interruptions.

Effective teaching time must therefore be estimated before topics are selected. The most common interruptions that are likely to disrupt a scheme of work include:


OF WORK:

Public Holidays Examinations (should be schemed for) if they

are internal Revisions (should be schemed for) Open days Sports days Planned school breaks e.g. mid-term break E.t.c.


OF WORK:

The scheme of work normally includes: Aim(s) of the sessions Topic Title Session Objectives/learning outcomes of the

session (What you want the students to have learned by the end of each session)

General Components of a scheme of work

The scheme of work normally includes: Subject content (in outline sub-headings) Teaching strategies (i.e. how you will deliver

the learning outcomes?) Student activities (i.e. how you will involve

the students in actively learning?) Assessment methods (i.e. how will you check

to see if the intended learning outcomes have been met?)


The scheme of work normally includes: Evaluation (i.e. the kind of data you decide

upon and how you intend to gather this, to check that learning opportunities have been successful.)

Resource requirements (i.e. text books, on-line resources, teaching materials and ICT )

Learning support requirements (i.e. how you plan to meet any diverse learning needs.


ORGANISATION/INSTITUTION: Refers to the organisation/institution one is working or

teaching in.STUDENTS’ LEVEL: Refers to the grade level of learning of the students. In

most cases, a school will only have ONE scheme of work that fit all level of students of the same grade. This is not encouraged.

SUBJECT: This refers to the subject being schemed to a

particular term within a given year.

Specific Components of a SoW

DATE OF PREPARATION Refers to the time the scheme of work is completed.

This should be before teaching commences.SYLLABUS TOPIC The topics in the syllabus needs to be rearranged in

the order in which they are supposed to be taught. This is because some topics are build up e.g. before

one learns past form he should have learnt the present form.


WEEK Most schools are specific in time allocation and each

week should be spelt out in the week column. The numeral representing the week should be distinctly written centrally in the week column.

Weeks should be separated by a line running across the page especially when the same scheme of work form contains more than one week.


NUMBER OF PERIODS

The subject may have one, two or more periods in one week. Some periods may be single, double or triple.

The numbering process should be repeated for the other weeks.


LESSON TITLES

This should be clear and definite. The teacher should single out all the lesson titles in a particular syllabus topic. He should then estimate what lesson titles will require a single period, double period or triple period, and then scheme them accordingly.


OBJECTIVES Each lesson title should be followed by an

objective(s) which is meant to pinpoint the anticipated learning behaviour of the learners. The specific nature of the lesson titles does not permit broad objectives which might not be realised by the end of that period.

The objectives must be stated in such a manner that there is a measurable aspect manifested by the end of the lesson


KEY POINTS/METHODS These are the central ideas which the teacher

anticipated to use during the lesson. They are an elaboration of the lesson title. They form the backbone of the lesson.

Key points should be stated in a specific, precise manner, preferably in form of phrases which conveys the full meaning intended.


NOTES Most student teachers forget to include teaching aids

in the scheme of work.REMARKS (DATE WHEN TAUGHT) Remarks in the scheme of work should be made

immediately the lesson is over. The teacher is supposed to indicate whether what was planned for the period has been covered, whether there was over planning or failure of lesson and reasons for either case, e.t.c. remarks suggested are meant to help the teacher in his consequent and future planning.


Components of a Scheme of Work

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