Let's be honest, we've all had sessions that may or may not have been a bust! Those rough sessions usually happen in circumstances where there just wasn't enough time to think through the lesson plan. As SLPs this happens more frequently than we'd like as our caseloads get bigger and the paperwork piles up. I know I'm not only one who has occasionally whipped up a language lesson out of thin air. It's an SLPs super power. We are trained to adapt with each child in each circumstance. Those skills we worked so hard to develop make us uncannily trained to wing it. However, I think maybe winging it should be the back up plan, instead of THE plan. But this year, I'm determined to make every session count. Little steps, like making simple lesson plans, will make a big difference in my week. One thing I have never had time for with my huge caseloads was thoroughly planning out each session. Well, it's not likely that I'll ever have all the time I really need to plan every session, but I want to make sure that I at least make a plan, however simple, for each session. I've been researching some teaching strategies this summer. I feel like SLP master's programs should offer more general teaching technique classes, but maybe I'll get on that soapbox later. After some research on lesson planning here are the things I want to include in each brief lesson plan: What am I going to TEACH today? And WHY is it important for my student? What is the student going to DO to explore the concept and apply it during the session? What materials and/or games will I use? What STRATEGIES am I teaching my student so this will be useful in other contexts? What am I doing to ensure GENERALIZATION into other contexts? There were so many things I wanted to include in my lesson plans but I need to be realistic about my time constraints. I feel like giving each of these five things a 30 second walk through will make my lessons much more effective. Here is the form I made to implement my lesson planning goal. It's hard to read but the sections say: Lesson: Exploration & Application Activity Materials Strategies to help student apply this is school, at home, or with friends Homework or Generalization Activities
Keep all of your lesson plans for the whole school year in one streamlined easy-to-access place with a Google Sheets Lesson Plan Template!
Learn how to set yearlong plans, plan for a unit and daily topics, and create lessons plans.
Curriculum mapping is an essential skill for educators. Curriculum Mapping ensures a teacher teaches all the standards for the grade level by mapping out what…
Whether your lesson plans are detailed multi-page documents submitted to your administration each week, or they’re mostly post-it notes with concise bullet points, effective lesson planning requires strategy and intent. Great lessons need clear direction, purpose, pacing, and solid pedagogy. (Side note: If you are looking for engaging step-by-step lesson plans for the ELA classroom – especially for sub plans – check out my ELA Lessons Bundle with over 60 individual plans). While planning such successful, well-balanced, dynamic lessons takes time (think of all those observation lessons), if you get into a strong habit of working through a few key steps, it simplifies the whole process. And, as with all habits: the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Soon you internalise the steps and find yourself doing them without even realising it. Below are the four simple steps - G.A.D.E - I go through in my mind every time I plan a lesson. Do I always write them out in detail? Nope, but I still always work through them as I plan. What do you want students to be able to do, know, or understand by the end of the lesson? The most effective way to plan a route for a journey, is to start with knowing where you are trying to get to, right? Instruction is most effective when you, and your students, have a firm idea of the goal. When they know what they are working towards, the lesson is far more purposeful. Your goal should be able to be expressed in a single sentence or two: the more focused it is, the easier it is for students to digest and understand. I even suggest writing this on the board at the start of the lesson, for students to be able to see and reference. Examples of Goals: - Students will understand the impact of varying sentence patterns, in term of creating tone. - Having read chapter 5 of The Great Gatsby, students will be able to explain how an author develops a character in a narrative through the use of indirect characterization. - Students will be able to effectively back up their thoughts and ideas with appropriate textual evidence. [Grab a free lesson plan template here] How are you going to break down the substance of the lesson, to help students reach the goal? This is the nuts and bolts of the lesson: the lecture, activities, exercises, etc. Ask yourself: What are the most effective methods to help guide students to the goal: A lecture? A group discussion? A reading exercise? Worksheet practice? A video? A writing exercise? Station work? The key here is breaking the lesson down into varied, manageable chunks: rarely should you plan a 60 minute lesson with just one single activity. You want to think about dividing the class up into 10-20 minute segments with varied activities and modes of learning: all geared towards the overall goal. [Check out Room213's helpful blog post on how to build in time for productive struggle when lesson planning.] Examples of Segments for a 60 minute lesson: 5 min: Provocation - some sort of hook for the lesson to pre-test knowledge, or incite intrigue and interest. 10 min: Paired work 15 min: Teacher-led lecture and discussion 20 min: Individual work to practice a skill 10 min: Reflection and assessment of learning How will you, and your students, know if they have achieved the goal? This does not always have to be a large assessment task: that would perhaps be a unit goal. However, you should be able to place small milestones in every lesson to assess whether or not students are gaining knowledge, or developing their skills, and this need to be intentional. It may be a summative assessment task, but in the daily lesson it would likely be formative assessment. This should be a conscious decision when planning the lesson. Examples of Opportunities for Demonstrations of Learning: - Ask strategic questions: “How do you know that? Why did you write that?” - Use exit slips - Have students produce something which requires them to use what they have learned - Anonymous class polls or quizzes (or Kahoots!) - Self-reflections or evaluations - Written work / Projects What do you physically need to do, to facilitate the learning? Once you know the purpose of the lesson, and have a firm understanding of the activities and elements of the lesson, think about what you need to do to prepare. While this might be gathering resources, photocopying, finding passages, etc., it also should be about the space of the classroom: how best to facilitate the most effective lesson for your purpose. Think about desk layout, visual displays, seating arrangements, etc. Example of Environmental Elements - Move the desks into groups / pairs / individual etc. - Print, layout and organize materials - Have a specific song playing which relates to the lesson, for when students enter. - Create spaces around the room for station work or gallery walks etc. FREE TEMPLATES: If you are looking for a template for lesson planning: Click here to access a FREE editable Google Docs template (just go to “File” and “Make a Copy” to save the document to your own drive for editing). Want a printable copy? Click here to access a printable lesson plan template. Do also check out: If you are looking at planning a whole unit of study, read this great post by The Daring English Teacher.
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These easy to use lesson plan templates will add some fun to your planning each week! Enter your content, print, and pop into your planner!
How is school already around the corner? Summer has seriously flown by. I love having the kids at home, having no type of schedule and hanging out at the water park all week. However, I'm ready for a little more consistency in our life. I think my kids are ready for it as well. I
I'm going to share a differentiated lesson plan from start to finish. In the article Begin with the Highest Level Learner in Mind I promised that I would share the process, and here it is.
Looking to bring your lesson plans to the 21st century? Then, learn how to use Google Sheets Lesson Plan templates!
Grab our free, clickable Mega List of Themes and Skills for Pre-K & Kindergarten Lesson Plans to see what themes/skills I cover in my classroom all year!
Simplify your lesson planning for the week with a free Google Docs lesson plans template for secondary teachers. See how I use mine.
Editable First Days of Art Class Lesson Plan for Google Slides...
Check out the following ESL lesson plans and lesson plan templates to get your teaching on in style! It's English teaching made easy!
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10 Creative Art Activities for Kids, including free printable drawing prompts and art collages, plus many more creative art ideas!
