LESSON PLAN CHECKLIST

The Master of Teaching program expects that all Teacher Candidates are completing lesson plans for the lessons they
are responsible for teaching. WHY? In order for Teacher Candidates to develop a “habit of mind” as they design and
plan lessons for their students, TCs must regularly engage in lesson planning. Having a well-developed lesson plan also
demonstrates to an Associate Teacher the careful and thoughtful process behind planning an effective lesson. Writing
detailed lesson plans is an important stage on the developmental continuum of learning to teach.

This checklist was developed in consultation with OISE’s Associate Teacher Advisory Committee. It is an assessment tool
that can be used by Teacher Candidates, Associate Teachers and/or Faculty Advisors. The second page of this form
highlights a variety of lesson plan and design elements that may be considered in the on-going development of this
important “habit of mind”.

Criteria Yes No N/A Comments

Lesson plan includes:  The lesson ensures discussion
and critical analysis between
Enduring Understanding X
portrays of Thanksgiving in media
or the society and the
Curriculum expectations/learning goals/rich task X
understanding of today’s
X Wampanoag’s people
Assessment Information
 Includes the objectives on the
Description of Lesson X first page of the lesson plan and
includes a description of the
Accommodations/ Modifications X activities, as well as the specific
questions
Realistic Timing of Lesson X  Doesn’t specifically state
information on how the students
Required materials/resources included X will assessed. However, the
different activities such as
discussion and the written
components can be used as
multiple forms of assessment.
 Does not include
accommodations/modifications
for students for students such as
those with learning disabilities or
ESL students.
 The timing of the lesson is
realistic. However, I think that
more time spent on this topic
would be beneficial, as it is a very
important topic.
 The required sources to media
 are included in the lesson plan,
making it easier for teachers to
access those sources.

Lesson is:  The lesson plan does not state

the specific curriculum
Relevant to the stated curriculum expectations X
expectations so relevancy cannot
X be determined.
Culturally relevant and responsive
 The lesson plan is culturally
X relevant and responsive as it
Appropriate for the level of learners
allows students to view
Engaging for the learners X Thanksgiving through the lens of
the Wapanoag People.
Sequenced appropriately X  The level of critical thinking and
discussion that the lesson calls
for is appropriate for the grade
level of the learners because
they are being asked to question
dominant perspectives and apply
their own understanding of
complex social issues
 I personally felt that the lesson
could incorporate more
interactive activities that would
be more engaging to the
learners, rather than simply
having them review articles and
videos
 The sequence of the activities in
the plan is appropriate, with the
activities themselves providing a
piece of media for students to
review first before diving into
critical discussion questions and
then going deeper into issues of
the Wapanoag’s voices being
historically silenced as well as
current issues of them fighting to
protect their land and preserve
their language

Assessment relates to the stated curriculum X  Again, the lesson plan does not
expectations (For, As, Of) state the curriculum expectations
it is trying to meet
 However, if abiding by the
Ontario curricular expectations
for Grade 10 history, the
 assessment is related to the
overall expectation of historical
inquiry because they are being
asked to interpret artifacts and
investigate the evidence for
themselves using an analytical
lens
 The assessment fulfills the
specific expectations which are
A1.4, to interpret and analyse
evidence and information
relevant to their investigations,
using various tools, strategies,
and approaches appropriate for
historical inquiry, and A1.5, to
use the concepts of historical
thinking when analysing,
evaluating evidence about, and
formulating conclusions and/or
judgements regarding historical
issues, events, and/or
developments
X  I think it would be beneficial to
have students in groups to
review the lesson material
together and then discuss
Other:
amongst each other to gain each
other’s own understanding and
ideas and also to encourage
individual participation
Self-reflection of TC: What changes would you make to this lesson? Why?

Overall, I think the lesson is ideal as a lesson on examining the historical and current social issues of a marginalized
group and on teaching students to review artifacts through a critical lens. In terms of changes I would make to the
lesson plan, I would have students put in groups to review the provided resources together, save for the videos which
we would watch as a class first, and then have them discuss amongst themselves. After discussing, I would ask each
group to share what they have discussed. This “think, pair/group, share” component encourages collaborative
discussion among students that could result in “social constructivism”, which is learning that occurs when individual
ideas and understandings come into contact with each other. This would not just inform and add to their initial
learning, but can also help inform their final writing during the critically reflective response at the end of the lesson.
Another change I would make would be to change or add activities to the lesson that would increase everyone’s
engagement to the lesson. For instance, instead of having the students read the article, I could incorporate a group
role play activity based on Michelle Tirado’s article, The Wampanoag Side of the First Thanksgiving Story, in which
students are given roles to play, such as a narrator, Wampanoag tribe and the Pilgrims, of the encounter and
interaction between the Wampanoag people and the European settlers in 1616. I would have a script for the roleplay
 and allow students to decide in their group who gets which part. Then they would discuss and answer the same
discussion questions on the lesson plan. I would prefer to use activities such as these because it would encourage
students to be more interactive with the lesson instead of assigning them material to review. Also, because I want a
majority of the lesson to be a group effort, activities that are more interactive would be more appropriate.

Instructions:

Use the lesson plan checklist above to assess the effectiveness of your selected lesson plan. Comments can be written in
bulleted list format.