Lesson Preparation

Use this format to prepare lessons for use with elementary students.

1. Know your objective(s): Write your goal for each lesson at the top of your lesson plan. Keep it simple. It should state clearly what students will be able to do when the lesson is complete: “Students will be able to…”
2. Identify your students: “Who am I going to educate and what are their learning styles?”
3. Create an overview: Outline the big ideas.
4. Plan a timeline: Use a timeline to ensure there is enough time during class to address each big idea.
   1. “I have 4 big ideas to cover and 40 minutes to cover them in sequence. Big idea one will take approximately 10 minutes, big idea two will take approximately 15 minutes, etc.”
   2. “Do I have enough time to cover all the big ideas in one lesson?”
   3. “How will I chunk the time?”
   4. “How will I deal with delays and extra questions or students/groups who struggle?”
5. Fill in the timeline: Use the timeline to ensure there is enough time during class to address each step as well as each big idea (e.g., 9:00-9:05: Group students. 9:05-9:10: Assign a different paragraph from the chapter to each group. 9:10-9:20: Students should think about the author’s meaning in the paragraph, etc.).
6. Plan multiple student interaction patterns: Review your timeline with consideration of which students do well on their own, in pairs, or in groups. Try to allow opportunities for the most effective student interactions. Use multiple interaction patterns whenever possible.
7. Body of lesson: Student warmup activities, followed by presentation of the information. Relate it to previous knowledge. Plan to talk about what students are learning.
8. Opportunity to practice: Provide a student activity, work through problems, answer questions, and engage in an activity that will reinforce learning.
9. Closure: Check for learning. Ask students debriefing questions to assess their learning, give students the opportunity to ask for clarification.
10. Summary: Review main points of what has been covered and identify steps taken to solve a problem. Refer to the next day's activities: remind students of any materials required and homework assignments due for the next day.

This must include the goals and objectives. For the unit and the lesson, include the evaluation criteria and connections with other lessons. The planning content must also include an introduction, and the following objectives for students:

• Focus on the topic
• Connections
• Interest and relevance
• Routines
• Advance organizers (it may be useful to have an outline of activities on the board at the front of the class)

In the presentation of information, include an overview of any new material.

Teacher behavior and activity will include demonstrations, visual representations, anecdotes, challenges, and problems.

The teacher must also provide the evaluation criteria when any exercise is assigned. When providing the summary, be sure to issue reminders and advance organizers for the next lesson.

Student behavior and actions to be anticipated include reading, completion of exercises, group work, and a question period. Remember that not all students have skills to work in groups. Student behavior around group work will be dramatically affected by the guidance and preparation provided by the teacher, and by peers with appropriate group work skills.