A Guide to lesson planning
Plan ahead for smooth-running instructional activities. Be sure the plans are appropriate for the intended learners, provide for student involvement, maintain whole class focus and do not rely on seatwork. Reviewing your lesson plans the day before will help you be prepared mentally to teach the next day. They also serve as a great reminder of any test/quiz/or study guide that you may need to make. All teachers at ACS must complete 2 weeks of lesson plans at a time. This helps us to meet target goals and ensure that we have enough points at the end of each nine weeks.
NOTE: Try to plan ahead! Remember that each nine week period can go by very quickly. Every class needs to have a minimum of 600 points by the end of the nine weeks grading period. Planning ahead will help you to reach that goal!
Should you be absent for any reason, lesson plans will help the sub and your supervisor ensure that the students have a good experience while you are gone. This is why we require teachers to have up to date Sub-folders. We never know what may come up! Sometimes teachers wake up ill and need to secure a sub at the last minute. Please make sure you keep your seating chart current and be as detailed as possible when leaving lesson plans for a substitute to teach.
Planning is a crucial factor in effective teaching. The following 7 lesson elements have a direct effect on student learning.
1. Bellwork: A bellringer activity helps students establish attention and mental readiness for the instruction to follow. It could also provide brief practice in previously achieved related learning.
2. Learning Targets: The teacher should communicate to students not only what they should be able to do by the end of the lesson, but also the importance, usefulness and relevance of that accomplishment.
3. Assessment: The teacher observes student performance to see that they have mastered skills needed to achieve the learning target. Informal assessments will help the teacher gauge the audience and focus on area of weakness before a formal assessment is given.
4. Technology: Teachers have to learn how to use latest new educational technology so that they also simplify the way they do their Job. Technology provides educators effective ways to teach and reach different types of students. Technology can also bond the relationship between teachers and their students. It is also important to incorporate modern technology in classrooms as a way of preparing students for the outside tech demanding jobs and tasks.
5. Instructional Strategies: In this step, the teacher identifies and communicates necessary information. Methods could include demonstration, the use of pictures, diagrams, or audio-visuals. Lecturing should be kept to a minimum.
6. Guided Practice: Students perform tasks using newly mastered skills under close teacher supervision. From our life experiences, we all know the importance of practice in order to get better at something. It is important for us as educators, then, to not only provide opportunities for students to practice, but to practice correctly. Through practice with feedback, students learn to correct errors or mistakes and master a skill or concept.
7. Independent Practice: Once students can perform accurately and with confidence, they are ready to practice the new skill or process independently. Independent Practice can take the form of a homework assignment or worksheet, but it is also important to think of other ways for students to reinforce and practice the given skills. Get creative. Try to capture the student’s interest and capitalize on specific enthusiasms for the topic at hand. Once you receive the work from Independent Practice, you should assess the results, see where learning may have failed, and use the information you gather to inform future teaching. Without this step, the whole lesson may be for nothing.
Note for Special Projects: Copies of project rubrics should be turned in to your supervisor PRIOR to them being given in class.
NOTE: Try to plan ahead! Remember that each nine week period can go by very quickly. Every class needs to have a minimum of 600 points by the end of the nine weeks grading period. Planning ahead will help you to reach that goal!
Should you be absent for any reason, lesson plans will help the sub and your supervisor ensure that the students have a good experience while you are gone. This is why we require teachers to have up to date Sub-folders. We never know what may come up! Sometimes teachers wake up ill and need to secure a sub at the last minute. Please make sure you keep your seating chart current and be as detailed as possible when leaving lesson plans for a substitute to teach.
Planning is a crucial factor in effective teaching. The following 7 lesson elements have a direct effect on student learning.
1. Bellwork: A bellringer activity helps students establish attention and mental readiness for the instruction to follow. It could also provide brief practice in previously achieved related learning.
2. Learning Targets: The teacher should communicate to students not only what they should be able to do by the end of the lesson, but also the importance, usefulness and relevance of that accomplishment.
3. Assessment: The teacher observes student performance to see that they have mastered skills needed to achieve the learning target. Informal assessments will help the teacher gauge the audience and focus on area of weakness before a formal assessment is given.
4. Technology: Teachers have to learn how to use latest new educational technology so that they also simplify the way they do their Job. Technology provides educators effective ways to teach and reach different types of students. Technology can also bond the relationship between teachers and their students. It is also important to incorporate modern technology in classrooms as a way of preparing students for the outside tech demanding jobs and tasks.
5. Instructional Strategies: In this step, the teacher identifies and communicates necessary information. Methods could include demonstration, the use of pictures, diagrams, or audio-visuals. Lecturing should be kept to a minimum.
6. Guided Practice: Students perform tasks using newly mastered skills under close teacher supervision. From our life experiences, we all know the importance of practice in order to get better at something. It is important for us as educators, then, to not only provide opportunities for students to practice, but to practice correctly. Through practice with feedback, students learn to correct errors or mistakes and master a skill or concept.
7. Independent Practice: Once students can perform accurately and with confidence, they are ready to practice the new skill or process independently. Independent Practice can take the form of a homework assignment or worksheet, but it is also important to think of other ways for students to reinforce and practice the given skills. Get creative. Try to capture the student’s interest and capitalize on specific enthusiasms for the topic at hand. Once you receive the work from Independent Practice, you should assess the results, see where learning may have failed, and use the information you gather to inform future teaching. Without this step, the whole lesson may be for nothing.
