Embedded Files
Lesson Planning Overview
Lesson Planning Overview
Daily lesson plans are actually one of the last steps that I work through with my PLC when planning student instruction because of our backwards planning model. Once we have reached this point, we have already come up with the end goal for the unit of study and the pacing guid will have already been completed. Lesson plans are an instructional tool that probably sees the most revision because changes are made as students give their feedback on the previous days lesson. If the lesson does not go over well with the majority of my students, I know that there is a change that must be made in the next days lesson plan to revisit that content. These lesson plans, in addition to the unit plans and long term plans, help to hold me accountable to adhering to North Carolina Essential Standards each day because my objective must be displayed each day of my instruction.
Portfolio Lesson Plan.pdfThis is a lesson plan template for a day in my classroom. Each plan is broken down into specified sections that create the flow of the lesson and allow for the application of cross curricular learning designed to support all of my students.
Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans
Daily and weekly lesson plans help to lay out what we will be doing during the week in a clear and concise format. They are aligned to state standards and school wide expectations and are a great guide to the foundational skill sets we will cover during the week. As I move through the lesson plan each week I am able to pace myself and adjust objectives that do not go over well in the classroom. Lessons start by informing students if the daily objective so that they are aware of their goal for the day as well as my intended outcome for every student. Next, we have our structured Do Now activity, followed by the hook or framing of the lesson. The hook is designed to peak student interest in content and is a component of the 5E lesson planning strategy that we use as a science department. After the hook, we work our way through embedded checks for understanding as content is slowly introduced to students and we practice some of the content knowledge they will need to complete the end of lesson assessment or the independent practice.
By the time students have reached the independent practice we have worked as a class and as smaller groups to gain insight into content. The independent practice is what I will use to assess the lesson utilizing rigorous activities in a variety of forms including worksheets, flowcharts, graphic organizers, and other instructional tools. During the independent practice students unknowingly engage in cross curricular activities that integrate the arts (drawing and modeling) as well as other content areas. This lesson plan is essential to reviewing and honing my practices to address all students assessed needs.
Portfolio Science PLC Agenda .pdfThe PCL agenda addresses everything that we will cover in our daily meeting according to data collected, expressed concerns, and departmental expectations. Anything that may need to be changed in the pacing guide, our content delivery, or important announcements will be shown in this document. This is an example of what my collaborative planning for instruction looks like on a daily basis.
PLC Meetings
PLC Meetings
During this time I can collaborate with the entire science department because we have the same planning schedule. PLC meetings are a great way to gain new perspective into common student misconceptions and strategies to clarify content objectives. We address any teacher teacher compliance reminders like trainings, parent conference scheduling, and providing standard aligned activities to our students. PLC meetings also allow me to plan with my grade level team for the upcoming weeks as we look at areas of prior lessons that went well and address areas of improvement. PLC meetings also allow me to reevaluate data that I have collected throughout the week for the purposes of small group instruction, review activities, and to make any needed adjustments to lesson presentation. These meetings help us to hold one another accountable for what we are presenting to students and offer a support system for teachers that may need help in their planning.
Above is an example of a lesson on water distribution that includes a video featuring Jay Z and his attempts to provide clean water to families across the globe. I chose this particular video because many of my students are from foreign countries that are experiencing the same water shortage as the African village featured in the video. Additionally, Jay Z is a cultural icon that many of my students can recognize and admire,
Copy of 8.E.1.1GraphingEarthsWaterSupply.docxThis accompanying worksheet is an example of the independent practice that would correspond to these slides. There are two versions of this worksheet that provide easy scaffolding through the addition of a word bank and having the pie charts already section off.
Lesson Presentation
Lesson Presentation
Lessons to students are primarily delivered in the form of a Google Slide that is either on the smart board or placed into an interactive engagement platform called Nearpod. Lesson presentations like the one pictured are designed to deliver content in a "chunked" format to hold students attention with short bursts of information followed by an activity. They are imbedded with periodic checks for understanding as we progress to instantly collect data and provide immediate feedback to students. Each lesson follows the 5E format and will always include a form of Do Now and Exit Ticket to give me perspective into how the lesson was perceived.
My lesson presentation is important to keeping students engaged throughout the planned objective. I make sure lessons are visually stimulating, include multiple objective checkpoints, and are easily followed by all of my students. Each presentation corresponds to my lesson goal and is timed to ensure students have enough time to complete the independent practice and exit ticket at the end of each lesson.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse