Lesson Planning: Development 101

hello and welcome to teachings in education i am your narrator frank avella in this presentation we will explore all aspects of lesson planning here educators will be able to view a complete framework for designing excellent lessons now let's begin with a quick overview of what a lesson plan actually is actually that lesson plans are what students should learn in class for example in a geometry course students should learn about geometric shapes just the same in a chemistry course students should learn about the structure of an atom teachers may use their lessons as their daily guide to instruction and learning different ideas topics of discussion concepts essential questions and activities should all be laid out for the teacher to view whenever they need and lesson planning is also a large part of the teaching community educators can share ideas find great activities and mentor each other all in an effort to advance learning for the student the next topic will answer the question of why is it important to actually plan lesson now many educators believe that lesson planning is unnecessary however it's actually the first step towards student achievement lesson planning means being prepared preparation is key to success a popular military saying is that failing to prepare is preparing to fail lesson planning is a form of preparation where educators basically lay out a plan for for students to succeed start the lesson at point a and get to point b teaching is an art that's what makes it special the lesson plan is the canvas and the teacher is the artist lesson plans allow teachers to create lesson plans are important for creating structure for example begin with an anticipatory set then a short lecture followed by an exit ticket and at the end of the day the teacher can reflect and look back at the lesson plan then they can compare it with what was actually achieved in the lesson continuing we'll look at some planning guidelines for educators to consider these guidelines are universal for all content areas teachers must be proactive in planning plan more than just a week in advance look at the test scores data upcoming tests etc for tested subjects such as mathematics some standards are more important than others those are the priority standards they need to take precedent and lesson planning next teachers always have to remain flexible just because something is planned doesn't mean it's going to happen and that's okay being flexible allows for new emerging curriculum lastly have a set time to plan don't wait to the last minute rushing through lesson plans will lead to poor plans and subsequently poor lessons next we'll take a look at writing lesson plan objectives most districts ask for smart objectives which is actually an acronym s stands for specific a specific objective being the ability to differentiate between plant and animal cells m stands for measurable like assessments because teachers need to be able to determine if their students actually learned anything a stands for achievable ultimately we want to put our students in a place where they can be successful r is relevant although others say realistic but the objective should be related to the larger unit and connecting themes and t stands for timely teachers should put time constraints under lesson objectives so now let's look at an example that takes all five components and puts it into one objective more than 75 percent of students will be able to differentiate between a plant and animal cell by the end of the period through formative assessments and measured by exit tickets right now i'm going to take a short break and ask that you please subscribe to this channel like and share this video also check the description for a full powerpoint presentation and some resources the next topic up is assessments lesson plans should include the big three which include formative summative and diagnostic assessments formative assessments like thumbs up thumbs down occurred during the lesson summative at the end of the chapter is to evaluate student learning and diagnostic assessments can be used before beginning a new unit to see where to begin whenever providing students with assessments teachers should examine those assessments for any types of cultural biases that may be present and hinder a certain group of people the golden rule to assessment is that it must actually assess what is being taught in the classroom when students are tested on content that wasn't taught they feel deceived align assessments to the objectives also teachers should not forget that their assessments are tools to be used to guide instruction perhaps a reteach is necessary if a large portion of the classroom failed the test the next component of lesson planning is the actual activities that will take place in the classroom activities will really engage students however it's not always easy to find engaging activities other teachers are probably the best resource to finding fun activities and resources classic games such as having jeopardy contests like beat the buzzer are always fun teachers can tailor the questions i've always loved hands-on activities try your best to incorporate as many hands-on activities into your lesson plans there are a number of educational and fun online games for students i've seen great success with younger mathematics classrooms using online games but when choosing an activity you always want to look for something that's fun engaging and standards based don't give an activity that's going to be boring and isn't aligned to the standards the next section up is going to take a look at the various learning models that teachers may consider when lesson planning here are some examples of frequently used learning models today the flipped classroom inquiry-based learning project based learning blended classroom personalized learning environment and student-centered classrooms are some of the most popular ones that you hear today before incorporating any of these models first research that model and get a full understanding of the amount of work and energy that will be required to put forward in adopting that model and if you're going to adopt a model plan for the long term multiple weeks in advance you must really commit to the model these models definitely take a lot of planning always research the model certain models such as a personalized learning or project-based learning will require the acquisition of different materials materials usually must be ordered in advance that's why long-term planning is important next the model must actually be implemented at the classroom level understanding that implementing anything new is a growing process as a teacher you're going to have to evaluate the effectiveness of the model always evaluate to the lens of student success has the model helped overall student learning the next component in the lesson planning presentation is scheduling and time of day you're going to want to consider the individual student schedules and timing for class events for example perhaps a small group of students are continually pulled out of class at 9 00 am every thursday teachers should make adjustments to work around this problem for those students in a classroom they're