Lesson plan

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A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for an individual lesson.

Contents 1 Developing an instructional unit 1.1 A well developed unit 1.2 Setting an objective 1.3 Selecting lesson plan material 1.4 Unit structure 1.5 Testing 1.5.1 Reliability of classroom assessment 1.6 Evaluate the lesson plan 2 Recommended reading 3 See also 4 Notes and references

[edit] Developing an instructional unit

While there are many formats for a lesson plan, most lesson plans contain some or all of these elements, typically in this order:

• the title of the lesson
• the amount of time required to complete the lesson
• a list of required materials
• a list of objectives. These may be stated as behavioral objectives (what the student is expected to be able to do upon completion of the lesson) or as knowledge objectives (what the student is expected to know upon completion of the lesson).
• the set or lead-in or Bridge-in to the lesson. This is designed to focus students on the skill or concept about to be instructed. Common sets include showing pictures or models, asking leading questions, or reviewing previously taught lessons. Get the learners' attention and motivate them to pay attention to the lesson; "what is in it for them?"
• the instructional component. This describes the sequence of events which will take place as the lesson is delivered. It includes the instructional input—what the teacher plans to do and say, and guided practice—an opportunity for students to try new skills or express new ideas with the modeling and guidance of the teacher.
• independent practice. This component allows students to practice the skill or extend the knowledge on their own.
• the summary. This is an opportunity for the teacher to wrap up the discussion and for the students to pose unanswered questions.
• evaluation. Some, but not all, lessons have an evaluative component where the teacher can check for mastery of the instructed skills or concepts. This may take the form of a set of questions to be answered or a set of instructions to be followed. The evaluation may be formative; that is to say, used to guide subsequent learning, or summative; that is to say, used to determine a grade or other achievement criterion.
• analysis. Often not part of a lesson plan, this component allows the teacher to reflect on the lesson and answer questions such as what went well, what needs improving, and how students reacted to the lesson.
• Continuity - the content/ideas/theme/rules etc. from previous day are reflected upon or reviewed. ^[1]

[edit] A well developed unit

A well developed lesson plan will be established dependent on the interests and needs of your students. It will incorporate the best practices for the educational field. The lesson plan will also correlate with the teacher's philosophy of education, which is what the teacher feels is the purpose of educating his or her students. ^[2]

There are usually four topics that lesson plans, in a secondary English program, are centered around. They are literary theme, elements of language and composition, literary history, and literary genre. A broad, thematic lesson plan is preferred because it allows a teacher to create various research, writing, speaking, and reading assignments. It allows an instructor to teach various genres of literature and incorporate the use of videotapes, films, and television programs in classroom activities. It also allows for literature and English to be taught together. ^[2]

The exact format chosen for a lesson plan will be driven by school requirements and personal tastes of the teacher, in that order. Unit plans follow much the same format, but are intended to cover an entire unit of work, which may be delivered over several days or weeks.

In today's constructivist teaching style, the individual lesson plan may not be required. Specific objectives and timelines may be included in the unit plan, but lesson plans are more fluid as they cater to student needs and learning styles.

[edit] Setting an objective

The first thing a teacher must do is decide what the lesson plan will focus on. Based on this answer, the teacher should create one idea or question that he or she wants to be explored or answered. Next, the teacher should create classroom activities that will correlate with the established idea or question. This should include individual and group activities. Once these activities are established, the teacher must identify what language arts skills will be covered in the lesson plan. After the teacher has completed these activities, he or she must guarantee that the lesson plan is equivalent to the best practices used in language arts; this includes conducting research on what teaching methods will result in a high success rate for students in language arts. The teacher must ensure that the goals in the lesson plan are compatible to the developmental level of the students. The teacher must also ensure that his or her expectations for student achievement are reasonable. ^[2]

[edit] Selecting lesson plan material

The lesson plan you create must correlate to the text book you will be using for the class. These text books are usually books selected by the school and are limited. Because of this dilemma, the teacher must take great care in selecting the most appropriate book for his or her students. ^[2]

