Lesson Plan

Hello!

I will be focusing on the alignment of your instruction and assessment to the state standards and also looking at the rigor you have built into your lesson. Please read the information below about the different parts of a lesson to help you when writing your own lesson plan.

Focus Activity: The Focus Activity typically a 5-10 min activity, discussion, review, video, etc. that serves to focus student attention on the topic of your lesson. It may also include an Anticipatory Set used to “hook” students or create interest in the topic.

Objective Statement: This statement is written using the verbiage you will use with the students. It should relate to the targeted standard and include a performance behavior to ensure it is measurable. What will you ask students to do or produce to prove they are learning?

Purpose for Learning: Be sure to explain why it is important for students to learn what you are teaching them. I will be looking for you to include real-world application for the skill or content you are teaching about.

Instructional Steps: While my focus is not entirely on the instructional strategies you use, I will be looking at these as a means to assess the rigor of your lesson. Please be VERY DETAILED in the Instructional Steps section. The idea behind this section is that another teacher would be able to pick up your lesson plan and implement it relatively seamlessly. Include the following in your Instructional Steps:

· Focus Activity and how you will tie it to your standard(s) &/or prior knowledge.

· Direct Instruction/Input – how will you present content? What questions will you ask or how will you guide/scaffold discussion to ensure the standards are being addressed? Remember that the goal is to utilize the Gradual Release Model, i.e. moving from “I do” to “We do” to “You do”. Include your modeling strategy and how you will provide both guided and independent practice for your students as they work towards mastery of the objective. Start with simple questioning during initial instructional input and modeling and lead to more complex critical thinking questions. Questions and activities should always consider and support varying levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. During Independent Practice, students should be working at higher Bloom’s levels and using higher order/critical thinking. To obtain the highest marks, questions and activities should be at the creative, evaluative and/or analysis levels that focus on the objective of the lesson and provoke thought and discussion. Again, be very detailed and include the exact questions you will ask, clarifications you will make to avoid common misconceptions and discussion topics you will introduce.

Questions for Understanding: This is where you will list some examples of the questions you will ask. Remember to include questions at the various levels of Bloom’s. I will be looking for the integration of critical thinking questions and problem solving in your lesson. Again, questions should be at the Create, Evaluate and Analyze levels of Bloom’s.

Assessment: This is where you detail diagnostic, formative and summative assessments. Include a description of any formative assessment strategies you will use during your lesson. This will include any informal activities or questioning you do throughout your lesson. Did you use choral questioning? Hand signals (thumbs up/thumbs down)? Entrance or exit tickets? These would all be forms of formative assessment. Also include in this section, any summative assessment strategies you will use. Will students write an essay/paper, create a product, reflect on & analyze lab data, be quizzed/tested, etc? These are examples of summative assessments.

Closure: Review or wrap-up of the lesson, relating it back to the targeted state standard. Will you hold a discussion of what was learned during the lesson? Will you play a review game? Will students complete an exit ticket? Explain your closure strategy. Remember that this is a good way to assess student learning and determine if further instruction or reteaching is necessary. It is also a good idea to explain to students how their learning in this lesson will connect with future learning expectations.

Looking forward to reading your lesson plan! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I am happy to assist you with your lesson planning in any way.