going to be some points where there's quote down time where students finish work early lesson plan around this by having additional work available to those students careful planning will lead to maximum learning time one lesson planning include times to stay on track and avoid getting off topic this way you're able to finish everything in one period be sure to first schedule your preferred activities and content early on in the lesson there will always be days where interruptions occur lastly know that students behave differently at different times of the day quiet early in the morning and quite rowdy around three o'clock continuing the next topic to consider is materials remember instructional materials may have to be provided to the students one example would be when planning an activity or lab experiment write down the materials that are needed in the lesson plan this helps to prevent having to postpone activities for missing materials when teaching social studies or english be sure to have primary source material on hand some examples include journals speeches archives manuscript materials and many many more providing additional diagrams for subjects such as science can help students visualize ideas and concepts write them down in the lesson plan so they aren't forgotten other materials needed to be modified beforehand as part of the lesson preparation scaffolds can give struggling students supports on worksheets that may be a little bit too difficult for them since much of the classwork students complete today is not online teachers need to make sure there are enough electronic materials for students say chromebooks software keys charges etc etc etc the next component is a bit of a debate among educators some advocate for and others advocate against homework currently there is conflicting research as to its effectiveness nevertheless the main idea is that practice makes perfect homework should reinforce what was learnt in the classroom if worksheets are the homework assignment have extra copies students will lose their assignment and want to make up work at one point or another next the amount of homework given per day should reflect the student's grade level for example first graders should get 10 minutes per day 7th graders 70 minutes 12th graders should get 120 minutes in the lesson plan write down the page number the number that the students need to complete on the pages and any other resources such as formula sheets make sure they have protractors if needed before leaving this section remember if you want to give homework make it meaningful to the students create the best learning environment for each student the classroom environment may vary and should always align with the lesson plan for the day first off consider all the different seating arrangements at a teacher's disposal such as the horseshoe the runway pair pods small groups the round table many times students are required to work in groups use paired pods take the time and lesson plan on the types of groups you want write the students names in the groups down there are many different classroom adaptations that teachers can make to facilitate learning in a particular lesson move a student's seat away from another student scene lastly if there is anything you are covering such as the theme that may incorporate standards from other subjects include these cross-curriculum standards into the lesson plans on to the next section of lesson planning which is safety provisions ensuring the student's safety is the number one responsibility of an educator teachers need to consistently review and practice fire drills and other safety drills required by the state confer with the administrators to know when fire drills are practiced and then plan around those dates always have clear paths for students with disabilities such as students in wheelchairs have a clear walkway if you're teaching in a science class have the appropriate place to store any types of dangerous chemicals and volatile chemicals know the storage procedures lastly incorporate sometime in your lesson plan to teach digital citizenship which basically describes the knowledge and skills to safely use the internet without being hacked robbed or violated in any way continuing we come upon the next section which is classroom transition the change between instructional activities effective classroom transition procedures can help teachers save valuable instructional time one of the best strategies to use is fragmentation here small groups transition one at a time rather than all students moving at once which can lead to disruptions another transition strategy is the countdown teachers simply count down from 10 whereupon students quickly and orderly move from one activity to the next there are many more transition strategies at a teacher's disposal monitor the time for transition completion evaluate it continue to try to create as much instructional opportunities as possible analyze the process and see which strategy is working best you can always make little adjustments that will increase the efficiency of the transition the next topic is important and that topic is lesson planning collaboration there are many different ways for teachers to collaborate in planning it may be general in special education collaboration cross-curriculum planning grade level planning or even same content either way scheduling a time to collaborate is usually difficult hopefully your school can build some time into the day nevertheless collaboration is well worth the effort as teachers we are constantly trying to keep pace with frequent changes in technology collaboration lesson planning is an excellent way to learn and integrate new technology that you've learned from other educators now here are some key steps towards a successful collaboration with other teachers establish shared goals keep open the lines of communication always be flexible to somebody else's ideas and everything ends in assessment so assess how the collaboration is going right now we're coming up to the last section in the presentation which is planning for special education students educators must specifically plan for the instruction of special needs students by making the use of modifications and accommodations before lesson planning for the first week read all your students iep this will give you some insight into students academic social and emotional status in the iep you'll find some recommended teaching strategies you can use those strategies to incorporate into your lesson lesson plans should also contain special education modifications which are direct changes to the content for example providing hints on exams or removing difficult questions would qualify accommodations on the other hand are used to increase access to the content thus affording students extended time and providing large screen computers are accommodation examples all this is to create a better learning environment for our students right now i want to say thank you for your time don't forget to check the description for resources also don't forget to hit the like button please share this video with your friends and don't forget to subscribe to the channel uh good luck on your lesson planning i'll see you in the next video you