10 Steps to Better Lesson Plans

Recently, an article that I wrote for The Apple was published: 10 Steps to Better Lesson Plans.  I thought I would share it here and encourage you to check out The Apple for great lesson plans, education news, resources, and even job postings.

This is a repost of the article:

Kelly Tenkely | TheApple.com

Master teachers are also master lesson planners. They can look at a learning goal and piece together key components that will ensure that their students meet the goal. Not all lessons need to be a reinvention of the wheel, but there are several hallmarks of well-crafted lesson plans. Whether you are building your own lessons, or searching through databases of lessons, be sure to include these 10 key components:

1. Learning Goal-

Every lesson plan should have a clearly defined learning goal, after all, that is the reason for teaching! I have seen some very inventive lesson plans that lack this important ingredient. No matter how entertaining a lesson may be, if it is lacking a learning goal, it has missed its mark.
There is a day celebrated annually by students all over the country affectionately referred to as Mole Day. Celebrated every year on October 23 (10-23), Mole Day honors Avogardro’s Number (6.02 × 10^23), which is a basic unit of measure in chemistry. There are some fun lesson plans out there for Mole day (and in fact entire websites dedicated to the celebration). Mole day is uniquely celebrated by creating moles (the animal) and creating a diorama that represents a play on the word ‘mole’. For example “guaca-mole” or “Remember the Ala-mole”. Students spend weeks creating their moles and mole puns. But in all the entertainment, does the lesson completely lose its meaning?
What does the mole (the animal) have to do with Avogardro’s Number aside from sharing a name? When the learning goal is lost, so is the learning. When writing and searching lesson plans, make sure you always have a clear learning objective in mind: everything hinges on this.

2. Resources-

List the resources needed for a lesson. Nothing is worse than having the perfect lesson planned only to find that you are missing an important material. Jotting down a list of resources needed for the lesson will ensure that you have all the paper, glue, copies, etc. when the time comes to use them.
Don’t forget to list digital resources as well. Make sure if you are using technology that the websites you intend to use with students aren’t blocked at school. A great lesson you created at home could come to a screeching halt if you can’t access the video you found the night before. Also, be sure to note any of the plug-ins that may be required for a website (Silverlight, Flash, Shockwave, etc.). Often, if you can plan ahead, your tech department can confirm that you have everything in place for your lesson.

3. Standards-

It is important to note any standards being met by the lesson. Most schools are requiring a standard tie in for every lesson. Even if your school doesn’t require that you note which standards you are meeting, it is good practice to be familiar with your state and national standards. You will be surprised how many standards you are meeting in any given lesson. You may also choose to note how a lesson falls into the scope and sequence for yearlong learning.

4. Anticipatory Set-

After the learning goal, the anticipatory set is one of the most important ingredients in a quality lesson plan. The anticipatory set engages your students in the learning that is about to happen. It sets the tone for the lesson and makes students hungry to learn more. Think of the anticipatory set as a movie trailer. The trailer doesn’t tell everything about the movie but provides enough glimpses to leave you wanting more.

When I was in first grade, my teacher planted a UFO made out of cardboard boxes and yogurt containers spray painted silver in the middle of our classroom. All around the UFO were purple play dough “space rocks”. We were immediately engaged and excited about the lesson. We had no idea what we would be learning, but she already had us thinking and questioning. As it turned out, the UFO was introducing a new leveled reader we were going to read together called “My Pet Space Rock”. All these years later I still remember that lesson.

A good anticipatory set activates prior knowledge or encourages students to ask questions. Students learn, by making connections and exploring. Build anticipation for your lesson through props, secret notes from historians or scientists written to your class, a video clip, a song, a short story, or role play. Students love pretend play, so think about how you can get them to use their imagination and pretend as they are learning.

For example, if your students are studying dinosaurs, tell them they are paleontologists going on a dig. Outfit them with field journals and a ‘special’ paleontologist pencils that they can use to take notes. In my classroom, I like to use Wordles to begin my lessons. These are word clouds that you can create at www.wordle.net. I include several “clue” words about what we will be learning and project the Wordle on the whiteboard. As students come into the classroom, they guess what we will be doing based on the Wordle.

This gets students thinking about what they will be learning, activating prior knowledge, and asking questions. It takes 2-3 minutes of guessing before we begin the lesson and it readies students for the learning that will follow. It seems to me that the anticipatory set is the piece most often left out of lesson plans, and it is a shame because it’s what excites students about learning.

