3) Keep the Bigger Picture in Mind
Sometimes it takes getting back to basics to head in the right direction. That means focusing on what you need to accomplish in the long-term, learning from experiences along the way, and staying focused throughout.
It’s important to remember each piece of the puzzle is created differently on purpose. Just as each student will bring a unique perspective to the larger group, each lesson plan is a necessary element of the end goal. Sometimes things will work, other times they won’t. Some lessons will run smoothly and others will flop. But the ability to stay focused on the piece that plays in the bigger picture at the end of the school year will increase the productivity and effectiveness of the entire process.
The components of a well-constructed lesson plan may vary slightly from one topic to another, but each should include a warm-up activity, introduction, practice activity, production, and review. An article in Busy Teacher walks through some suggested steps of writing a lesson plan, focusing on how each step comes together over the course of a school day, and how each school day comes together over the course of a school year.
It’s best to help get students in the right frame of mind, to begin with, and start by helping them understand what it is they will be learning. Practice and production are also key and should involve work on the student’s part to learn more about the topic. And a review is necessary to bring everything full circle in a way that not only stays with the students but also could be replicated by another teacher someday.
4) Stay Flexible
This may seem to contradict the previous insights of this article, but it is just as important as everything else. Making adjustments as you go is a necessary component to proper lesson plan execution. This will obviously depend greatly on the makeup of students, their personalities, their learning styles, and how each of those things comes together into the overall classroom environment. The best place to start is in knowing each individual so you are equipped to anticipate some of the necessary changes instead of reacting to them at the moment. That could involve stepping outside your comfort zone by trying a new activity for something you’ve taught the same way multiple years in a row. Other teachers are a great place to start, but there are also so many resources onlinefor any grade level and subject area. Sometimes being flexible in the classroom means stepping outside your comfort zone to accomplish what’s best for the students.
5) What Would You Do?
Put yourself in your students’ shoes. What were you curious about when you were their age? What questions did you have about a topic? What interests you most? What do you still want to know? All of these questions are excellent things to ask yourself if you end up in a lesson planning block.
Classrooms have obviously changed in some pretty fundamental ways since most of us were in school, but that doesn’t take away from the basics of imagination, creativity and a thirst for learning. One way to embrace a changing environment is to find new ways to integrate technology into your lesson plans. There are several things to consider when evaluating Edtech in the classroom, but it’s a best practice to keep an open mind to trying something new as often as you’re comfortable.
Start your projects. Practice Lab 1
Project 1. Reading/Writing Lesson
Project 2. Listening/ Speaking Lesson
Project 3. Course, Teacher`s Book. But Set your own goals for your learners
Project 4. Stem Lesson
Build affordable inquiry and project-based activities to visualize data across science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum.
Questions.
Reading
What is the age of the students you are planning this reading for?
Describe your students’ language proficiency.
Discuss why you think this reading would be appropriate for your learners.
Listening
What is the age of the students you are planning this course?
Describe your students’ language proficiency.
Discuss why you think this video would be appropriate for your learners.
What I learned…
What I found surprising…
How my thinking changed…
Your course
What is the age of the students you are planning this course?
Describe your students’ proficiency.
List the title.
Discuss why you think this course would be appropriate for your learners.
STEM
What is the age of the students you are planning this course?
Describe your students’ language proficiency.
List the title
Discuss why you think this STEM Lesson/ Course would be appropriate for your learners.
Common Questions
Unit Goals: What broad goals or essential questions are driving this unit? Learning
Objective (s): What will students know and be able to do by the end of class that they didn’t know or couldn’t do when they came in? The Set-up Materials: What do you need on hand for the lesson? How will the room be set up?
Is your learning objective worthwhile? √ Does it advance the Unit Goals? √ Have you explicitly considered content, skill, and language pre-requisites and objectives? √ Why are you teaching this objective, in this way, at this time, to these students? Time The Hook: How will you pique students’ interest? Exploration: How will students explore the new concepts?
Start your Projects
Lesson Plan. Reading/Writing Lesson
Business/Materials