Understanding what is “Acceptable” and what is “Target”

Lesson Planning and Execution:

 

Presented by Dr. L. J. Clark

Lesson Planning

 Plans should be submitted at least 2 days before the

observation.
 Lesson plans should be for lessons where you will teach new

content for your supervisor to observe; it should not be a

review or test day (Skowron, 2006).
 Plans should include all that you are planning for the lesson

and include the use of technology for the presentation of the

lesson (rating of 2) and student use of technology (a rating of
3 possible) (Hopson, Simms, & Knezek, 2001).
 Lesson plans should include more than 1 activity and more

than 1 group size. There should be enough detail in

procedures to explain the activities and some detail of what
you will say and do, and what the students will be doing and
learning (lesson content).
Lesson Planning
 Every lesson should include HOTS questions and not just
knowledge and comprehension questions. Every topic of any
lesson presents opportunities for high order thinking (Pogrow,
1996).
 Every lesson should include review of previous learning to connect
to new learning.
 Every lesson should have a purpose and importance and must be
stated orally to the students. They want to know “why we got to
learn this”.
 The objectives of the lesson must match with your GLEs or
standards and benchmarks and include where the objective falls on
Bloom’s Taxonomy (Forehand, 2005).
 Every lesson must have accommodations for diverse learners in the
strategies chosen, group size, materials used, and assessment
(Tomlinson, 2005).
Lesson Planning
 All lessons should include a plan for remediation, early
finishers, and enrichment (see ideas).
 Students needing remediation should not be given just

some extra work to do and left alone. They need to work

with someone until they grasp the concept. Break it down
into smaller pieces. Give me depth of understanding here.
 There is a difference between early finisher activities and

enrichment activities (see ideas).

 Early finishers are sometimes students who rush through

their work, but often are students who learn fast. Don’t
assume that you will not have early finishers. Early finishers
can finish an activity early in the middle of a lesson or near
the end. Plan for it.
Lesson Planning
 Every lesson should include either informal or formal assessment.
The informal assessment should be MORE than just asking
questions. Use some sort of check list.
 Not every lesson needs to include homework, but the lesson your
supervisor observes should (see your rubric).
 Not every activity, but every lesson must end with closure. Closure
is the teacher asking students about their learning. Closure is NOT
the teacher telling students what they did today or what they
learned today or “Here’s your homework” (see closure ideas) Peter
& Ryan, 2007).
 Every lesson should include a reflection of the lesson. Here’s an
opportunity to be honest and realistic about your growth as a
professional. There are strengths and weaknesses in every lesson.
 Remember: When you fail to plan well, …you plan to fail
miserably.
Implementation of the Lesson Plan
 There should be a daily routine for students when entering the
class. It helps to have an agenda on the board so students
know what will occur that day, and it keeps you focused.
 Have something for students to be doing as soon as they

enter so that you may silently take roll.

 Now that you have their attention, state and/or point to the

objective for the day’s lesson.

 Once you get them on the bus, they will need to know where

they’re going, wouldn’t you?

 Have a physical signal that you use to get students’ attention.

Mine is a raised open palm.

 When you implement activities, tell students what your

expectations are for the activity, e.g. cooperative learning

groups, games.
Implementation of the Lesson Plan

 It is easy to allow a student who is passive or not engaged to disappear

in the classroom. Call on that student to do or speak in class in a
manner that he or she will not be embarrassed. As a teacher it is your
responsibility to bring the student out of the shadows into the
marvelous light of learning.
 Learn students’ names as soon as possible so that you can call their
names to answer questions and be engaged.
 Help less-engaged, shy, passive students, and slow learners to find
success in your class by baiting them with easy questions or tasks
until you can eventually give them more challenging questions and
tasks.
 Plan for and ask open ended, thought provoking, critical thinking or
high order thinking questions in every lesson. Do a search on critical
thinking and cultivate this strategy for yourself.
 Use wait time (Wong, 1998).
Motivation
 Motivation Discussed:
◦ The motivation of a lesson is the appetizer for the meal.
◦ It is the salsa and chips while you wait for the meal to begin.
◦ When we think of motivation we think of the “hook” that baits students
to want to know what the lesson or current learning will involve.
◦ Motivation should not be a topic to test students nor should it be an
opportunity for students to complete a work sheet.
◦ The ideas must in some way relate directly to the lesson so there’s no
doubt in the students mind how the motivation relates to the lesson
focus.
◦ The motivation is a separate activity that should take no longer than a
few minutes prior to introducing your objective.
◦ In your lesson plan, you should indicate enough explanation to
communicate “how” the motivation will be used.
◦ Merely listing a motivation in the lesson plan is really not enough
(Hunter, 2004).
Motivation
 Streaming videos pertaining to the lesson focus
 Video clips related to the current lesson or

topic (Cowan, 2008).

