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Lesson Plan
Format*
List the objectives
(or outcomes) the lesson will teach.
Phrase the objectives in specific terms using actions verbs,
such as "demonstrate, list, recite, compose, recognize" etc. Strive for higher order thinking skills
-- Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Illinois
Learning Standards. List
the Learning Standards this lesson fulfills. The
Learning Standards and the Objectives should overlap nearly perfectly! Teaching Methods:
List the teaching methods this lesson will employ -- for instance,
lecture, cooperative learning, individual seatwork, or whatever.
(For each individual activity, also list the method it employs.)
Statement of objectives:
You should tell the students what they will know
or be able to do by the end of the lesson.
Write down on your lesson plan exactly what you are
going to say, then go over it carefully to make sure it's right. Something like this:
"Today we’re going to learn how to . . . "
"By the end of the period, you should be able to name .
. ." Opening activity:
This is what you're going to do or say to get the students settled down
and paying attention to you. It
can be something as simple as saying, "Okay, open your textbooks
to page 49," but it's probably more effective if it is some actual
activity that you do on a daily basis, like a five minute journal-writing,
or something on that order. Whatever
it is, it should be connected to what the day's lesson is about. Write it down on your lesson plan, along with how many
minutes you want it to take.** Assessment: Whether you do this in class, and how
much time you spend on it, depends.
Even if you're going to do the assessment at home, you should
specify on your lesson plan what the activity is worth and how it will
be graded. You should always
tell the students ahead of time whether and how they will be graded
on an activity. If the
grading is going to be done in class, be sure to build in enough time
to get it done and collected. First activity: This is the actual teaching. Describe it and list the outcome(s) and
learning standards it teaches; specify how much time will be devoted
to it and what teachng method it employs.
For example: 20 minutes: Students will work in small groups, composing
a list of the five European countries with the highest per capita incomes
in 1993 and the five with the lowest. I will assign students to groups of not more than four by having
them count off. Each group
will designate one person to write down the answers. (Remind them that all group members’ names need to be
on the sheet.)
<Objectives: students will demonstrate ability to use
an Atlas; students will demonstrate the ability to work in small groups. Learning Standard 17A: Locate, describe
and explain places, regions and features on the Earth.> Guided Practice: Madeline Hunter recommends that each activity
be followed by a guided practice, during which you have
the students demonstrate their understanding of what you have just taught. You would give them a practice problem
and watch them/help them work through it, correcting their understanding
as needed. Independent Practice: Madeline Hunter recommends that each activity
be followed by an independent practice, which may be independent
seatwork in class or work assigned as homework. The problems assigned for independent
practice should (a) be over what the activity covered and (b) similar
to the guided practice problems.
Especially at the middle school level, it is advisable to have
two short activities per class period -- about 15 to 20 minutes each. Generally speaking, the activities should be of varied types.
If the first one, for instance, is group work, the second should
probably not be group work; if one is oral, the other should
be written; if one activity lets the kids get out of their chairs, the
other should be seat work. Review of
what students should have
learned from the activities. 3-5
minutes. You can do this
with a Q & A session, or simply by telling them what they should
have learned, or by asking them what they’ve learned, or by some
kind of summary presentation. Preview. 1-3 minutes. You should always save a couple of minutes at the end of the
period to tell the students what the next day's lesson is and what materials
they need to bring. Enrichment activity. Enrichment is often outside the topic
of the daily lesson, but not necessarily so. It's primary characteristic is that it goes beyonds the boundaries
of "standards" and ordinary learning. You should offer something enriching with
each lesson. (This is what
your textbooks probably have called "exploratory.") Adaptations: Either here, or within your description
of each activity, show the adaptations you would make for Special Needs
students. Be comprehensive. List of materials. Here, you should list all
the materials you intend
to use for the day's lesson -- include things like colored pencils,
overhead projectors, videos, resource materials (books, pamphlets),
and any handouts you would need or want to use in teaching this lesson. *This on only one of many
lesson plan formats. However,
it is a good solid one that will work for you in virtually any school
and classroom type. Though
it is generally aimed at secondary teachers, it works just as well with
elementary classes as with secondary. **It is often a good idea to use a Review of previous lesson as an opening activity, especially if the lesson is a carryover from the day before or uses skills developed in a prior lesson. |
