Lesson Planning

During their student teaching, Student Teachers are required to prepare written plans for instruction and to reflect upon lesson implementation and outcomes. There are many ways to write a lesson plan. Effective lesson plans do more than just list the activities for students to complete. Effective lesson plans should:

Enable the Teacher-Candidates to be prepared for variations in TK-12 students’ thinking,
Prepare meaningful ways for TK-12 students to be engaged and active in the lesson
Incorporate TK-12 students’ prior knowledge
Identify scaffolds or strategies that meet individual TK-K students’ needs

USU has a suggested lesson plan template. This template is based on lesson planning and unit planning that focuses on specific subjects, curriculum structures, edTPA prep, etc. Student Teachers must use the lesson plan template/format required by their Cooperating Teacher or the University Supervisor. Lesson plan templates vary in many different ways but effective lesson plans should all have the same essential features that enable Student Teachers to perform well in their student teaching setting and on high stakes performance assessments such as the edTPA. The following are key features that are evident in a lesson plan no matter the lesson plan format:

Grade-Level Standards – Standards could include but are not limited to: Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), English Language Development (ELD), etc. Keep in mind that almost every content area has its own set of content-specific standards. The standards provide the framework for the lesson. They inform the other components of the lesson plan.

Prior Academic Learning and Experiences – Student Teachers should be able to list and describe the academic strengths and weaknesses of their students related to the lesson. In addition, Student Teachers need to be able to connect lessons to prior learning from previous lessons. This information could be used to make necessary accommodations (via scaffolds or other strategies) for TK-12 students.

Central Focus – This is the overarching or big idea that spreads a sequence of lessons. It is similar to unit plan learning goals. It is a unifying concept that links lesson plans together. It outlines the essential literacy strategy and the content objectives that will be achieved as the result of teaching a unit of study.

Learning Objectives/Language Functions - Learning objectives are the specific learning goals for a lesson. Learning objectives should address the language functions, or the thinking skills needed to achieve the central focus. Language functions are the content and language focus of the learning task, represented by the active verbs within the learning outcomes.

Language Demands – Language demands are the specific ways that academic language is used by TK-12 students to participate in learning tasks via reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking in order to demonstrate disciplinary knowledge. Language demands include vocabulary, functions, discourse, and syntax.

Anticipatory Set/Introduction – Student Teachers need to set up each lesson by accessing prior knowledge and/or launching into the new content. This feature is like the “hook” in that it gets TK-12 students interested in the new learning. The importance of this feature is to connect the lesson to students’ lives in authentic and culturally responsive ways. Therefore, this section should include opportunities for students to share their funds of knowledge.

Closure – Student Teachers should provide a review or wrap-up at the end of each lesson. This can summarize the lesson’s learning and set up the next lesson.

Formative Assessments - Formative assessments include but are not limited to learning tasks, checks for understanding, etc. They’re done during a lesson. Student Teachers administer formative assessments to gauge how much their TK-12 students’ have learned during and immediately after the lesson. These assessments provide meaningful information that allows Student Teachers to adjust the current lesson or future lessons.

Summative Assessments/Independent Practice Opportunities - Summative assessments are assessments collected at the end of a unit or lesson. They show what TK-12 students learned as a result of instruction. These assessments must align with the lesson’s learning objectives and/or the Central Focus. TK-12 students must complete these tasks by themselves so that Student Teachers can analyze their individual performance data.

Scaffolds – Student Teachers must make sure that all TK-12 students are engaged and learning. As such, they must provide language supports, differentiation, assistive technology, multi-tiered support system, etc.

Every lesson plan has a series of activities to engage students. There are several approaches to arranging those activities. Depending on the content area, lesson plans can either follow a gradual release of responsibility model (e.g. I-Do, We-Do, You-Do- Together, You-Do-Alone) or an inquiry-based model (e.g. You-Do-Together, We-Do, I- Do, You-Do-Alone or Five E’s: Engage-Explore-Explain-Elaborate-Evaluate).

Regardless of structure, there are certain elements that should be encouraged in all lessons:

Modeling/Direct Instruction – At some point in the lesson, Student Teachers need to demonstrate, show, or explain content and/or procedures. TK-12 students need models in order to be successful. They need to observe Student Teachers and/or their peers modeling necessary strategies for the content.
Guided Practice Opportunities – TK-12 students need many opportunities to work with Student Teachers and/or other students. They need opportunities to practice, engage, and explore their new learning. They need opportunities to engage with the lesson content either through partner talk, small group activities, quick writes, etc. The goal is for students to express their thinking and learning through meaningful engagement.
Effective Content-Based Questioning - One way to engage students in meaningful activities is for Student Teachers to ask meaningful questions that push students to think about what they are learning. Student Teachers need to include a mixture of low-level and high-level questions.

Student Teachers should develop the habit of reflecting on their lesson planning and delivery. They should consider the following questions:

Were all the students engaged? What evidence supports my observations? If there was a lack of motivation, what can I do about it tomorrow? How can I apply what I know about my students to achieve better engagement?
Did all the students participate in class activities and discussions? Why or why not? Are there better ways to differentiate instruction and assessment to meet the learning needs of all students?
Were there points in the lesson that were not understood? How can I provide additional help to the class or certain individuals?
Did I begin and end on time, check the classroom environment, and work through the mechanics of the class efficiently? What evidence supports my observation?
Did I set a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow? How do I know?
Did I relate the lesson to the daily lives of the students and involve them as much as possible? How so?
Did I make smooth transitions from one activity to another? How so?
Did I achieve the objectives listed on my lesson plans? What evidence doI have over student achievement? What will I do with this evidence?
Was I well prepared for this lesson? Did I have all of the necessary materials organized for this lesson? What evidence supports my observation?
Did I select the best materials/examples for this lesson? How do I know? Is there anything you would have done differently? Describe what and why.
How did I help all students develop academic language in this lesson? What evidence indicates student learning?
What did I do particularly well today? How do I know? What can I do better tomorrow?