Note for Special Projects: Copies of project rubrics should be turned in to your supervisor PRIOR to them being given in class.
A little bit of pedagogy in our lessons
ped·a·go·gy
/ˈpedəˌɡäjē/
noun
/ˈpedəˌɡäjē/
noun
- Pedagogy is the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept while the education is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university.
There is an implied hierarchy to Bloom's categories, with knowledge representing the simplest level of cognition and the evaluation category representing the highest and most complex level. Teachers can identify the level of chosen classroom objectives and create assessments to match those levels.
The Rigor/Relevance Framework® is a tool developed the International Center for Leadership in Education to examine curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The Rigor/Relevance Framework® is based on two dimensions of higher standards and student achievement.
First, a continuum of knowledge describes the increasingly complex ways in which we think. This Knowledge Taxonomy is based on the six levels of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy:
6. Creating
5. Evaluating
4. Analyzing
3. Applying
2. Understanding
1. Remembering
The low end of this continuum involves acquiring knowledge and being able to recall or locate that knowledge in a simple manner. The high end of the Knowledge Taxonomy labels more complex ways in which individuals use knowledge. At this level, knowledge is fully integrated into one’s mind, and individuals can do much more than locate information—they can take several pieces of knowledge and combine them in both logical and creative ways.
The second continuum, created by Dr. Bill Daggett, is known as the Application Model. The five levels of this action continuum are:
1. Knowledge in one discipline
2. Apply in discipline
3. Apply across disciplines
4. Apply to real-world predictable situations
5. Apply to real-world unpredictable situations
The Application Model describes putting knowledge to use. While the low end is knowledge acquired for its own sake, the high end signifies action—use of that knowledge to solve complex real-world problems and create projects, designs, and other works for use in real-world situations.
First, a continuum of knowledge describes the increasingly complex ways in which we think. This Knowledge Taxonomy is based on the six levels of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy:
6. Creating
5. Evaluating
4. Analyzing
3. Applying
2. Understanding
1. Remembering
The low end of this continuum involves acquiring knowledge and being able to recall or locate that knowledge in a simple manner. The high end of the Knowledge Taxonomy labels more complex ways in which individuals use knowledge. At this level, knowledge is fully integrated into one’s mind, and individuals can do much more than locate information—they can take several pieces of knowledge and combine them in both logical and creative ways.
The second continuum, created by Dr. Bill Daggett, is known as the Application Model. The five levels of this action continuum are:
1. Knowledge in one discipline
2. Apply in discipline
3. Apply across disciplines
4. Apply to real-world predictable situations
5. Apply to real-world unpredictable situations
The Application Model describes putting knowledge to use. While the low end is knowledge acquired for its own sake, the high end signifies action—use of that knowledge to solve complex real-world problems and create projects, designs, and other works for use in real-world situations.
The Rigor/Relevance Framework has four quadrants (A, B, C, D)
Quadrant A represents simple recall and basic understanding of knowledge for its own sake. Examples of Quadrant A knowledge are knowing that the world is round and that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
Quadrant C embraces higher levels of knowledge, such as knowing how the U.S. political system works and analyzing the benefits and challenges of the cultural diversity of this nation versus other nations.
Quadrants B and D represent action or high degrees of application. Quadrant B would include knowing how to use math skills to make purchases and count change.
The ability to access information in wide-area network systems and the ability to gather knowledge from a variety of sources to solve a complex problem in the workplace are types of Quadrant D knowledge.
Quadrant A represents simple recall and basic understanding of knowledge for its own sake. Examples of Quadrant A knowledge are knowing that the world is round and that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
Quadrant C embraces higher levels of knowledge, such as knowing how the U.S. political system works and analyzing the benefits and challenges of the cultural diversity of this nation versus other nations.
Quadrants B and D represent action or high degrees of application. Quadrant B would include knowing how to use math skills to make purchases and count change.
The ability to access information in wide-area network systems and the ability to gather knowledge from a variety of sources to solve a complex problem in the workplace are types of Quadrant D knowledge.
A versatile way to define the level of rigor of curriculum objectives, instructional activities, or assessments is the Knowledge Taxonomy Verb List (see above). The Verb List can be used either to create a desired level of expected student performance or to evaluate the level of existing curriculum, instruction or assessment.
When creating lesson plans and student objectives, selecting the proper word from the Knowledge Taxonomy Verb List can help describe the appropriate performance. Simply start with a verb from the desired level and finish the statement with a specific description of that skill or knowledge area. The Verb List can also be used to evaluate existing lesson plans, assessments, and instructional experiences. Looking for verbs and identifying their level will give a good indication of the level of student performance in that instruction.
When creating lesson plans and student objectives, selecting the proper word from the Knowledge Taxonomy Verb List can help describe the appropriate performance. Simply start with a verb from the desired level and finish the statement with a specific description of that skill or knowledge area. The Verb List can also be used to evaluate existing lesson plans, assessments, and instructional experiences. Looking for verbs and identifying their level will give a good indication of the level of student performance in that instruction.
Defining the level of relevance of curriculum objectives and instructional activities is a little more difficult than determining the Knowledge Taxonomy level because there is no verb list. However, just as the Knowledge Taxonomy categorizes increasing levels of thinking, the Application Model describes increasingly complex applications of knowledge.