This week has been enlightening and bit overwhelming in lesson planning. The resources for this week really sparked my creativity in planning new opening activities for my science class for this upcoming school year. Creating experiences for my students that expand their perceptions of scientists and engineers, opens their minds to new possibilities and ideas about science.
Creating the lesson plan was a bit more challenging. Although I love to create new and engaging lessons for my students, the lesson plan template that we used was a bit overwhelming. One thing that I noticed was that I already do incorporate many of the components from the template into my lessons already. However, I couldn't imagine planning down to every detail like the template outlines, on a daily basis. Are we expected to have every component from the template in our lessons every day? Maybe someone can give me their opinion on that? I would love to know others thoughts.
I liked the 5 E's lesson plan model. I was taught to use that in my undergrad studies and follow that model when planning my lessons for the week, especially in science. It works well in all subjects really. I usually have a discovery question that students can relate to their lives or previous experiences, followed by an investigation to explore and continue to motivate. Then we talk about it and take notes from the text or from me, then we do a lab or hands on activity to delve deeper into the concepts. I then either have a small project or performance assessment that incorporates several lessons, and finally an assessment. Sometimes the extend project or performance assessment is my final assessment and sometimes the concepts are tested on a unit test later on. I find that my students do well using this model, and it just seems to make so much sense to plan lessons in this format. You can't go wrong!
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI agree that this templet was overwhelming. I don't think that this type of planning is expected for every lesson we teach. I also could not imagine having to do all of my lesson plans down to the detail of this template. I am very thankful that the school I work at does not require daily or weekly lesson plans. I have unit lesson plans that I use. I also have a template for the unit plans, but it is not near as detailed as this one was.
Hello Lisa!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and Lisa that the template was very extensive. Though I could not see myself using the template on a daily basis, I believe it is a great reminder of the many aspects that are involved in lesson planning. I also found the 5 E's helpful in developing a lesson to increase the "wonder" of science.
I am glad I am not alone. I was not sure what most teachers are required to do. Where I work, we are not required to hand in any lesson plans. However, when I am planning my units, I do use the 5 E's model in my weekly lessons. I think it is very important, especially in science to follow it.
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