Main Body
Effective teachers think proactively when planning lessons. Consider the particular students you will be working with, your time frame, the activities you’ve planned, the materials you are using and possible scenarios that may impact your plans; be prepared to adjust your instruction accordingly. Describe the possible points in the lesson in which adjustments may need to occur and points in which instruction might be flexible in approach in response to student needs. Prepare a plan to give more direct instruction or adapted instruction to students who may not be understanding the topic as well as a plan for increasing the rigor or difficulty of tasks when necessary. Anticipate any behavioral challenges and create a proactive plan for managing classroom climate. Consider the technology planned during the lesson and describe a backup plan should the technology fail. Also consider pacing, teacher roles, grouping, assistive technology, and individualized student accommodations.
Identify points in the lesson where you might need be flexible in your approach in response to student needs. How will you respond?
Examples of Proactive Considerations:
- Being aware of my two students with poor attendance records, I will place them in different pre-planned groups.
- To address any misunderstandings as to the activity steps, I will post the steps and provide a model to each group.
- For students who complete the assigned activity early, access to laptops will be available, as well as a the link to an online ‘Jeopardy’ style game, reviewing the lesson content.
- In case of a technology malfunction, a graphic organizer will be available on which students will complete a concept map.
Example of Proactive Considerations from a CEP Student’s Lesson Plan:
| ● Components of this lesson can be carried over to the next meeting day in case of
insufficient time. ● If extra time exists at the end of the lesson and students are not showing signs of needing a movement break, students will be given a noun and a verb and asked to create their own sentence to be labeled by a peer. ● Students will have an opportunity to complete the activity during make-up time with the associate teacher in case of absence. ● In case students demonstrate persistent difficulty with labeling the elements of a simple sentence, the activity will be halted and completed as a whole group task with discussion and corrective feedback. |
Differentiation:
It is in this section of your lesson plan that you share how you plan to differentiate your instruction as you strive to meet the varying needs of all of your learners. By analyzing your pre-assessment data, you will determine the students for which the lesson will be difficult as well as those for whom it will not be appropriately challenging.
Following analysis, describe how you’ll differentiate your instruction to meet these diverse individual needs. Remember that differentiated instruction isn’t a strategy, but a framework that can be used to implement a variety of strategies such as grouping students for instruction. As you begin to differentiate instruction, there are three main instructional elements that can be adjusted to meet the variety of learners’ needs:
- Content – the knowledge and skills students need to master
- Process – the activities students use to make sense of and master the content
- Product – the method students use to demonstrate learning
- Learning Environment– the climate of the classroom
Each of these instructional elements can be differentiated by considering either students’ interests, readiness levels, or learning profiles.
Examples
Content differentiated by:
- readiness – materials at varied readability levels
- interest – range of materials that apply key skills/concepts to a variety of real-world situations; sub-topic choice
- learning profile – video or audio notes for students who learn better through repetition
Process differentiated by:
- readiness – mini-workshops
- interest – expert groups
- learning profile – choice of working conditions (alone or with a partner)
Product differentiated by:
- readiness – varied resource options
- interest – use of student interests in designing products
- learning profile – varied modes of expressing learning (PowerPoint; oral presentation; role-playing; game creation)
Environment differentiated by:
- readiness- provide materials that reflect a variety of learning levels
- interest- vary the places where learning occurs (lab, outside, flexible seating), provide materials that appeal to a variety of interests
- learning profile- places to work quietly and without distraction as well as places that invite student collaboration
Citations: Tomlinson and Allan, 2000
Example from CEP Student’s Lesson Plan:
- One student often displays negative behaviors associated with writing tasks. This lesson’s process and product will be differentiated considering the student’s learning profile/preferences. The lesson will be previewed with him and he will be given choices for completion of the assignment to satisfy his need for some control over his learning and eliminate negative behaviors.
- The process of this lesson will be differentiated considering the learning profiles and the readiness levels of students with speech-language impairments. Consultation with their speech-language pathologist will provide strategies for appropriately providing corrective feedback.
CPS’s Aligned Lesson Plan Sections
CPS’s Aligned LOFT Evaluation Criteria and Annotations
CPS’s Aligned Lesson Plan Rubric Criteria