Issue 121: Jan 24, 2011 Connections Newsletter

Developing Quality Lesson Plans

Brenda Hill
Jan 24, 2011

“The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.”  ~Mortimer Adler

There has been much written and documented about how to effectively plan lessons. There are a plethora of materials and resources available to support, aid, and help you in this planning process. Most prominent educational researchers espouse the importance of lesson planning as a tool to guide instruction and to focus a lesson. Gini Cunningham addresses the importance of lesson planning in her book, New Teacher’s Companion, stating “few factors are as vital to teaching success as having well-designed lessons.”   She further states, “When lessons flow sequentially, always reviewing prior knowledge and then constructing deeper understanding based on new concepts and skills, learning is relevant, organized, and comprehensible. Yesterday's learning is complemented by today's lesson, which leads to achievement tomorrow and beyond.”  Posamentier, Jaye, and Krulik in their book, Exemplary Practices for Secondary Math Teachers, write the “main ingredient for a successful lesson is a well-designed lesson plan. However, even though the importance of lesson planning has been addressed and reiterated over the last several decades, the depth and quality of individual lesson plans vary greatly.  So… How do you develop quality lessons plans that promote learning for all students?

Begin planning a lesson by identifying the student learning outcomes: exactly what the student is expected to learn and what you will use as evidence of a successful learning outcome.”  The Learning-Focused Strategies Model provides templates for lesson planning – Acquisition and Extending Thinking - that connect effective research-based and evidence-based strategies to increase student learning and achievement.  

Eric Jensen addresses several classroom-level success factors as “drivers of change” in his book, Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kid’s Brains and What Schools Can Do About It. He states that one of the first things we must do is align our curriculum and instruction to state standards.  In the Learning-Focused Strategies Model:  Transforming Standards into Learning we begin by doing just that. We provide a model for you to assess, identify, and clarify standards by creating a Know-Understand-Do (K-U-D) Organizer. This organizer becomes a planning tool which visually represents the learning outcomes for a unit by identifying what students should know, understand, and do as a result of their newly acquired knowledge. The K-U-D Organizer is then used to develop a Student Learning Map that includes: a Key Learning statement, Concepts, a Unit Essential Question, Lesson Essential Questions, and key Vocabulary. The Lesson Essential Questions from the Student Learning Map, which are driven by your standards, then become the impetus for planning lessons of quality that promote learning for all. The Learning-Focused Strategies Model: Connecting Exemplary Practices in Acquisition Lessons provides a plan which integrates research-based strategies and exemplary practices to actively engage students in the learning process. Students’ understanding of new information is monitored and assessed throughout instruction and they (the students, not you) summarize throughout the lesson and at the end to answer the Lesson Essential Question.

In addition to lesson planning, it is also imperative that you address the issue of rigor within each and every lesson by asking, "How do I develop quality lesson plans with rigor that promote learning for all students?"

In order to develop lessons of rigor you must first understand its meaning. In Teaching What Matters Most: Standards and Strategies for Raising Student Achievement by Richard W. Strong, Harvey F. Silver and Matthew J. Perini, ASCD, 2001, the term "rigor" is defined as, “…the goal of helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is complex, ambiguous, provocative, and personally or emotionally challenging.” This reiterates the importance of identifying, clarifying, and understanding standards in order to effectively plan lessons that promote learning. Lessons of rigor actively engage students in on-grade level learning with meaningful, purposeful, appropriate tasks and assignments reflective of state standards. As you plan lessons and assignments with rigor that are grade level appropriate, you are often required to more closely examine the indicators and benchmarks within and across each standard. Closer scrutiny of the benchmarks for each standard is imperative since many times the Key Learning is the same across several grade levels.

The following table shows the importance of closely examining benchmarks and/or indicators for each grade level: 

Science Example: 

Key Learning 8: Properties of Matter (Key Learning's 8 and 9 are written the same K-5)

A. All objects and substances in the world are made of matter. Matter has two fundamental properties: matter takes up space and matter has mass.

B. Objects and substances can be classified by their physical and chemical properties. Mass is the amount of matter (or “stuff”) in an object.  Weight, on the other hand, is the measure of force of attraction (gravitational force) between an object and Earth.

Key Learning 9: Changes in Matter

A. Matter can undergo change.

B. Matter can be changed physically or chemically.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Careful examination of grade level benchmarks for each standard reflects how rigor differs across grade levels; therefore, tasks, assignments (especially writing assignments), and evidence of student learning should also differ across grade levels. Quality lessons not only actively engage students, but also reflect rigorous tasks and appropriate grade level assignments based upon the differences in benchmarks from one grade level to the next. In striving to develop lessons that promote learning, keep in mind the importance of planning for quality instruction as you plan assignments and tasks that reflect grade level rigor.  



How do you make the most of your planning time?

Carol Brewer
Jan 24, 2011

Grade level planning time is precious. Take advantage of this time and protect it for planning. When planning collaboratively, an agenda needs to be created and followed to make the best of the available planning time. Determine this agenda from one grade level planning time to the next so you will be prepared to plan with the rest of the team. Student Learning Maps are an essential planning tool. If already provided, preview these maps and know what to prepare for the upcoming grade level planning meeting. Once you plan for the unit you can see the end in mind and everything seems to fall in place with well planned units.

Well planned units include:

  • Assessments are already created so you know the expectations and can assist students with instruction for student success.

  • A launch activity that links to prior knowledge and builds background knowledge.

  • Acquisition lessons that teach the standards and Extending Thinking lessons that take the learning to a higher level of thinking.

  • A culminating project that “brings it all together” for students. 

I suggest that you prepare all parts of the unit together. Collaborative planning is the power behind successful lessons. If only one teacher plans for one part or one subject area, then the rest of you on the team might not know the purpose and intent of that lesson. If you each bring your ideas for each part of the unit and plan it all together, then each of you will have the same expertise and expectation for delivering the lessons and activities. Coming to the planning meeting prepared with ideas is the most important thing. Planning time runs smoothly when everyone brings their ideas and suggestions and collaborate effectively. The end product is learning units that can be used from year to year.