Planning Effective Lessons What are the components of an effective lesson? The lesson should ensure that students are actively engaged in learning as well as reflecting upon their learning to make sense of their activities.
Five “E” Instructional Model Engage Explore Explain Elaborate Evaluate Engage: the facilitator initiates this stage by asking well-chosen questions, defining a problem to solve, or by showing something interesting to the students; make connections to past and present learning. Explore: provides the opportunity for students to become directly involved with the key concepts of the lesson through guided exploration that requires them to probe, inquire, and question; the facilitator observes and listens to students and may provide probing questions to assist students with their understanding of the concept. Explain: students begin to communicate their findings/ideas to each other and the teacher; teacher offers further explanations and provide additional meaning or information such as vocabulary development, etc. Elaborate: students extend and expand what they have learned in the first three stages and connect this knowledge with their prior learning to create understanding; teacher must verify students understanding. Evaluate: ongoing throughout the learning experience; more formal evaluation can be conducted at this stage.
The Lesson Cycle Objectives Purpose Anticipatory Set Teaching: Input Teaching: Modeling Teaching: Checking for Understanding Guided Practice Independent Practice Closure Objectives: what should the students be able to do, understand, care about as a result of the teaching. Purpose: why should students learn this concept: connect to real world experience…be specific. Anticipatory Set: to focus students attention to the lesson Teaching: Input – the teacher provides the info needed for students to gain the knowledge or skill through lecture, graphical representations, hands-on, etc. Teaching: Modeling – once the material has been presented, the teacher uses it to show students examples of what is expected as an end product of their work. Teaching: Checking for Understanding – determination of whether students have “got it” before proceeding. If there is any doubt that the class has not understood, the concept/skill should be retaught before practice begins; ask questions that go beyond mere recall. Guided Practice: an opportunity for each student to demonstrate understanding of new learning by working through an activity or exercise under the teacher’s direct supervision. Independent Practice: once students have mastered the content or skill, it is time to provide for reinforcement practice. It is provided on a repeating schedule so that learning is not forgotten. Closure: activities or statements used to help students bring things together in their own minds, to make sense out of what has just been taught.
How do we make learning relevant and meaningful for all students? Real World Connections (RWC) Academic Viewpoint – creative thinking…Bloom’s Questioning Assessment Viewpoint – Deductive Reasoning (TAKS)…HOTS…requires intellectual discipline
SHS Template
Sample Lesson #1 Using 5E Instructional Approach How Much Will I Earn? Given the state of the economy, students should be able to relate to content.
Engage To “Engage” the students for this lesson, ask the facilitation questions pertaining to minimum wage and earnings on the “How Much Will I Earn?” handout.
Explore In the “Explore” portion of this lesson students will make a table, a graph, formulate an equation, and find the solution for the problem presented in Sidrah’s Job. Group students into small groups of two or three. If you have time, the students can put their graph, table, equation, and solution on a sheet of chart paper and post them on the walls. After students complete the activity sheet, pair two groups together and let them share their solutions with each other.
Explain In the “Explain” part of this lesson students will be investigating what happens to the table, graph, and equation as the situation changes. Have students work in pairs to see if they can complete Sidrah’s Job, Part 2. After students have finished the activity sheets let each group choose one part (table, graph, or equation) of a problem to explain. If they need help, be ready to step in and assist. Students will understand more if they can explain the solution to someone else.
Ways to Represent a Linear Function Concept Map Ways to Represent a Linear Function We have been representing linear functions in various ways. Not only have we looked at the equation, but also at the table, graph, and verbal description. On the concept map, add definitions and visually describe the various ways of representing a function. Emphasize the importance of multiple representations.
Elaborate In the “Elaborate” portion of this lesson students should work in small groups of 2 or 3. Students will answer the questions that appear on the cards they have using the “What is the Meaning of This?” handout.
Evaluate In the “Evaluate” portion of this lesson students will complete an independent practice exercise/task.
Teachers’ Sample Lesson Reflect on a lesson that you taught this past week and use the 5E Instructional Model to identify the parts of the lesson that addressed each component of this instructional tool.
Sample Lesson #2 Using 5E Instructional Approach Translations on the Coordinate Plane
Engage This activity is designed to encourage students to explore their prior knowledge about transformations. Students should be in cooperative groups where they can compare their graphs and discuss their conjectures about the rules for the transformations. Display Transparency 1
Explore This part of the lesson is designed for small groups of two to four students. Students should be encouraged to interact with each other. The teacher should be moving around the room facilitating the activity. Provide each student group with patty paper (tracing paper) and the Activity 1: “Translations” activity sheet.
Explain This part of the lesson is a teacher-directed discussion of the concepts involved in the lesson. Use the questions on the “Translations” activity sheet as facilitation questions to facilitate the discussion of the exploratory activity.
Elaborate In this part of the lesson students should be working in small groups of two to four students applying and extending their knowledge from the earlier part of the lesson. Distribute “Activity 2” to each student.
Evaluate In the “Evaluate” portion of this lesson students will complete an independent practice exercise/task.