Lesson Planning

For more information on learning objectives or testing, visit the Assessment page or reach out to Cimarron.

Sequence of Engagement

The Learning Center is a trauma-informed, healing centered organization. That means we accept the responsibility to create a safe and welcoming environment to limit re-traumatization, support effective cognitive resource allocation, and promote healthy emotional regulation. One way we do this is by employing the Sequence of Engagement.

"Dr. Bruce Perry’s Sequence of Engagement is guided by the understanding that when the lower brain is not regulated, the higher brain --- where learning takes place -- cannot function optimally. Simply put: scared brains cannot learn.

Before we can access students' learning brain, we have to work our way up through the lower and mid-brain by engaging them in Regulating/grounding and Relationship-building first. Be sure to take time to check-in and catch-up with students at the start of every tutoring session.

Questions to ask yourself as you plan a unit/lesson:

  1. What level of comprehension to I want my student to have when they finish?

  2. For what purpose are students reading or completing activities?

  3. How can I scaffold instruction to help this student learn?

  4. How much prior knowledge do the students have on this topic?

  5. What vocabulary words will we encounter as we read?

  6. Do my students know how to formulate (ask) and respond to (answer) questions?

  7. How can I preview the text with students?

  8. What can I do to help students maximize comprehension while they read?


1. Level of Comprehension

When we talk about levels of comprehension or learning, we often talk about Bloom's Taxonomy. Bloom's Taxonomy differentiates between the different types of understanding and the learning tasks associated with them.

  1. Literal: Explicit facts stated on the page,

  2. Inferential: Implied meaning created from explicit facts and context clues - generalization, predictions, cause & effect relationships, main idea, etc.

  3. Evaluative: Students form their own opinion on the text, identify theme - "what do you think, and why?"

  4. Applied: Students 'break down" the structure, organization, and rhetorical moves of the text.


2. Purpose

Read in order to (level of understanding) (subject/topic) so that you can (task to complete/skill to master).

  • Read in order to understand tactics during the French and Indian War so that you can compare and contrast Colonial British tactics with French and Indian tactics.

  • Read in order to understand and explain the steps in the process of photosynthesis.


3. Scaffolding

Just like you wouldn't teach someone to swim by throwing them into the middle of the ocean, we can't just throw our students into the middle of a subject or task and expect success. The Gradual Release of Responsibility Framework is designed to slowly offload the "burden" of learning from teacher to learner, without overwhelming students.

Focused Instruction - "I do it."Teach: Provide the learner with facts, concepts, rules, and procedures related to their topic. Model: Demonstrate examples of what you want to teach.

Guided Instruction - "We do it."Practice: Provide learners with the opportunity to solve/complete example; give plenty of feedback as they apply what they have learned so that they can improve their skills and abilities

Independent Learning "You do it."Apply: Students use the skill independently.

4. Prior Knowledge

Access prior knowledge by filling out a Know-Want to know-Learn chart with your student before they begin reading.

I Know: What do you already know about this topic?

Want to Know: What do you want to learn about this topic?

Learned: What have you learned about this topic?

5. Vocabulary

Word Parts

  1. Prefix

  2. Root

  3. Suffix

Context Clues

  1. Pictures

  2. Definitions

  3. Synonyms

  4. Antonyms

  5. Examples

6. Formulate & respond to questions

Understanding and answering questions is one of the most difficult parts of learning a new language. This handout will help your student understand common question words, as well as syntax.

7. Pre-Read / Preview

Many of our learners, especially our Adult ESL students, have limited exposure to written texts. Many of the aspects of reading we take for granted --- eyes moving from left to right/top to bottom, cultural context, text structure, etc --- need to be explicitly taught.

  • Identify parts of the text

    • Title

    • Author

    • Headings

    • Paragraphs

    • Captions

    • Illustrations

  • Make predictions

    • What do you think this article will be about? Why?

  • Identify the genre

    • Fiction - Fantasy, horror, romance, western, kids'. young adult

    • Nonfiction - narrative, persuasive, expository, descriptive

    • Poetry

  • Pre-teach necessary vocabulary

  • Provide context, such as the author's background/biography, or the time/place that the text was written in.

8. Maximize Comprehension

The dramatistic pentad ("comprehension star") allows us to map and analyze the relationships between the five elements of a situation or text.