(This discussion post is used in conjunction with EYPD Education courses. The purpose is to increase awareness on the specific topic that may coincide with courses.)
Does your lesson plan really guide your instruction? What makes up a well written lesson plan? Does your lesson plan have to be approved or do you have it reviewed by peers? How much collaboration goes into your lesson planning? Do you work with special educational teachers to address accommodations or modifications? How does that look in your lesson plan? Do you use peer observations to help for improvements? How can you make lesson planning exciting so that students are “engaged” during the delivery phase? Lesson planning can NEVER be an isolation process. How much lesson planning continuity is on grade level? Schools should create professional learning communities to guide all initiatives including effective lesson plan creation.
Creating and designing a lesson is different than implementing it. You are not writing a lesson plan for administration but for your students! Take time to reflect on your lesson planning approach. Lesson plan creation does not always need to be a reinvention but it can have good components that make it more effective. The article by Janelle Cox provides teachers with teaching strategies for effective lesson planning. Read more!
February 6, 2017
Post to 5 Essential Teaching Strategies
This really hit home:”teachers think they are creating an amazing lesson plan until it falls short, and they find out it wasn’t that amazing after all.
I have spent hours on a lesson, only to find it falls flat, Other times, the most insignificant comment can launch a great discussion or lesson.
I do try to communicate the purpose of each lesson and relate the concepts to real world experiences. Today we worked on a concept lesson on absolutism, which is a really good format to understanding these basic ideas in World History…tomorrow we will look at current leaders who possess these attributes. I modeled the work, doing the first example with the entire class, then set teams to work on developing attributes common to these kings and czars. I roamed the class, making sure each team was getting the point and staying on task. So what’s the take away? The lesson that worked with one group may not work as well with another.
The positive side of excessive planning is that I try to think through the thought process of each lesson to make sure that I have all the materials I need, that my handouts make sense to the students, that I have the visuals (pictures, maps, timelines, graphs, charts, etc) that really drive the point home. I am always revamping lessons to improve and insure the lesson meets the objective.
I know for me I spend hours working on lesson plans. Several times I thought that I had a solid plan, but when it was reviewed by administration there were changes that could be made to make it better. One thing for me that I notice, I can have a well written plan with all components, but sometimes on delivery I leave out a component. Usually time plays a factor. I think as educators we need to seek opportunities on how to improve our craft, and that includes writing lesson plans.