The Best Laid Plans Lesson Planning in BRRSD Planning for Instruction to Meet the Needs of All Learners Cheryl Dyer Assistant Superintendent

Whom am I planning for?

What am I planning for?  To meet curriculum expectations  To meet the needs of the learners  To reduce problems with classroom management  To ensure that sufficient data is generated to evaluate student progress

Teaching is only as good as the learning that takes place:  A lesson is only as effective as in its reflection in student achievement.  A lesson may be successful for some students in a particular setting and not for others in a different setting.  Teachers must search for strategies that work, and use different strategies for different students.

Research confirms the need for effective strategies:  Students use all five senses to incorporate new information.  The brain is stimulated through the senses, but information is only retained through rehearsal, practice, or connection to other knowledge or experience.  We really do learn best by experience.

Assessment Curriculum Instruction Traditional Planning

Factors in Planning Content Knowledge Effective Instruction Good Assessment Practices Student Knowledge Community Expectations Self Knowledge Curriculum Standards Planning Steps

Assessment Curriculum Planning Steps Feedback/ Evaluation Performance Planning Model Instruction

Planning Steps 4 Definition of instructional unit 4 Levels of expected student knowledge and performance 4 Student work 4 Content knowledge 4 Essential questions / concepts 4 Assessment and instruction

Key Questions 4 What is the focus of the instructional unit (topic, area, theme, setting or concepts)? What are the important connections (standards, other disciplines)? 4 What are students expected to know and be able to do (knowledge and application level)? 4 What student work will be used to measure achievement? 4 What content will students need? 4 What key questions and/or concepts will trigger student interest? 4 What assessment and instruction will be effective? Begin with the end in mind!

What should the plan include?  Focus activity  Learning objectives  Activities  Assessment of objective attainment  Reinforcement or preparation for the next lesson

Homework Policies  There is a district policy on homework  Please be familiar with Policy 6122 and Rule 6122R  Average Daily Homework Guidelines KNone minutes minutes minutes 61 hour ½ hours ½ hours

Content AreaK1234 Morning Meeting10 Mathematics3575* Language Arts Literacy (Includes Handwriting) 60120*100*90* Writing Workshop (3-4 days) Differentiation/Intervention (2-3 days) Science (3 days) Social Studies (3 days) 2040 Health Computers Character Education World Language (Grade 2-4) LUNCHN/A40 Specials Art - 1 Day Music - 1 Day Library - 1 Day Physical Education - 3 Days 2040 TOTAL155 minutes 380 minutes

Examples of Focus Activities  Write a journal entry reflecting on the video clip that we viewed in yesterday’s lesson.  Choose two events from your reading last night (history) and write a sentence that depicts the causal relationship between them.  Write a question that you would like answered about yesterday’s experiment. Work with a partner to write two more examples!

What is a learning objective?  The student will be able to: Identify Explain Re-state Compare and contrast Create What should students know and be able to do? Think Bloom’s Taxonomy

Examples of Learning Objectives  Identify the six modes of communication  Explain what happens when air is allowed to escape from a previously inflated balloon  Predict, evaluate and rank minerals by hardness  Describe in your own terms the meaning of one of the amendments in the Bill of Rights

Examples of Activities  Prepare written and oral arguments to support a change in school policy  Read a bus schedule to determine the length of time for a cross-city trip  Edit a letter for correct grammar and spelling  Plan a route for westward expansion in the winter  Complete a cut list/bill of materials for a wood project

Amount of Transfer Teach Others/Use Learning Practice & Real Application Discussion Group Demonstration Audio Visual Reading Lecture 90% 75% 50% 30% 20% 10% 5% Learning Activity Retention William Glasser, The Quality School

Objective or activity?  With a partner: Write an activity that would support learning for each objective on the “Examples of Objectives” slide Write an objective that could be met by each activity on the “Examples of Activities” slide

Differentiation Meeting the needs of all students

Key Principles  People learn what is personally meaningful to them.  People learn when they accept goals that are challenging but achievable.  Learning is developmental.  Individuals learn differently.  People construct new knowledge by building on their current knowledge.  Much learning occurs through social interaction.  People need feedback to learn.

More key principles  Successful learning involves use of strategies- which themselves are learned.  A positive emotional climate strengthens learning.  Learning is influenced by the total environment.  The goal of learning is the fluent and flexible transfer of what is learned.  The capacity to learn depends on learning how to learn and the willingness to learn anew.

 The teacher is clear about what matters in the content area.  The teacher understands, appreciates, and builds upon student differences.  Assessment & instruction are inseparable.  All students participate in respectful work.  Students and teachers are collaborators in learning.

 The teacher adjusts content, process, & product in response to student readiness, interests, and learning profile.  Goals are maximum growth and continued success.  Flexibility is the hallmark of a differentiated classroom.

What it is not….  Differentiation doesn’t suggest that a teacher can be all things to all individuals all the time. It does, however, mandate that a teacher create a reasonable range of approaches to learning much of the time, so that most students find learning a fit much of the time.

Differentiation of Instruction is a teacher’s response to learners’ needs guided by general principles of differentiation such as: respectful tasksflexible groupingongoing assessment and adjustment teachers can differentiate Content Process Product according to students’ Readiness Interests Learning Profile through a range of instructional and management strategies such as:

Strategies for Differentiation Maxi-StrategiesMini-Strategies Assessment & Diagnosis Flexible Grouping Tiered Activities Anchor Activities Differentiated Learning Centers Curriculum Compacting Learning Contracts Adjusting Questions Independent Study Word Study Reading & Study Buddies Student or Adult Mentors Exit Cards Task Cards Student Expert Desks Three Before Me The Dr. Is In Mini-Lessons Multiple Texts Interest Surveys

 One size fits all instruction does not address the needs of many students.  Kids come in different shapes and sizes as well as interests, learning profiles, and readiness levels.

 The nature and needs of the learner Student characteristics  The essential meaning of the curriculum Classroom elements “If, as teachers, we increase our understanding of who we teach and what we teach, we are much more likely to be able to be flexible in how we teach.”

Begin with a Plan  What is the curriculum to be taught? What do the students need to know or be able to do? What are the essential concepts, principles, and skills?  How much time is allocated for the delivery?  What resources are available?  How is the curriculum inter-related?

A Planning Guide  Identify what students should Know, Understand and be able to Do  Define summative assessments  Develop a unit plan to ensure student proficiency with essential knowledge, understanding and skill  Pre-assess, based on K,U,D for readiness, interest and learning profile  Differentiate the unit plans to address readiness, interest and learning profile-continue to adjust plans based on on-going assessment data  Administer summative assessments

Who Are You?  A teacher in Bridgewater- Raritan Regional School District who teaches students…..not content, and one who considers the needs of the learner, the goals of the curriculum and the expectations of the district when planning for the success of his or her students~

How Can I Learn More?  Take Bridgewater-Raritan Teacher’s College courses Teaching for Rigor and Relevance Differentiated Instruction  Join a Collaborative Learning Group on one of these topics  Learn from your mentor or coach  Ask a curriculum supervisor or me!

The Bottom Line  You must have written lesson plans for each day  Plans must include objectives, activities, and assessments  Plans are submitted to your building principal or supervisor at least once a month (weekly for non-tenured)  You can submit plans electronically or via the OnCourse website or on paper

What is OnCourse?  A web based application for lesson plans and homework  Each teacher gets his or her own website  Easy to use, accessible from anywhere you have Internet  Provides a vehicle for sharing plans with colleagues and collaborating online