5. Introduction-

The introduction of your lesson is a great place to give your students a 30,000 foot view of the lesson. Tell your students what they will be learning (the learning goal) and give them an overview of what will be expected of them during the lesson. During the introduction, you can also begin to activate prior knowledge about the subject. Do this through class discussion, a KWL chart, or through small group or buddy discussion.

6. Direct Instruction-

Direct instruction is the meat of your lesson. This is where you are actually teaching or coaching your students. This can be done in a variety of ways. Sometimes direct instruction is simply giving students directions and guidelines for the self guided, discovery learning they will be completing independently or with a friend. During direct instruction, make sure that you are incorporating different learning styles. I have found that one of the best ways to teach something is through a story. Students may not recall a list of facts about the Civil War, but if you can tell an engaging story about an event from the Civil War that includes pictures and role-playing for students, they will be able to recall significantly more later on.

Humans learn and relate to the world through stories and pictures. When someone mentions September 11th, you likely don’t think about a definition type answer of what happened on that day. What comes to mind are the stories people told, the video, and pictures that you saw. This is how we construct and frame knowledge. As often as you can, teach through stories. This is a difficult task at first, because it requires each of us to become storytellers. The rewards are great and as you compose lesson plans; you too will begin to think in story.

7. Guided Instruction-

Guided instruction is the instruction that happens in small groups or one on one with students. This is the point where students have actually begun a project or assignment. As students work, you can encourage and guide students in their learning. Guided instruction gives you the opportunity to find out what your students know and can do through anecdotal assessment. You are observing and helping or redirecting as needed. Students can pair up in partners or work in small groups to guide each other in new learning or review. During this time, if you notice students who aren’t quite getting it, you can pull them into smaller groups to re-teach.

8. Assessment-

Every lesson should have some form of assessment. This can be formal, informal, or anecdotal in nature.Formal assessment is usually in the form of a test, quiz, worksheet, or project that is turned in and graded. Informal assessment can be done during direct instruction. Asking students to write down their answer on a small whiteboard and hold it up, using clickers with an interactive whiteboard, or a simple “thumbs up if you agree, thumbs down if you disagree”. These are all great informal ways to gauge understanding. Anecdotal assessment is usually done during guided instruction as you are walking around and observing your students understanding. Not every lesson needs to be graded but every lesson does need to be assessed. As the teacher, you need to know if your students understood the learning and what re-teaching or follow-up teaching may be required. Every lesson should include informal and anecdotal assessment throughout the lesson.

9. Closure-

Every lesson should have some type of closure where students can summarize or wrap up their learning.

This could be done in several ways:

  • Through informal class assessment with clickers or thumbs up/down
  • Students could each list something they learned as a ticket to line up for lunch
  • Students could write a sentence in their journal summarizing a lesson
  • Students could whisper the answer to a question to their elbow buddy
  • The class could complete the KWL chart
  • Students could blog about their experience or learning
  • Students can add a piece of learning to a Wall Wisher wall www.wallwisher.comOften times a completed project is adequate closure for students, but don’t let them just turn the project in, let students show off their work to others and discuss.
    10. Differentiated Instruction-
    Students all learn in different ways and at different rates. Make sure that you account for adjustments that may need to be made for students. For example, if you have a student who struggles with reading, and the history lesson for the day requires extensive reading, plan to pair them up with a buddy, make an audio recording, etc. Think about those who will struggle with the learning and make a plan for them.

    Don’t let these rules for lesson planning overwhelm you. After you have written out a few lessons you will be able to start jotting notes down in your lesson planner and still fulfill every one of these key components for a quality lesson plan.

    Lesson planning takes practice, but with a little planning, your students will be learning more effectively and you will know exactly where they need review or additional practice.

    There are thousands and thousands of free lesson plans online. As you are looking through lessons, make sure that they follow these rules. If there is a component missing, add to the lesson and customize it for your classroom.

    For some free lesson plan resources, please check out the article in it’s entirety on The Apple.com, you will find the resources on page 3 of the article.

  • The Children’s University of Manchester

    What it is:  The Children’s University of Manchester is a site created by the University of Manchester that has some excellent mini-lessons and interactive lessons for students on a variety of science, history, literacy, and art topics.  Topics include the body and medicines, energy and the environment, ancient Egypt, the earth and beyond, teeth and eating, micro organisms, the brain and senses, talking textiles, and words.  Each lesson is like an interactive text book where students are engaged in and discover learning.  Each lesson includes an interactive lesson, downloadable resources, educational games, and videos.  The level of interaction is outstanding for helping students to learn about each topic.

