A guide for writing a Lesson Plan that Meets the Criteria of MSMC's Rubric

(Initial Level)

Designed for Ed 2601/ 592 General Methods of Teaching

Dr. Ludmilla Smirnova

Write a lesson with enough detail that someone else could pick it up and teach it.

       1.  Choose a topic you are going to teach in your lesson (consult with your cooperating teacher or choose it from the Unit plan you designed for Curriculum Planning class).

       2.  Define what Content area this lesson is mostly concentrated on.

       3.  Identify what you want your students to know or be able to do by the end of this lesson. (Clarify whether you are introducing the new content, teaching a skill or a concept?), then design a subject matter outline (for introducing the new information); conduct a task analysis (for teaching a new skill) or a concept analysis (for teaching a new concept).

       4. There are two ways that you might go about addressing the goals and standards. You can first formulate the goals and then look for the standards that will support your goal or first look for the standards that fit the topic of the lesson plan and then formulate the lesson goals. 

       5. Once you are clear about the topic and the content you are going to teach, it is easy to select the standards that will fit in this lesson plan’s content.

      (National + NY) Choose only those standards that will be addressed in your LP.

       6.      Formulate the goal based on the standard adjusting it to the topic of your lesson. Use the wording from the standard (key idea) and add the specificity of the topic you are teaching in the lesson. Goals depend on the type of the lesson you are teaching. Formulate ONE GOAL in a DI lesson plan. (Formulate two goals for the IPM lp (one academic and one for information processing skills) and SIM (one for content and one for social skills) lp.

       7.      To meet the criterion to cross reference the standards, look through the Performance Indicators (PI) of other subject areas and choose those that will help you to teach the topic and to achieve the goal. Select two or three PI (from different Content Area [CA] Standards).

       8.      Indicate the standard of the main CA and the Standards the performance indicators of which you will address in this particular lesson.

       9.      Formulate one or two objectives using the PI that suit your lesson’s topic the closest way.

      10.  Follow the CBC criteria (Condition – materials or assignment given), Behavior (a verb from Bloom’s Taxonomy chart --- DI will be the verbs for Knowledge, Comprehension, Application levels) and the Criterion (the level of performance expected for students to demonstrate their skills or understanding of the concept) --- E.g. complete 5 out 8 problems correctly, at least one correct response in 3 attempts, pointing out at least 3 facts on the presented topic, etc. Formulate your objective in one solid sentence beginning with GIVEN.

      11.  Materials: When selecting the materials for the lesson, keep in mind the criteria for social and cultural characteristics of learners. Select the Technologies that best fit the lesson, whether or not you can count on having them available. .

      12.  The Introduction shall serve as an Anticipatory Set. Remember the anticipatory set should be finalized by explaining the WHAT (content) and the WHY (purpose) of the lesson. Make the transitions from one part to another.

      13.  Development. Indicate the model, strategy and methods you will use in the lesson.

      14.  In DI lesson the next part is “I DO IT.” Describe how you will introduce the topic or skill (presentation, demonstration, or modeling).

      15.  Invite the students to Guided practice “WE DO IT TOGETHER.” Design several activities for guided practice, drill and practice, and a lot of repetition to reach students’ overlearning/automaticity.

      16.  Accommodations. Reflecting the tools of Differentiated instruction, think how you will accommodate the slow and challenging, gifted, fast learners, and different learning styles.

      17.  Closure. Describe how you will close the lesson and how you will check if you achieved the objectives of the lesson. Remember the lesson is not about you reviewing the outcomes of the lesson. Involve students in demonstrating what they have learned in the lesson.

      18.  Independent practice. In-class (if time permits) and out-of class (homework) --- assignments that students can and will be doing without teacher’s assistance.

      19.  Evaluation (Provide the tools for 3 types: diagnostic, formative and summative assessment)

20.  Reflection (compose a set of self-directed questions to test teacher behavior, the learning materials and activities you selected or designed for the type of lesson you were assigned to complete).