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Effective CLIL starts with good planning. β
One of the most important elements of successful CLIL teaching is preparing your lesson in advance, and the structured lesson template I provide is designed to make that process simple and reliable. It includes all the essential components of a CLIL lesson — from language aims to scaffolding and assessment — and even prompts you to plan tasks that develop LOTS (Lower Order Thinking Skills) and HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) using Bloom’s revised taxonomy.
π§ π This means teachers can intentionally create activities that go beyond basic understanding and push students toward deeper thinking.
With this template, you won’t risk forgetting anything; you can walk into class confident, organised and fully prepared, leading to a smoother, more engaging lesson for your students. π―π©π«
π What a CLIL lesson plan should include:
All the steps and activities of your lesson should be the result of an intrinsic weaving of all the elements that are required to be included into a CLIL lesson, such as:
β Defining the learning and teaching objectives through the content
π Defining the content to reach those objectives (CONTENT)
π§ Defining the HOTS & LOTS for each activity to support the development process (COGNITION – CONTENT)
π¬ Deciding on the classroom language, language for learning and subject-specific language needed to communicate learning (CONTENT – COMMUNICATION)
π Finding ways to connect what is learnt to real life and global awareness (CONTENT – CULTURE)
π Deciding how learners will carry out the activities: reading, writing, speaking or listening
Difficult? Let's make it simple!
This may sound extremely complicated and overwhelming π — but once you go through this handbook, you’ll realise it’s simply all in the planning!
ποΈ The lesson plan template will guide you to think about everything before the lesson, so that you can rely on it to run the class smoothly.
Key Elements of a CLIL lesson
- The 4Cs (content, cognition, communication, culture)
- Prior knowledge
- Learning objectives & Scaffolding
- Activities with HOTS & LOTS and cognitive levels & age in mind
- Materials & resources
- Evaluation
The elements just mentioned should be relatively all included in the steps of your lesson.
THE MAIN STEPS OF A CLIL LESSON ARE:
- Welcome routine
- Introduction to the lesson
- Presentation of New Content
- Working session
- Evaluation
- Wrap up routine
πThe Power of a 4-Page CLIL Lesson Plan Template
The free CLIL Lesson Plan Template – 4 Pages of Pure Support!
Did you know that my CLIL lesson plan template is made up of 4 structured pages?
Each page helps you think about everything you need before teaching — β content, β language, β HOTS & LOTS, β activities, β culture, whether you'll achieve the learning objectives through writing or speaking or model-making…
So you can walk into class feeling confident and organised!
πCustomize page 3
π§ One of the pages is fully customisable — you can copy it as many times as you need to design different CLIL activities or build a whole unit. This means the template grows with you and becomes your personal planning toolkit.
β¨ It’s not just a document — it’s a way to plan with clarity and never forget a key element again!
π Now let’s take a sneak peek at the 1st page of the CLIL lesson plan template provided, to see all the elements that truly complete a CLIL lesson.