[edit] Unit structure

The instructor must decide whether class assignments are going to be whole-class, small groups, workshops, independent work, peer learning, or contractual. Whole-class is when the teacher lectures to the class as a whole and has the class collectively participate in classroom discussions. Small groups are when students are placed in groups of three or four to work on assignments together. Although the teacher has control of this process, it may pose a problem if the students do not know how to work well together. Workshops are when students are performing various tasks simultaneously. The activities executed in the workshop must be tailored to the lesson plan. Independent work is when a student is given assignments that must be completed individually. Peer learning allows students to work together, face to face, so they can learn from one another. Contractual work establishes an agreement between the teacher and the student in which the student agrees to perform a certain amount of work by a set deadline. ^[2]

[edit] Testing

The teacher must decide how she is going to evaluate each student's performance. ^[2]

Summative Assessment Summative assessment evaluates learning needs. It usually consists of tests, semester exams, end of unit or end of chapter tests which evaluate a student's progress, performance, and knowledge. The final grade of a student is calculated based upon the student's performance in these exams. These assessments may assist teachers in adjusting future curriculum based upon how well the students retain information. ^[3]

Formative Assessment Formative assessment evaluates the process of learning in its process, and is a part of the teaching process. Teachers use formative assessment to discover holes and modify their teaching and the learning of their students. As opposed to the adjustments in a summative assessment program, the student needs are recognized immediately during the course of learning. Such an approach enables educators to raise the learning standards right. By knowing the current needs of each student, including those with lower abilities, a teacher can address them immediately. The information provided by formative assessment is to be used for modifying the teaching and learning activities in the classroom in order to get the best possible learning results. ^[3]

[edit] Reliability of classroom assessment

Reliability of classroom assessment is an controversial issue. Teachers have different grading and evaluating standards, so some put more emphasis on the amount of work performed, while others value quality. Formative and summative assessment procedures should be equally applied in the classroom. However, it seems that more stress in the modern education system (see NCLB) is put upon summative assessment, and student’s performance is evaluated mainly by means of exams. Summative assessments are easy and they provide an objective picture of the students’ skills and knowledge. However, formative assessments should be applied in the classroom more often in order for a teacher to always have adequate current information about students’ learning needs. ^[3]

[edit] Evaluate the lesson plan

As mentioned above, a teacher must ensure he or she is using the best practices to make certain that his or her students have a high success rate. ^[2]

[edit] Recommended reading

• Ahrenfelt, Johannes, and Neal Watkin. 100 Ideas for Essential Teaching Skills (Continuum One Hundred). New York: Continuum, 2006.
• Carey, Lou, and Walter Dick. The Systematic Design of Instruction. Tampa: Harper Collins, 1990.
• Gagne, Robert M., Leslie J. Briggs, and Walter W. Wagner. Principles of Instructional Design. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College, 1992.
• Ryan, Mark, and Peter Serdyukov. Writing Effective Lesson Plans: The 5-Star Approach. Boston: Allyn &Amp; Bacon, 2007.
• Salsbury, Denise E., and Melinda Schoenfeldt. Lesson Planning: A Research-Based Model for K-12 Classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2008.
• Skowron, Janice. Powerful Lesson Planning: Every Teachers Guide to Effective Instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006.
• Thompson, Julia G. First Year Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-To-Use Strategies, Tools & Activities For Meeting The Challenges Of Each School Day (J-B Ed:Survival Guides). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007.
• Tileston, Donna E. Walker. What Every Teacher Should Know About Instructional Planning Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2003.
• Wolfe, Shoshana. Your Best Year Yet! A Guide to Purposeful Planning and Effective Classroom Organization (Teaching Strategies). New York: Teaching Strategies, 2006.

[edit] See also

• Bloom's Taxonomy
• Feminist literary criticism
• Lesson
• NCLB

[edit] Notes and references