Why a shared module beats individual lesson plans
Student volunteer teams preparing for a Bali teaching week often arrive with a folder of separate lesson plans, each written by a different person in a different format. On the ground this becomes a problem. When a volunteer is unwell, when the timetable shifts, or when the host teacher asks a pair to swap classes, nobody can pick up someone else's plan quickly. A shared module solves this by giving every lesson the same three parts and the same card layout.
The module described here is deliberately simple: a warm-up, a core practice, and a check. It fits short sessions with mixed ages, works without electricity or printed worksheets, and leaves room for the host teacher to adjust. It is a planning method, not a curriculum. The content of each lesson should still come from the host school's priorities and the agreed subject focus.
Part one: a warm-up that reuses known language
The warm-up has one job: to get the group speaking or moving together using language they already know. It should take only a few minutes and repeat something from a previous lesson, such as greetings, numbers, or classroom objects. Repetition is the point. Learners settle faster when the opening feels familiar, and volunteers learn names and levels while the activity runs.
Write the warm-up on the card in one line, with one variation for a larger or younger group. Good warm-ups need no materials: a call-and-response chant, a counting circle, a pointing game. Avoid introducing new vocabulary here. If the warm-up stalls, shorten it and move on; it is a doorway into the lesson, not the lesson itself.
Part two: one core practice with a target sentence
The core practice introduces or extends one target sentence or skill. Choose something the learners can say or do on their own by the end, such as asking and answering a question about the weather or describing a picture with two words. Write the target sentence at the top of this section of the card so every volunteer in the room knows what success sounds like.
Plan the practice in three moves: model it, practise it together, then practise it in pairs or small groups. Modelling should be short and clear. Group practice builds confidence. Pair practice is where volunteers circulate and listen. Bring one light material if it helps, such as picture cards or a soft ball, and note on the card what to do without it if conditions change.
Part three: a check you can actually observe
Close every lesson with a quick check. The simplest version is asking each learner, or a sample of learners, to say the target sentence alone. Another is a short game where the answer requires the new language. The check should be observable, so that a volunteer can write down afterwards which learners managed independently and which still needed support.
Keep the check friendly and low-pressure. It is information for the team, not a test for the children. If most of the group cannot do the target sentence alone, that is useful: the next lesson should repeat it rather than move on. Record the result honestly on the back of the card.
The one-card format
Use one index card or one half-page per lesson. On the front, write the date, the class or group, the host teacher's name, the target sentence, and the three parts with timings and one variation each. On the back, leave space for the handover note: what was covered, what the check showed, and one suggestion for whoever teaches the group next.
Because every card has the same layout, any volunteer can pick one up and run it. Before departure, practise by swapping cards within the team and running each other's lessons in a rehearsal. Where a plan is unclear to a teammate, it will be unclear on the day. Revise the card until a teammate can run it without asking questions.
Fitting the module to the host teacher
Share the module with the host teacher or coordinator early in the week, and ask how it fits their usual routine. Some classrooms already open with a song or close with a prayer; build the module around those habits rather than replacing them. The host teacher knows the learners and the school's expectations, so their guidance on level, timing, and topic should change the card.
After each day, hand the backs of the cards to the team lead, who can share a short summary with the host teacher if they want it. Do not take photographs of children for the cards or the summary. The record is about teaching decisions, not about the learners' faces or names beyond what the host school is comfortable with.
Common mistakes when using the module
The most frequent mistake is overloading the core practice with several new sentences. One target is enough for a short session. Another is skipping the check because time ran out; build the check into the timing rather than leaving it to the end. A third is treating the module as rigid. If the host teacher suggests a different structure, follow it and note the change on the card.
Used consistently, the module gives the team a shared language for planning, a clear record for the host school, and an honest picture of what learners could do by the end of the week. That record also becomes the start of a better reflection after the trip, because it is built from dated, specific notes rather than memory.