One of the most important characteristics of a good teacher is being prepared. Through the preparation and execution of thoughtful lesson plans, a teacher is able to navigate her class through a meaningful adventure in learning. In addition to being an important organizational tool, lesson plans offer an opportunity for an educator to be creative and engaging.
During the course of designing my technology supported lesson plan, I was unaware of how truly labor intensive the design of a lesson plan is. As a teacher I want to make sure that my students are engaged in the material and learning. This is not a simple task. From ensuring my compliance with state curriculum guidelines and utilizing ITSE guidelines to ensure my inclusion of technology to devising a lesson plan that fits within a 45 minute class period, lesson plans are extremely challenging.
The hardest part about devising a comprehensive lesson plan is juggling the lesson plan with the overall big picture goals I have for my classroom. In a perfect world I would be able to map out the entire years lesson plans like a learning road map. I envision a giant wall with push pins, books, and post its and various pieces of colored string tying the lessons together in a cohesive plan.
However, this is not realistic. Even if I were able to sit down and plan out an entire year's worth of teaching, I shouldn't want to. Each class will be different requiring me to utilize different tools and approaches to reach them. If I were to limit myself to an elaborate design for my own peace of mind and organization I could end up ignoring the needs of my students, which is the last thing I want to do.
The best approach to designing lesson plans is to limit my "big picture" scope to units based on the readings I have chosen. I can have goals for the class, but I need to avoid being rigid in my planning as stuff happens and challenges arise. I have worked out a series of questions to ask myself as I design a lesson.
- What is my overall goal in reading this book in class?
- What curriculum standards can be applied to aid in the achievement of this goal?
- What are some effective approaches that other teachers have discovered in teaching this material?
- How does this approach work towards achieving these goals?
- In what ways can I utilize technology to engage the students?
- What means am I going to use to determine the effectiveness of this lesson?
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