 Objects procured from rummage sales, yard

sales or your home

 Items from vacation trips, gardens

 Relics of any sort

 Items pertaining to various cultures

 Children’s literature or excerpts from other

literature that pertain to the lesson

Remediation
 Remediation Discussed: Students needing
remediation should not be given just some
extra work to do and left alone, but should be
given tasks that are significant, meaningful
and relevant. They need to work with
someone until they grasp the concept. Break
it down into smaller pieces.
Ideas for Remediation
 Allow students to work in groups where he is assigned a partner to
work with him.
 Design alternate forms of an assignment that breaks tasks into
smaller pieces.
 Ask another student in the class to explain a concept to the student.
 Create a graphic organizer that shows the concept in another way.
 Use tables, charts, or other graphic organization.
 Reteach the concept or content using another teaching strategy by
breaking it into small bites.
 Use individualized teaching.
 Rather than giving a worksheet, tailor the work to fit the needs of the
student who needs help.
 Remediation activities must match the objectives and the lesson
(MacIver, 1991).
Early Finishers
 Early Finishers Discussed:
◦ Early finishers are sometimes students who rush
through their work, but often are students who
learn fast.
◦ They need other tasks that are significant,
meaningful and relevant.
◦ Don’t assume that you will not have early finishers.
◦ Early finishers can finish an activity early in the
middle of a lesson or near the end. Plan for it.
Ideas for Early Finishers
 Allow students to create a graphic organizer
of the concepts or content.
 Give students a crossword puzzle or

magazine featuring the content of your

lesson to explore.
 Have them to draft 5 questions that might be

used on the test and present them to you.

 Early finisher activities must match the

objectives and the lesson (Cicciarelli,

Klawitter, Lewis, Schwartz, &Shiotsu, 2009).
Enrichment Discussed
 When thinking of enrichment activities, think
high on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
 Think “analysis, “synthesis”, and “evaluation.”

 These students are your advanced students who

are ready to be challenged on another level.

 They need other tasks that are significant,

meaningful and relevant.

 You may also bring in materials that might be

used on a grade level higher than their current

grade level.
Enrichment Ideas
 Give students an open ended or controversial,
debatable question to discuss in their groups. Have
them to present the opposite view from their own.
 Allow these students to draft essay questions to

propose for use on the test.

 Always have some issue in mind that pertains to the

content to give to the students to research on the

computer or research in the school library. Then have
them to report back to the class what they found.
 When the students express strong interest in an

issue, be ready to allow them to explore a concept or

idea that pertains to the lesson.
Enrichment Ideas:
 Allow them to change the ending to a story,
change an event in history, create, debate,
challenge an idea, contrast an event history with
today, test a theory, create a dance step, and
compose a song. The ideas are limitless.
 Have students craft a questionnaire to

investigate an idea or concept from your content.

 Enrichment activities must match the objectives

and the lesson. These activities must be

significant, meaningful, and relevant.
(Croome & Saunders, 1985).
Closure discussed
 Closure is the teacher asking students about
their learning.
 Closure is NOT the teacher telling students

what they did today or what they learned

today.
 Closure informs you of what you may need to

reteach or which direction you need to

proceed in the next lesson.
 Closure references the objectives.
Closure Ideas
 With your objective(s) in mind, compose questions
that aligned with your objective and lesson. Within
the final five minutes of class, ask these questions
of students to determine whether they learned what
you taught.
 Ask them about the activities and how those

activities helped them to learn.

 Use exit tickets: Purchase 5x7 cards and have

students to write down what they’ve learned and

give it to you before they leave class. Help them
understand that they can’t leave until they write
something.
Closure Ideas:
 Exit tickets can also be used to request
students to write a question that they would
like to be answered next class meeting.
 Require students to turn to each other to discuss
points of the lesson that are important as teacher
monitors (contributed by MAT candidate).
Discourage asking questions to the whole
group for group answers because the passive
learners will simply wait for others to answer. You
want to know which of your students reached the
objective(s) for the lesson (Wolf & Supon, 1994).
Works Cited
 Cicciarelli, Klawitter, Lewis, Schwartz, Shiotsu, (2009). Early
Finishers-Book G. R.I.C. Publications.

 Cowan, J.E. (2008). Strategies for Planning Technology-Enhanced

Learning Experiences. Clearing House, 82(2).

 Croome, Saunders, (1985). Curriculum Enrichment Handbook.

Prince George.

Forehand, M. (2005). Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved from

http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom's_Taxonomy.

 Hopson, M., Simms, R., & Knezek, G. (2001). Using a Technology

-Enhanced Environment to Improve Higher-Order Thinking
Skills. Journal of Research and Technology.
Works Cited
 Hunter, R. (2004). Madeline Hunter's Mastery
Teaching: Increasing Instructional Effectiveness in
Elementary and Secondary Schools . Thousand Oaks,
CA.: Corwin Press.

 MacIver, D.J. (1991). Helping Students Who Fall

Behind: Rededial Activities in the Middle Grades. Center for
Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students .

 Peter, S., & Ryan, M. (2007). Writing Effective Lesson

Plans: The 5 Star Approach. Allyn & Bacon.

 Pogrow, S. (1996, November). HOTS: Helping Low

Achievers in Grades 4-8. Retrieved from
http://www.hots.org/article_helping.html.