Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Chapter 10 Supplemental Materials/How do we plan lessons, and why is it important? 1

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How Do we Plan Lessons and why is it Important?

Researched, Written and Edited by Ben Caston

Making a lesson plan is one of the most fundamental and most important aspects of being a teacher. Anyone can claim to be a teacher, and anyone can find ready-made lesson plans. Not until a teacher begins developing their own lesson plans will the teacher actually take ownership of the content and methods of their teaching (Kizlik). The question is then raised, how do we create a lesson plan?

Several steps should be followed to form an effective lesson plan. First you must determine what exactly will be taught. The material to be taught must take into consideration what the students will be expected to know at the end of the lesson as well as what the school system requires students to know. Second, assess what the students already know. Include a review of what students should already know and plan your lesson to build on these prerequisites. Third, develop at least one way to assist students in learning the new curriculum. Examples are a good way to demonstrate the curriculum. Be sure the examples used are easy to understand and are relevant. The examples used should be prepared in advance to ensure they clearly express the goals of the lesson. Have the students perform examples on their own. This is a good way to determine how well the students are grasping the information. How well students perform on their own will also indicate where the students are having trouble and if the current lesson must be revised or an entirely new lesson plan must be developed. Fourth, at least one way must be developed to evaluate what the student has learned. Other than the lesson itself, evaluating a student’s knowledge is the most important step. The amount of understanding revealed in the evaluation process will mirror the effectiveness of the lesson itself. Though not all students learn at the same speed or through the same methods, if the majority of students are unable to effectively prove they have grasped the material, a new lesson, or at least better examples, may need to be considered.

Below is a basic format a teacher could follow to ensure all the steps of a lesson plan are addressed:

Grade Level:
Subject:
Prepared By:

Overview & Purpose

What will be learned and why it is useful. What curriculum is required to teach? (Most public schools will have a set schedule of what must be taught) Take things like the SOLs into consideration. Objectives (What will be taught and what the students will be expected to know) The Lesson (Teach the lesson and provide examples relevant to the lesson)

Materials Needed

• Paper • Pencil • Others Student Participation (Have prepared questions the students can answer during the lesson or an in-class activity)

Evaluation

(Prepare a quiz, homework or other assignment to evaluate each student’s understanding)

Other Resources

(e.g. Web, books, etc.)

Summary

(After using the evaluation tool, reiterate the main points of the lesson)



Carol Dinion, Ed. D. and Elementary Science Specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools, states there is one basic model of planning a lesson all other models stemmed from. The "5 Es", developed by Dr. Robert J. Marzano is the basic structure used by most American instructors. The five Es are Engage (get the students attention), Explore (explore the information, i.e, the lecture), Explain (This is the students explaining back to the teacher what they have learned), Elaborate (the teacher addresses any deficiencies in the lesson) and Evaluate (using a test, homework, quiz, etc. to evaluate what the students have understood). The beauty of being a teacher is you are often free to teach the way you want as long as the key points are conveyed to the students. This is why being able to create your own lesson plan is so important. If you use a ready-made lesson plan downloaded from the internet or from a book, it is not your own and thus your own teaching style does not truly reveal itself. Beginning teachers may use a template as presented here or may use lesson plans already created by others. Using pre-made lesson plans is a good way for a new teacher to get started and teach themselves how to make their own.

Obviously with so many resources in print and on the web, lesson plans must be in great demand. Why? Why is having a lesson plan so important? Imagine you are in a classroom. You are prepared for the lesson about to be delivered. You have read the current chapter and completed the homework. Now the teacher walks into the room. He sets down his briefcase and takes off his jacket. After greeting the class he begins to talk about the current chapter. Instead of teaching in some coherent manner, he rambles on, loosely associating his thoughts with the information presented in the textbook. Is this conducive for effective learning? Of course not.

Preparing a coherent lesson plan in advance is the only way to ensure we are including everything we must be teach the student and the material is organized in a way to encourage learning. After all, if the student does not learn the lesson, the teacher has not taught.

Preparing a good lesson plan may be time consuming, but the rewards are worth the effort. Most teachers have entered the teaching profession because of a passion to teach others what they know. If no knowledge is transferred from teacher to student, the lesson is hollow. Not only does a lesson plan increase the chances of a teacher being able to teach, it also documents the information and methods the teacher is using to teach. In many schools teachers are required to present their lesson plans to the school’s curriculum coordinator for approval. Without something on paper, there is no way the school can determine whether the required information is being presented.

Standards of Learning (SOLs) are becoming more and more prominent in today’s school systems. Whether you agree or disagree with this practice, students are required to pass these SOL tests in order to advance to the next grade. Teachers are evaluated on how well their students score on these tests and even funding for the school system is often based on the results of the SOLs. The best way to create a fun and effective learning environment while still meeting curriculum requirements is to create your own lesson plans conforming to and accentuating your own style of teaching.

Essay: Create a lesson plan including the mental process you went through to decide how you would teach the lesson. Why did you choose the examples included in your lesson plan? Why do you think the evaluation tool you created will accurately assess student knowledge?

Multiple Choice #1

Creating a lesson plan allows a teacher to ____________ in the classroom.

1. lose control 2. take ownership 3. ignore their students 4. sleep


Multiple Choice #2

Examples should be ________ in your lesson plan.

1. improvised 2. very difficult 3. carefully planned 4. omitted


Multiple Choice #3

At the end of the lesson a student should be ____________.

1. evaluated 2. exhausted 3. confused 4. ready to go home


Multiple Choice #4 (matching)

A. Objectives ____ A tool used to determine student understanding

B. Evaluation ____ Paper, pencil, protractor, etc.

C. Student Participation ___ What will be taught and what students are expected to know.

D. Materials Required ____ Asking questions and/or an in-class activity.

Sidebar:

This sidebar is intended to show how creative and entertaining a lesson can be if time and effort is devoted to it. Please visit the website listed for educational material.

http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/music_in_poetry/index.html


Multiple Choice Answers

1. 2 2. 3 3. 1 4. B, D, A, C

                                    Sources:

Dinion, Carol. Personal Interview. 18 Sep. 2006.

Kizlik, B., Dr. "Lesson Planning, Lesson Plan Formats and Lesson Plan Ideas". 20 Sep. 2006. http://www.sites4teachers.com/links/redirect.php?url=http://www.adprima.com/lesson.htm

"The Music in Poetry". 2006. Smithsonian in Your Classroom. 19 Sep. 2006. http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/music_in_poetry/index.html

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