Putting Educational Innovations into Practice.

Lesson Planning

What information is necessary in order to have a lesson plan that is clear and ready to use? Obviously, the content standard is a given because we are not going to spend time on something that doesn't register on the standard scale.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robert Desharnais on March 14, 2009 at 2:17pm

Hello. I've uploaded the Backwards Design Lesson Plan template here also for convenience.

Attachments:

Lesson Plan - Backwards Design.dot, 77 KB

Permalink Reply by Jessica on March 14, 2009 at 2:49pm

Hello everyone!... here is my lesson plan on Drosophila and the relating activty

Attachments:

Drosophila.doc, 80 KB
Drosophila NB_Workshop.pdf, 314 KB

Permalink Reply by Ron Hughes on March 14, 2009 at 3:04pm

Hi Jessica,
Nice work with your lesson plan. I liked your metaphore with the gate for phenotype! What do you think about Standard 3a. Might your students be able to predict a phenotype? If you get the opportunity to present this lesson, I would like to hear back from you regarding how it went.
Ron Hughes (Bakersfield)

Permalink Reply by Jaime Arvizu on March 14, 2009 at 3:21pm

Reply for Jessica, This is a nice beginning for the lesson plan. I'd like to offer a couple of suggestions. First, I would like to see a list of necessary academic vocabulary and how you are going to either introduce it or reinforce it. On "guided practice", who is doing the cross presentation, you or a student? One goal in California is that the students are "talking and interacting academically" almost as much as the teacher. Additionally, in the differentiation piece, instead of referring to "low income students" how else could you identify that group? Are they the academically struggling student or students without access to technology?
Thanks for your efforts with this. Kudos! Gayle Spencer

Permalink Reply by Jaime Arvizu on March 14, 2009 at 3:09pm

Sample of a Backwards Design, provided by Gayle Spencer

Attachments:

Lesson Plan_5.doc, 86 KB

Permalink Reply by Jodye Selco on March 14, 2009 at 3:31pm

Gayle, thanks for the wonderful backward planning worksheet for lesson plans! It was quite helpful to do this in a room with others around to help the Scholars - especially those that are not yet teaching. Jodye

Permalink Reply by Sara Meadows on March 14, 2009 at 3:36pm

Hi everyone,
Here is Garrett and Sara's Lesson plan on the Drosophila lab. Its a work in progress :)

Attachments:

Lesson Plan- virtual lab.doc, 83 KB

Permalink Reply by Gayle Spencer on March 16, 2009 at 1:08pm

Nice outline Sara and Garrett. I really like the pedagogy for your extension activity all students autonomy to choose their activity.
What will your procedure be to facilitate the class discussionfor the academic vocabulary? Will they simply respond with theiri description of the wods or will they need to apply it to a specific situation?
On the differentiation piece, I know you have planned to use written and verbal instructions, graphics, small group work, etc.
What is the opening activity? Garrett, I think you mentioned having the students line up by hair color...would you use a graphic with this?
Again, good job!

Permalink Reply by Claude Phan on March 14, 2009 at 3:40pm

Here's what we have so far, still needs some work

Attachments:

lesson plan 1.pdf, 1.9 MB

Permalink Reply by Mima Frangu on March 14, 2009 at 3:46pm

I will better attach my draft here:

Attachments:

Lesson Plan Virtual Lab.pdf, 2.2 MB

Permalink Reply by Gayle Spencer on March 16, 2009 at 3:10pm

Simina: You were clear in your lesson planning; well done. One suggestion would be to delineate how would will check for understanding as your students work independently. What will you look for specifically that will let you know they have learned what you wanted them to learn.
On the differentiation piece, it is common practice to partner a challenged student with one who accels, however, it doesn't meet the academic needs of the advanced student. Now, you might be partnering them in order to build student-leaders, but to use advanced students as "tutors" (though, I fully understand this is how we have all done it periodically) is no longer an acceptable way to partner. Can you, or anyone else, think of another way to pair students that does meet the academic needs of all?

Permalink Reply by Mima Frangu on March 25, 2009 at 12:09pm

Good question, Gayle. I am really interested in the possible answers to it. Since I don't have a teaching experience, it would be helpful for me to learn tips like this one. Thank you for asking.