Components of a

Scheme of Work

Reflection questions
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?

A Scheme of Work: a review

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

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?

Identify your students

needs
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?

Planning and preparing a

SoW
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?

How to prepare a SOW

Begin by breaking down the year into
chunks. How many themes/topics/
language skillsdo 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.)

Sample
SEKOLAH KEBANGSAAN HULU KINTA, PERAK
SCHEME OF WORK FOR YEAR ______ 2014
WEEK DATE/ TIME/ THEME LANGUA
DAY
CLASS /
GE
TOPIC SKILLS

SYLLABUS
SPECIFICATIONS

REMARK
S

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO BE

BORN IN MIND WHEN PREPARING A SCHEME
OF WORK:
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.

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO BE

BORN IN MIND WHEN PREPARING A SCHEME
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.

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO BE

BORN IN MIND WHEN PREPARING A SCHEME
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.

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO BE

BORN IN MIND WHEN PREPARING A SCHEME
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.

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO BE

BORN IN MIND WHEN PREPARING A SCHEME
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.

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO BE

BORN IN MIND WHEN PREPARING A SCHEME
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:

SOME IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO BE

BORN IN MIND WHEN PREPARING A SCHEME
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.

General Components of a
scheme 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?)

General Components of a
scheme of work
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.

Specific Components of a
SoW
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.

Specific Components of a
SoW
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.

Specific Components of a
SoW
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.

Specific Components of a
SoW
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.

Specific Components of a
SoW
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

Specific Components of a
SoW
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.

Specific Components of a
SoW
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.