1. Making Lessons Shine: Planning For Student Thinking and Interaction
April 19, 2001
Making Lessons Shine: Planning For Student Thinking and Interaction
Peter Brunn
Introduction
“you are not funny – peter really…”
I don’t have lots of jokes – I am not Jamie Foxx – not signing and dancing either – but I am a teacher. And I bring with me a love of learning. What I plan to do is share with you some of the work I have been doing to help the teachers I work with deepen and enhance their practice.
I hope to provoke –
I hope to challenge
I hope to learn with you- and if that is the case – it will be time well spent…
Introduce Signal
Making Meaning: Program Orientation

2. April 19, 2001
I did write this handy book – it is small and very pink
Making Meaning: Program Orientation

3. What Makes A Good Lesson?
Think about a lesson you taught (or observed) recently that went really well. What made it special? What happened that made this lesson stand out? With your partner jot down some key words or phrases that describe the lessons you discussed

4. What makes a good lesson…

5. Ten Qualities of Successful Lessons

6. Action #1
Teachers plan lessons with their students in mind (not just the content)
Pause in places where students might struggle
Spend more time building concepts students don’t know–even if it means not getting through all of the day’s content
Move quickly through content students already know

7. April 19, 2001
Action #2
Teachers use a predictable lesson structure that allows students to grow academically and socially
Allows us to consistently introduce both social and academic content
Provides time for independent and group work
Creates space for students to reflect on their academic work and social interactions
Minimizes distractions and interruptions
Keeps lessons focused on student thinking
All of our different programs and materials have a structure to them. Sometimes they are not alike – which is confusing (nina planning with calendar – trying to make the day make sense.)
A universal lesson structure help us put things in a sensical order.
It also allows us to include the things we value in our lessons
Social and academic
Making Meaning: Program Orientation

8. April 19, 2001
Action #3
Teachers make listening to students’ thinking the heart of their lessons
Notes from conferences or whole group conversations
Students’ entries in writer’s notebooks
Marks students make on their drafts of writing
Sticky notes students place in their books
Response notebooks/journals
Duckworth
Making Meaning: Program Orientation

9. April 19, 2001
Action #4
Teachers keep the body of their lessons focused on open-ended topics
Rigorous thinking
Creativity
Risk taking
Facts and content are only useful if we use them for and end. By themselves they are meaningless.
Qustioning lesson plan
Duckworth The virtures of not knowing
Making Meaning: Program Orientation

10. Action #5 Ensure we cover necessary content Keep lesson focused
Teachers never lose track of the lesson’s purpose
Pace lesson appropriately
Ensure we cover necessary content
Keep lesson focused

11. Action #6 Probe student thinking
Teachers use facilitation techniques to probe student thinking
Probe student thinking
Uncover students’ decision making process
Use cooperative structures
Ask open-ended questions
Listen to and value student thinking

12. Action #7
Teachers listen and invite students to do most of the talking
Allows us to discover what students know and where they are struggling
Gives students a chance to express different ideas and interpretations
Supports the growth of new ideas
Gives students a chance to connect with one another

13. Action #8 Teachers set up students to work independently
Apply and practice challenging content at their own academic level
Gain stamina for high stakes tests
Develop and grow ideas during this necessary “quit time”
Teachers can pay attention to student thinking
Teachers can assess or support individual students

14. Action #9
Teachers help students develop social skills for successful peer interaction
Develops over time
Allows for students to agree and disagree respectfully
Establishes a structure for conversation and interaction

15. Action #10 Teachers work with students to create a sense of community
April 19, 2001
Action #10
Teachers work with students to create a sense of community
Essential for students’ academic success in school
Creates the space students need to take the risks they need to be successful
Making Meaning: Program Orientation

16. Reflecting On Our Teaching
Think back to the lesson you described at the beginning of this presentation. What did you do to make the lesson so successful?

17. THE LESSON PLANNING PROCESS

18. Before You Plan Select the lesson you want to teach
Math Program, Reading Series, Science Manual etc.
Read the lesson carefully
Gather all of the resources you need
Books
Handouts
Materials

19. Lesson Planning Process
April 19, 2001
Lesson Planning Process
Step 1 – Establish the lesson’s purpose
Academic focus
Social Focus
Step 2 – Create a plan for introducing the lesson
What Background/Vocabulary do student need?
How does this relate to yesterday’s lesson?
What do I need to do to prepare students to work together?
Put each step on an overhead
Making Meaning: Program Orientation

20. Lesson Planning Process (Cont.)
Step 3 – Decide how you might facilitate the lesson
Which parts of the lesson will be done whole group, small group, or independently?
What cooperative structures will I use?
What facilitation techniques might I use?
What questions might I ask to stimulate thinking?
What will successful student actions look like?
Step 4 – Think about how students will share and reflect on their work

21. Lesson Planning Process (Cont.)
Step 5 – Revise my plan
How much time will each section take?
Where will I spend most of my time?
Where might students struggle the most?
What will I do when they struggle?
What changes do I need to make in my plan?
At the conclusion of the lesson – Reflect on what happened