10 Steps To Better Lesson Plan

7/5/2017 10 Steps to Better Lesson Plans - Teachingcom
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10 Steps to Better Lesson Plans

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Kelly Tenkely | Teaching.monster.com
Master teachers are also master lesson planners.

They can look at a learning goal and piece
together key components that will ensure that their
students meet the goal. Not all lessons need to be a
reinvention of the wheel, but there are several
hallmarks of well-crafted lesson plans. Whether
you are building your own lessons, or searching
through databases of lessons, be sure to include
these 10 key components:
1. Learning Goal-
Every lesson plan should have a clearly defined

learning goal, after all, that is the reason for teaching! I have seen some very inventive lesson plans that lack this
important ingredient. No matter how entertaining a lesson may be, if it is lacking a learning goal, it has missed
its mark.
There is a day celebrated annually by students all over the country affectionately referred to as Mole Day.
Celebrated every year on October 23 (10-23), Mole Day honors Avogardros Number (6.02 10^23), which is a
basic unit of measure in chemistry. There are some fun lesson plans out there for Mole day (and in fact entire
websites dedicated to the celebration). Mole day is uniquely celebrated by creating moles (the animal) and
creating a diorama that represents a play on the word mole. For example guaca-mole or Remember the Ala-
mole. Students spend weeks creating their moles and mole puns. But in all the entertainment, does the lesson
completely lose its meaning?
What does the mole (the animal) have to do with Avogardros Number aside from sharing a name? When the
learning goal is lost, so is the learning. When writing and searching lesson plans, make sure you always have a
clear learning objective in mind: everything hinges on this.
2. Resources-
List the resources needed for a lesson. Nothing is worse than having the perfect lesson planned only to find that
you are missing an important material. Jotting down a list of resources needed for the lesson will ensure that you
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have all the paper, glue, copies, etc. when the time comes to use them.
Dont forget to list digital resources as well. Make sure if you are using technology that the websites you intend
to use with students arent blocked at school. A great lesson you created at home could come to a screeching halt
if you cant access the video you found the night before. Also, be sure to note any of the plug-ins that may be
required for a website (Silverlight, Flash, Shockwave, etc.). Often, if you can plan ahead, your tech department
can confirm that you have everything in place for your lesson.
3. Standards-
It is important to note any standards being met by the lesson. Most schools are requiring a standard tie in for
every lesson. Even if your school doesnt require that you note which standards you are meeting, it is good
practice to be familiar with your state and national standards. You will be surprised how many standards you are
meeting in any given lesson. You may also choose to note how a lesson falls into the scope and sequence for
yearlong learning.
4. Anticipatory Set-
After the learning goal, the anticipatory set is one of the most important ingredients in a quality lesson plan. The
anticipatory set engages your students in the learning that is about to happen. It sets the tone for the lesson and
makes students hungry to learn more. Think of the anticipatory set as a movie trailer. The trailer doesnt tell
everything about the movie but provides enough glimpses to leave you wanting more.
When I was in first grade, my teacher planted a UFO made out of cardboard boxes and yogurt containers spray
painted silver in the middle of our classroom. All around the UFO were purple play dough space rocks. We
were immediately engaged and excited about the lesson. We had no idea what we would be learning, but she
already had us thinking and questioning. As it turned out, the UFO was introducing a new leveled reader we
were going to read together called My Pet Space Rock. All these years later I still remember that lesson.
A good anticipatory set activates prior knowledge or encourages students to ask questions. Students learn, by
making connections and exploring. Build anticipation for your lesson through props, secret notes from historians
or scientists written to your class, a video clip, a song, a short story, or role play. Students love pretend play, so
think about how you can get them to use their imagination and pretend as they are learning.
For example, if your students are studying dinosaurs, tell them they are paleontologists going on a dig. Outfit
them with field journals and a special paleontologist pencils that they can use to take notes. In my classroom, I
like to use Wordles to begin my lessons. These are word clouds that you can create at www.wordle.net. I include
several clue words about what we will be learning and project the Wordle on the whiteboard. As students
come into the classroom, they guess what we will be doing based on the Wordle.
This gets students thinking about what they will be learning, activating prior knowledge, and asking questions. It
takes 2-3 minutes of guessing before we begin the lesson and it readies students for the learning that will follow.
It seems to me that the anticipatory set is the piece most often left out of lesson plans, and it is a shame because
its what excites students about learning.
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7/5/2017 10 Steps to Better Lesson Plans - Teachingcom

10 Steps to Better Lesson Plans

Kelly Tenkely | Teaching.monster.com

Master teachers are also master lesson planners.

Every lesson plan should have a clearly defined

Teaching School Finder

No Teacher Left Behind: Together We Can End the Struggle

Ten Commencement Speakers You Wish You'd Had

Valid Reasons Teachers Quit

Report Reveals Professional Development for Teachers Not Good Enough

Wading Through the Bureaucracy of Teacher Certification

Mixing Continuing Education With a Full-Time Job

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