Plan for Success! How to build good lessons and assessment in a standards-based world

If you aim at nothing- You will hit it!

Good planning works backwards! Start with a clear understanding of the learning target. Make sure you understand what students must know and are expected to do. Decide how a student would demonstrate mastery.

Plan the test first? Why? It helps you stay on target, helps to avoid going off on a tangent. It encourages full coverage of the concept since all parts will be tested. It gives a feel for the level of skill or depth of knowledge required.

Good classroom assessments: Measure factual knowledge Require students to apply knowledge and skills Use a variety of formats Use visuals, primary and secondary source documents Help students to practice testing skills Include some transfer tasks

Understanding the standard Read the main standard statement carefully. Identify all main parts or ideas in the standard. What seems unclear to you? Look for words or phrases that may be unfamiliar.

Understanding the benchmark Read carefully the benchmark for the grade level or cluster. Examine the benchmarks that come before and after. Try to get a good feel for the level of understanding required.

Example: Geography Standard 1: Students will develop a personal geographic framework, or “mental map” and understand the uses of maps and other geographics. Key ideas: Students need to have a map in their head to help them get around and make informed decisions about events. Vocabulary- “mental map”, “geographics”

Example: Benchmarks for Geography Standard 1 K-3 :Students will understand the nature and uses of maps and other geo-graphics. Key ideas- students need to know about maps, globes, graphs, and other graphics Students need to understand how these items are used

Benchmarks for Geography Standards 1 (cont) Benchmark for Gr 4-5:Students will demonstrate development of mental maps of Delaware and the United States which include the relative location and characteristics of major political features, political divisions, and human settlements. What are the key ideas?

Geography Standard 1 (cont.) Benchmark for Gr. 6-8 Students will demonstrate mental maps of the world and its sub-regions which include the relative location and characteristics of major physical features, political divisions, and human settlements. Key ideas?

Geography Standard 1 (cont.) Benchmarks for Gr. 9-12: Students will identify mapped patterns which emerge when collected data is mapped, and analyze mapped patterns through the application of such common geographic principles as hierarchy, accessibility, diffusion, and complimentarity. Students will apply the analysis of mapped patterns to the solution of patterns Key ideas?

Steps for effective planning: Select and analyze the learning target(s) Craft assessments to gauge student achievement on each key point Design lessons to help students master the assessments Search for quality materials, source documents, etc. for use in lessons

Plan the assessment with an eye toward the standard, but most importantly, the benchmark.

Next, plan the lessons! Include readings, activities, exercises, projects and questions that will help students understand the key ideas in the benchmark. Include quality source documents, materials, on the correct level of difficulty. Use the vocabulary of the benchmark and standard in your lessons.

Try it out! Your curriculum calls for a unit on Delaware in 4th grade. The standards assigned are Geography 1 and History 1.