Multilevel Lesson Planner is an addition to the Cambridge University Press Ventures series. Accompanied by a CD-ROM with lesson plan templates, audio scripts and illustrations, the book is designed primarily for instructors using multiple levels of Ventures in a single classroom but also provides assistance to teachers using a single level of Ventures in a multi-level class. The Planner aims “to simplify classroom management and preparation for the multilevel teaching situation”.

The 44-page book is divided into four chapters:

1. Defining the Multilevel Classroom, which explains grouping strategies and materials selection
2. Ventures in the Multilevel Classroom, which covers activity sequencing and monitoring progress
3. The Ventures Multilevel Organizers, which offers explanation in adapting the organizers themselves and
4. Additional Ventures Resources, which describes other tools in the Ventures series.

The photocopiable multilevel organizers are found at the end of the book. They provide both an at-a-glance plan and a detailed plan for each lesson from the Student Book. Such detailed plans, while a bit restrictive, are useful for instructors incorporating interns and/or volunteers into the classroom because they require little to no further explanation on the teacher’s part. For the same reason, supply teachers may also benefit from the organizers. Ideally, teachers using this book would depend on a volunteer and a group leader in the classroom every day to facilitate level-specific activities described in the planners. Instructors with only occasional assistants – myself included – may have to abandon one group at a time to introduce an activity to another group. While initially uneasy about this, I discovered that my students improved their ability to work as a team and solve problems together when they could not rely on my constant help.

Additional benefits derived from grouping strategies were increased concentration and confidence in lower-level learners and decreased boredom for upper-level learners. I was pleased to see that, at least in my classroom, the book delivered on its promise to “boost student motivation”.

The caveat is the author’s assumption that instructors have other resources such as Add Ventures and Ventures Teacher’s Edition as well as a colour copier to print the visuals from the CD-ROM.

Moreover, an entire chapter is devoted to recommending “Additional Ventures Resources” that are not sold with the planner.

All in all, the book helped me manage my classroom more efficiently and gave me some valuable ideas about sequencing activities for optimal learning.