    How to integrate The Children’s University of Manchester into the classroom:    The interactive lessons on this site are perfect for instructing whole class using an interactive whiteboard.  During the interactive lesson, students can be called on to interact with the material.  Most lessons will have enough opportunities to involve the whole class.  The site is also ideal for individual instruction in the computer lab setting.  Introduce students to a new topic with these mini lessons, videos, and educational games that can be expanded on as part of a larger unit.  These mini-lessons begin with a bio of a scientist, historian, etc. in the field of the topic.  Read these bio’s together as a class and discuss these real-world applications to the topic being studied.  

     

    Tips:  Computers will need Flash installed to display The Children’s University of Manchester lessons, games, and interactive activities.  

     

    Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Children’s University of Manchester  in your classroom.

    ActivInspire

     

    What it is:  ActivInspire is a new software from Promethean that is free!  The free edition is a ‘personal’ license that can be used by anyone.  The ActivInspire software works with ANY interactive whiteboard (SMART, Mimio, Wiimote Whiteboard, eBeam, etc.)  and even for those of you who do not have an interactive whiteboard, use the software with just a computer and projector!  The Promethean Planet website has thousands of lessons and resources that are free to access and can be used with ActivInspire to engage your students.  ActivInspire has two launch options, the first is to launch in Primary function.  In Primary, ActivInspire is very user friendly for primary elementary students.  The second option is to launch in Studio with tools that are perfect for older students.  ActivInspire works on Windows, Mac, and Linux based machines.  Some of the goodies in ActivInspire include interactive protractors, rulers, clocks, grids, and more.  New power tools include intelligent shapes and handwriting recognition.  There are themed templates for fast and easy lesson building.  ActivInspire supports flash files that can be embeded in Flipchart lessons.  ActivInspire can open SMART and PowerPoint files, making it quick and easy to pick up any lesson and improve it.

    How to integrate ActivInspire into the classroom:  ActivInspire is software that can keep students engaged in any lesson in your curriculum.  The software is incredibly intuitive and makes it easy to create amazing interactive lessons.  The lessons (flipcharts) can be saved and shared among colleagues.  Begin building a library of interactive lessons for your students.  Be sure to visit Promethean Planet for thousands of ready made (FREE) flipcharts and activities to use with the ActivInspire software.  

     

    Tips:  To see the possiblities of the ActivInspire software, take a look at Flipcharts created by the developers of ActivInspire.  Promethean also has a great set of support tutorials that will have you up and running in no time! 

     

    Leave a comment and tell us how you are using ActivInspire  in your classroom.

    Woopid Video Tutorials

     

     

     

    What it is:   Woopid is one of the best sites I have seen for technology training video tutorials.  You can find a video about nearly every gadget or computer question you may have.  The videos are very easy to search by category or keyword.  Video categories include Hardware, Internet, Mac, and Windows.  Each category has a number of sub categories, I am amazed at the number and quality of videos here! Don’t see the tutorial you need?  Send in a request and Woopid may choose your suggestion for the next training video.

     

    How to integrate Woopid into the classroom:  I can’t tell you how much I learn through online tutorials like these.   The computer skills that I have did not come from a classroom, I generally learn from interacting with video and written tutorials.  I love these videos because they are easy to follow and understand.  I think teaching students how to teach themselves is a valuable skill and Woopid helps you do that.  Give students a few resource sites like Woopid, then give them a task.  Don’t teach them how to complete the task, let them use the resources to find the information they need and teach themselves.  You will be amazed at what your students can accomplish when they learn how to learn!  Woopid is also a great site to pass onto colleagues!

     

    Tips:  Parents may benefit from Woopid at home, many times parents don’t know how to set up filters and parental controls on their  personal Internet, Woopid can help out!

    Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Woopid in your classroom.

    Crayon Physics

    What it is: Crayon Physics is a freeware puzzle game. The object of the game is to guide a ball to a star. Students do not have direct control of the ball, but interact with it by drawing shapes with the mouse to get the ball to roll from one platform to another. Any object that students draw reacts as it would if it were subject to gravity. There are some great physics lessons to be taught with this game! Crayon Physics is a Windows only download right now…(I know, bummer for those of us who are Mac users! Not to worry, I have found a Mac version that I will be posting tomorrow.)

    How to integrate Crayon Physics into the classroom: Allow students to interact with Crayon Physics to learn about principles of gravity, energy, force, velocity, etc. The game is very entertaining and even mildly addictive. Your students will love learning physics with Crayon Physics. It will bring your class and all those formulas to life for your students.

    Tips: Take a look at the video above for a good look at Crayon Physics in action.

    Please leave a comment and share how you are using Crayon Physics in your classroom.

