Planning outstanding lessons

PLANNING OUTSTANDING LESSONS


(1) Are maps important for travelers?

There are many different ways to get from Paris to London.

How to get there depends on the main purpose of your journey.
What process one uses to get to a destination depends on available resources and time.
Is there only one set of connecting roads that represents the best route?
Which way is the best? By train / ferry / car / coach / plane ?

Learning is like traveling!

By planning well, you can be sure that you and your friends will enjoy the journey.

(2) Why sequences are important?

An effective lesson does not take place in isolation. It should be part of a series of learning episodes. Effective teachers have the ‘big picture’ in mind. This might be the learning for the whole year or term. They then break this ‘long-term’ plan down, through objectives or skills, into medium-term plans.

Excellent teachers think about this series first, deciding on the overall outcomes they want for their students. They are clear about what they want pupils to gain from the sequence of lessons and what skills they need to master by the end of the unit. In this way they create a series of effective and connected individual lessons.
If lesson planning starts with the overall picture of what students need to achieve and the skills they need to master over a particular period, it is more likely that individual lessons will be effective.

(3) What is lesson sequencing?

Lesson sequencing is the process of organizing several lesson plans that will be taught consecutively. The purpose of lesson sequencing is to create smooth transitions between lessons in order to meet the objectives of the unit plans and to achieve optimal learning outcomes.

(4) Why should lessons be sequenced?

Well-sequenced lesson plans benefit both the teacher and the students. Well-organized and properly sequenced lesson plans allow for a smother functioning classroom; classroom disruptions are minimized, the stress on the teacher is reduced and the learning environment is optimized for the students. Some of the other benefits to be gained from effective lesson sequencing include, the following:

Smoother transitions: Unit planning allows the teacher to be aware of the end goals of a learning segment. As a result, the order in which material is presented; that is, lesson sequencing, can be planned as well. When the teacher can plan what is intended to happen during each lesson they will be able to make the transitions between lessons as smooth as possible.
Anticipating difficulties: Clear end goals and sequenced lessons allow teachers to anticipate difficulties and problem areas. Additional supports; such as, specific exercises and activities, can be provided to assist students meet the challenge of more difficult concepts.
Better organization: The job of a teacher is demanding and requires good organization skills. A teacher who sequences lessons will know in advance what will be covered in a particular lesson. This allows the teacher to prepare photocopies, worksheets, hand-outs, etc… in advance. Lesson sequencing has some additional benefits as well; for example, if the class progresses through the material more quickly than anticipated, the teacher will be able to move on to more advanced tasks very readily since they have already been planned. In addition, if the students do not progress through the material at the same rate, the teacher will be able to set up a differentiated lesson plan to accommodate faster and slower learners since the whole package of lessons have been prepared.
The more organized a teacher is, the more effective the teaching, and thus the learning, is.
Future planning: Sequencing lessons in advance allows teachers to predict how long they think it will take to cover certain material, and then see how long it actually took when the lessons are delivered to the students. Since teachers often recycle unit plans and lesson plans over several years, they will be able to modify their planning for future years based on their experience.
Assessment checks: Since the unit plans and lesson plans have been prepared in advance, the teacher will be able to identify the optimal points in the program for checking the students’ understanding of the material and also how best to structure these assessments.

(5) What are some tips for planning a series of lessons?

1. Set overall aims for the course, bearing in mind the learners’ needs and goals.
2. Identify the specific topic areas, functions and balance the skills.
3. Consider which sub-skills (grammar, vocabulary) relate to each function or topic.
4. Decide what to include in each session by grading the content.
5. Allow sufficient time for consolidation and review.
6. Include a variety of activity types and materials to appeal to different learning styles.

(6) What are the principles of effective planning?

Aims
One of the main principles of planning is establishing a clear aim for your lesson. It is important that aims are realistic. If the subject is too difficult for the students, then they can become frustrated and lose motivation. However, if the subject is too easy, the students may become bored. Bored and frustrated students can often cause discipline problems. So it is important when planning to think about your particular class. You may find it useful to bear these points in mind:
What do the students know already?
What do the students need to know?
How well do the class work together?
How motivated are the students?
Variety
As we have seen, it is important to try and keep the students engaged and interested. Providing variety in a lesson and a series of lessons is a way of achieving this. Repeating the same kinds of exercises can become monotonous and demotivating for students. Where possible it’s a good idea to try and vary the kinds of activities, materials and interactions.
Flexibility
However well you plan you never actually know exactly what’s going to happen in a class until it happens! Exercises may take longer or shorter than anticipated, the students may be more or less interested in a topic than you imagined, something unexpected may happen during the lesson. In these cases if the teacher sticks rigidly to their plan the careful preparation may actually have a negative effect. Imagine our journey again. If the road ahead becomes blocked, it’s no good
trying to carry on, you have to find a different route.
Careful planning is very important but teachers need to be able to adapt their plan during the lesson to suit the circumstances.
This is something that becomes easier with experience, but in the planning stage it is often a good idea to consider extra optional or alternative exercises. Then, if your material runs short or you think the class might not respond well to a particular activity, you have something to fall back on.

(7) What are the steps in designing a Unit Plan?

1. Decide concepts/skills/content that you want students to learn

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  Textbook
  
• 
  Standard course of study
  
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  Material covered in the end of grade test
  
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  Other
  

2. Think about what question(s) you want the students to be able to answer
(This is often called the Essential Question)

• 
  Does a story have to have a beginning, middle and end?
  
• 
  Is water always a liquid?
  
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  Other
  

3. Decide what the student outcomes should be
See Bloom's Taxonomy

• 
  Recall
  
• 
  List
  
• 
  Analyze
  
• 
  Differentiate
  
• 
  Compare
  
• 
  Write a paragraph
  
• 
  Make a map, etc
  
• 
  Evaluate something
  
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  Other
  

4. Consider what kinds of things you will do to find out what your students already know about the material in your unit

• 
  Class discussion
  
• 
  Surveys
  
• 
  Pre-test
  
• 
  Anticipation guides
  
• 
  Concept Maps
  
• 
  Brainstorming
  

5. Decide what strategies/activities you will use to help students be successful (What do you know about the students in your class and how they learn best?)
Review the NETS for Students

• 
  Small group
  
• 
  Large Group
  
• 
  Discussions
  
• 
  Presentations 
  
• 
  Projects
  
• 
  Posters
  
• 
  Essays
  
• 
  Manipulatives
  
• 
  Art
  
• 
  WebQuests
  
• 
  Educational Games (traditional or digital)
  
• 
  Field Trips (on-site or virtual)
  
• 
  Software Applications
  
• 
  Learning Centers
  
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  Role Play
  
• 
  Simulations
  

6. Consider how you might connect to/bring in other disciplines
7. Decide what resources and materials you will need to find or develop
8. Decide how you will assess your students to see if they have learned
Make sure your assessments align with your instructional strategies; think through criteria for grades 
Include formative as well as summative assessments

• 
  Tests
  
• 
  Quizzes
  
• 
  Projects
  
• 
  Discussions
  
• 
  Rubrics
  
• 
  Class presentations
  
• 
  Class Assessment Techniques (CATs) 
  
• 
  Surveys
  
• 
  Other
  

(8) 8 Biggest Lesson Planning Mistakes

1.