EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING Developing Unit and Daily Lesson Plans

Instructional Strategy The methodology is the planned patterned behaviors by which the teacher influences learning. The methodology should be designed and organized so that it sets a positive tone for learning, captures and holds students’ attention, and involves them as much as possible in the learning process.

Comparison of Teacher-Centered and Student-Centered Methodologists

 The lesson procedure is the sequence of steps designed to lead students to the acquisition of the learning objectives.

For example, you may decide on the following sequence for a lesson on creating a voice in personal writing: 1. Ask students to identify their favorite singers. Students independently reflect and then share with a partner. A few volunteers share with the whole class. The teacher shares a personal choice also (accompanied by a YouTube video clip). 2. Provide a “bridge” to the day’s lesson. Explain how musicians excel if they have developed personalized styles and have unique voices. Writes need to find their own voices also. 3. Conduct a brief lesson about creating a personalized voice by writing from personal experiences, selecting words carefully, maintaining an insider’s perspective, and sharing sensory details. 4. Students select one exceptionally memorable event in their lives. Capture the moment by completing a sensory table (see, hear, taste, smell, touch, emotional feelings). 5. As a guide practice activity, students use the sensory chart to assist them as they talk about the special moment with a classmate.

 The procedure consist of the sequenced teacher and student activities used for achieving the lesson objectives.

Practice Two types of practice are important and should take place during the course of each lesson: (1) guided practice, or individual/small-group practice with the help and encouragement of the teacher, and (2) independent practice, or individual practice without the help and encouragement of the teacher.

Closure A closure activity should provide a logical conclusion by consolidating the lesson’s main concepts and ideas and assessing whether students have learned what was intended. Closure should be more than a quick review of the ideas covered in the lesson; it should show the relationship among the major ideas and tie together the parts of the lesson. Instead of doing all the talking, have students verbalize their understanding of the interrelatedness of the lesson’s key points and how this information connects with prior learning and real-life applications.

Evaluation Evaluation need to align with the unit goals, lesson objectives, and lesson activities!

Reflective Teaching  “What am I doing and why?”  “How can I better meet my students’ need?”  “What are some alternative learning activities to achieve my objectives?”  “How could I have encouraged more involvement or learning on the part of the students?”

Reflective Teaching  Teachers who carefully examine and reflect on their practices become better decision makers and, consequently, better planners and more successful teachers.

Lesson Plan Structure Concepts ComponentDescription Set inductionActivity at outset of a lesson to get students’ undivided attention, to arouse their interest, and to establish a conceptual framework Instructional strategyThe methodology and procedure. It is the global plan of a lesson. MethodologyPlanned patterned behaviors that are definite steps by which the teacher influences learning ProcedureSequence of steps designed to lead students to the acquisition of the desired learning ClosureAn activity designed to pull a lesson together and bring it to a logical conclusion