    Science Buddies

    What it is: This is one of those websites that makes me wish I was still a student! Science Buddies is revolutionizing the science fair project by helping kids discover their secret science passions. Students fill out a survey/questionnaire and based on their answers, Science Buddies gives them some topics that might be of interest to that student. Students can select the topic that most resonates with them and see a collection of related science fair project ideas and experiments. Very neat!

    How to integrate Science Buddies into your curriculum: This is an awesome site that will help students discover that they do indeed like science. The questionnaire is the perfect way to help your students discover the science topics that will hold their interest. Use science buddies at the beginning of the school year to discover what your students science interests are…this may help direct your science studies for the year! Students can use Science Buddies to help them prepare for a school or class science fair.

    Tips: Make sure to visit the teacher section of Science Buddies for some great downloads. Print out scientific method posters, guides on how to run a successful science fair and much more. This really is a must visit site!

    Please leave a comment and share how you are using Science Buddies in your classroom.

    Math Magician

     

    What it is: After playing against other students on the World Math Day site my students were asking where else they could play similar games when World Math Day was over (students asking to play math games…gotta love that!) I did a basic Google search to see if I could find something similar and came across Math Magician. My students loved racing against the clock on this very basic math fact site. The students can choose from two levels and choose to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication or a mix. They had a great time racing against each other in class to see who could finish each set of facts the fastest. This is a good basic site to practice those math facts.

    How to integrate Math Magician into your curriculum: Math Magician can be set up as a math practice center in the one or two classroom or played individually in the computer lab setting. We set up a Math Olympics where the students had some practice time and then raced against each other for the gold, silver, and bronze medals.

    Tips: Let parents know about the Math Magician site, they are always eager for an alternative to practicing with the traditional flash cards!

    Please leave a comment and share how you are using Math Magician in your classroom.

    World Math Day

     

    What it is: March 5, 2008 (yes that is this Wed.) is World Math Day. Don’t feel bad if you missed this important date, I did to until my e-friend Kim Johnson tipped me off to it. (Thank you Kim!) World Math Day even has a dedicated site. The site is preparing for a celebration of numbers as children from around the world unite to set a world record in answering mental arithmetic questions. It is appropriate for all age and ability levels. More than 20,000 schools from around the world will be participating…make sure that yours is one of them! Register your school now for free.

    How to integrate World Math Day into your curriculum: If you have access to a computer lab this is the day to take advantage! If not, set up your classroom computers to World Math Day so that students can participate throughout the day. Students will take part in a real time battle of speed and skill using the live Mathematics game engine. Students can participate from school or home. This would make for some fun math homework 🙂

    Tips: Register now and be sure to participate on March 5th.

    Please leave a comment and share how World Math Day worked in your classroom!

    Childtopia Games

    What it is: Childtopia is like 10 websites in one…they have so many cool things going on that I am going to break it down into sections so stay tuned… Childtopia Games is the biggest section with games that are psychologist recommended. Games include: memory games, language, math, skill, creativity, and observation. Each game is broken down by age group making it appropriate for three to nine year olds to play. Games are fun and interactive and reinforce skills that children are learning at school and at home. There are 1400+ games on this site and can be played in 5 languages! The site is completely free but they also offer a CD version available for purchase.

    How to integrate Childtopia Games into the classroom: Childtopia Games are fun and interactive. With 1400 games to choose from you are bound to find one that fits the skill you are working on in any subject area. The games are truly great played individually, as a center, or at home for reinforcement. Childtopia Games are perfect for students who need remedial work. This site is easy for students to navigate and very user friendly.

    Tips: This is one that you will want to bookmark for easy access!

    Please leave a comment and share how you are using Childtopia Games in your classroom.

    Nobel Prize

    What it is: NobelPrize.org is a site dedicated to teaching about the Nobel Prize since 1901. The site offers a wealth of great information as well as some fun, interactive educational games. The games and simulations are based on Nobel Prize winners and ideas. Games include: physics, literature, chemistry, nuclear weapons, medicine, and economics.

    How to integrate Nobel Prize into the classroom: The Nobel Prize website is a wonderful launching off point for teaching students about what the prize is and as a place to learn about past winners and how they have impacted society. The games show the practical purpose of the prize and what it means to our world. The subject matter of the site is definitely for older students. Students will appreciate learning about the Noble Prize with the interaction of the games on the site.

    Tips: Fill out the teacher’s qustionairre and give NobelPrize.org feedback about the site and how you are using it in your classroom.

    Please leave a comment and share how you are using Nobel Prize in your classroom.