In other words, when you write your lesson plans, keep in mind that knowledge and
skills in language is not a one and done proposition.
Students who learn how to give a five-minute speech are not simply done and
have no need to speak ever again.
Students who learn vocabulary in your class don't simply keep that vocabulary in
their heads, because they got an A on that last test.
In fact, it is quite the opposite.
Students are very likely to forget information that isn't constantly
brought up again and again.
I guess this is all just a fancy way of stating an obvious point.
When you write your lesson plans, connect them to each other.
Your lessons aren't little chunks of knowledge on an island,
they should be interconnected and reliant upon each other and they should
help students practice again and again, previous material already covered.
Now, why am I bringing this up in a lesson about warm-ups?
So glad you asked.
You see, a warm-up is a perfect opportunity to accomplish two things.
First, it is an opportunity to bring up and introduce new ideas.
But second, it is also an opportunity to stir up past ideas, past thoughts and
past learning experiences among students and connect them to the new information.