Using the Lipscomb template to design excellent lesson plans

LESSON PLANNING

STEP 1: “THE EASY STUFF”

o Delete “Lesson Plan Format”

o The Lesson Title is your choice

o Leave the date section blank (unless you want to use your imagination)

o Estimated time of Lesson: For K-6 and 7-8, most lessons will run 60 minutes; Metro high schools run 90 minutes, so plan accordingly

o Grade/Subject: Again, the choice is yours. For this course, choose one and stick with it for all lesson plans

o Organization of Student Learning: In what way(s) will you organize the students to learn? There are normally multiple ways within one lesson

STEP 2: OBJECTIVES, STANDARDS, AND ASSESSMENTS

o Delete the gray box and the “ask yourself” questions when you are finished

o First, insert your curriculum standards; 2-3 standards is probably enough for one lesson plan; go to http://www.tn.gov/education/curriculum.shtml to find the standards for you area.

o Next, write out your objectives; the objective should align with the standard. It is perfectly acceptable to have multiple objectives that connect to the same standard. If you struggle with objectives, look at the “ask yourself” questions

o Finally, insert the assessment. The assessment is how you plan on knowing that the student accomplished the objective. Examples: verbal discussion, quiz, worksheet, walking around and observing, correct answers in a game, etc. The assessments mentioned here should be clearly seen within your lesson plan.

STEP 3: “I CAN” STATEMENTS AND LEADING QUESTIONS

“I can” statements are the objectives for the day, written in kid-friendly language

Important Tips for Leading Questions:o These questions should be posed to the students!o Yes/No questions do not fit hereo The Key Questions are used to help students reach the objectives,

so the Questions and Learning Objectives should be complementary

STEP 4: MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

o This section is not difficult to create; however, assessing your materials is a great way to evaluate how engaging your lessons may be. For example, if you notice that the only materials you used in the last five lessons were a textbook, paper/pencil, and a whiteboard, you probably need to reevaluate your use of materials.

TECHNOLOGY USE

STEP 5: THE SET

o In most cases, the set is 5-10 minutes in length

o The set is where teachers “hook” their students – evoke student interest

o It is important to review prior learning and then connect it to today’s lesson

o Be clear – explain the purpose of the lesson. This is also a great time to bring the students’ attention to the white board, where your

objectives are written and visible to all

STEP 6: INSTRUCTION

o Instruction is the lengthiest section of a lesson plano Try to write in 3rd person, future tense: “The teacher will…”o It is okay to use bullet points in this section if you prefero Be detailed and clear; if a substitute came to your class to teach, and

all she had was this lesson plan, could she teach your class well?

“I do”

“We do”

“You do”

STEP 7: CLOSURE

o Closure is separate from instruction (putting the two together is a common mistake)

o A teacher can easily run out of time and forget/ignore closure. The scenario is common – a classroom full of 9th graders are working on a project; the teacher is answering questions and monitoring the class; when the bell rings, the students scatter quickly and the teacher is yelling over all the noise: “Don’t forget to do your homework!” This isn’t the most effective way to wrap-up a class lesson.

o An example of effective closure is a type of exit slip: students must answer a question about the day’s lesson before leaving on a piece of paper.

CROSS-CURRICULUM AND DIFFERENTIATION

STEP 8: ASSIGNMENT/HOMEWORK

o This section is fairly optional: if you don’t assign homework or seatwork, you can simply leave off this section or write None.

Correct grammar and spelling should always be used. A well-written lesson plan is a reflection of your hard work.

Begin with the end in mind: What do you want your students to understand from the lesson? Once you know the answer, then start planning the activities and assignments you will use.

Collaborate and share ideas! Search the internet for lesson plan topics, talk to other students and teachers, ask your children for ideas, etc. It should go without saying that you should not copy and paste someone else’s work, but there is nothing wrong with finding ideas and tweaking them to fi t with your lesson.

Use your imagination and be creative. In my opinion, planning is an area where the art of teaching can truly be found.

FINAL THOUGHTS