Format+and+Components+of+Unit+Planning+&+Lesson+Planning

Subhi and Sana

** WHAT IS LESSON PLAN **
A **lesson plan** is a [|teacher]'s detailed description of the course of instruction for an individual [|lesson]. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction. Planning the material is much more difficult than delivering the lessons. Planning is when you look at the curriculum standards and develop the content that match those standards you also have to take into consideration the needs of the children you are planning for. Luckily, textbooks that are adopted for your subject areas are typically written with this in mind. All details should be written down to assist the smooth delivery of the content. The extent of the detail will vary depending on the number of years of experience that the teacher has and the number of times he/she has taught the lesson. Obviously, an instructor with several years of experience may have plans that are much less detailed than beginning teachers. There will be requirements mandated by the school system that employs you regarding your responsibilities.

DEVELOPING A LESSON PLAN
While there are many formats for a lesson plan, most lesson plans contain some or all of these elements, typically in this order:
 * //Title// of the lesson
 * //[|Time]// required to complete the lesson
 * List of required //[|materials]//
 * List of //[|objectives]//, which may be //[|behavioral] objectives// (what the [|student] can //do// at lesson completion) or//[|knowledge] objectives// (what the student //know//s at lesson completion)
 * The //set// (or lead-in, or bridge-in) that focuses students on the lesson's [|skills] or [|concepts]—these include showing [|pictures] or [|models], asking leading [|questions], or [|reviewing] previously lessons
 * An //instructional component// that describes the sequence of events that make up the lesson, including the teacher's instructional input and guided practice the students use to try new skills or work with new ideas
 * //Independent [|practice]//that allows students to extend skills or knowledge on their own
 * A //[|summary]//here the teacher wraps up the discussion and answers questions
 * An //[|evaluation]// component, a test for mastery of the instructed skills or concepts—such as a set of questions to answer or a set of instructions to follow
 * //Analysis// component the teacher uses to reflect on the lesson itself —such as what worked, what needs improving
 * A //continuity// component reviews and reflects on content from the previous

A well developed lesson plan
A well developed lesson plan reflects interests and needs of students. It incorporates best practices for the educational field. The lesson plan correlates with the teacher's philosophy of education, which is what the teacher feels is the purpose of educating students. Secondary [|English] program lesson plans, for example, usually center around four topics. They are [|literary theme], elements of language and [|composition], [|literary history], and [|literary genre]. A broad, thematic lesson plan is preferable, because it allows a teacher to create various research, writing, speaking, and reading assignments. It helps an instructor teach different literature genres and incorporate videotapes, films, and television programs. Also, it facilitates teaching literature and English together. School requirements and a teacher's personal tastes, in that order, determine the exact requirements for a lesson plan. //Unit plans// follow much the same format as a lesson plan, but cover an entire unit of work, which may span several days or weeks. Modern [|constructivist] teaching styles may not require individual lesson plans. The unit plan may include specific objectives and time-lines, but lesson plans can be more fluid as they adapt to student needs and learning styles.

Setting an objective
The first thing a teacher must do is decide on the lesson plan's focus. The teacher creates one idea or question they want the students to explore or answer. Next, the teacher creates classroom activities that correlate with the established idea or question. This includes individual and group activities. Having established these activities, the teacher identify what [|language arts] skills the lesson plan must cover. After the teacher completes these activities, they must ensure the lesson plan adheres to the best practices used in language arts. This includes conducting research on what teaching methods result in a high success rate for students. The teacher must ensure the lesson plan goals are compatible with the developmental level of the students. The teacher must also ensure their student achievement expectations are reasonable.[|[2]]

Selecting lesson plan material
A lesson plan must correlate with the text book the class uses. The school usually selects the text books or provides teachers with a limited text book choice for a particular unit. The teacher must take great care and select the most appropriate book for the students.[|[2]]

= UNIT PLANNING = Planning for instruction can occur through a variety of approaches. Regardless of the approach taken, teachers need to plan to ensure that there is congruence between learning objectives, assessment, activities, and resources. Unit planning is an important component of adapting the curriculum to support student achievement of objectives.
 * The framework for unit planning is based on the following questions:
 * What is it the students need to know or be able to demonstrate?
 * How do they demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and attitudes?
 * What activities, approaches, and resources help students to learn what they need to know? ||

Some guidelines for unit planning follow:
 * Familiarize yourself with the structure and content of the curriculum guide, including the Foundations for Scientific Literacy, Core Curriculum Components and Initiatives, and considerations for Implementing Science 10.
 * Read each unit to become familiar with the major concepts to be addressed and the foundational and related learning objectives that address those major concepts. Each Science 10 unit is structured around Key Questions. Students who are able to successfully answer those questions are likely to have attained the foundational objectives of that unit. Teachers may choose to reorder foundational objectives and regroup learning objectives within foundational objectives to meet their students' needs.
 * Consider the prior learning that students will likely bring to this unit based on their previous science courses and courses from other areas of study. The Pre-Instructional Questions indicate what prior knowledge students need to achieve the learning objectives within each foundational objective.
 * Consider how you will assess and evaluate students throughout the unit. All students are expected to achieve the foundational objectives of each unit, but it is not necessary that each student complete the same assessments to demonstrate understanding. Students should be provided with a variety of ways to demonstrate knowledge. There should also be congruence between the instructional methods and the assessment methods and tools.
 * Consider how to incorporate student interests and current events in science into the unit. Students may be involved in developing or selecting activities to meet needs for understanding the concepts. Students may also undertake different activities in order to achieve the same objectives.
 * Consider whether the unit will have primarily a science inquiry, problem-solving, or decision-making focus, or whether there are opportunities to incorporate more than one of these areas of emphasis into the unit.
 * Use // [|Science 10: A Bibliography] // as a starting point to identify resources which correlate to the unit. //Annual Updates// will also identify recommended resources. Include human resources and resources from other sources where appropriate.
 * Consider how to authentically integrate each Core Curriculum Component or Initiative into the unit.
 * Develop, or select from the resources or curriculum guide, activities which are appropriate for the objectives. Adapt or extend the activities to ensure that the needs of all learners are met. Ensure that there is a balance of activities; some should introduce concepts and ideas, some should require exploration of the concepts, and some should encourage students to reflect upon their learning.
 * Determine which instructional methods are appropriate for each activity, ensuring that there is a mix of instructional methods throughout the unit in order to address different student learning styles and expand students' ways of learning.
 * Develop a timeline for the unit that shows the lesson structure within the unit. The timeline should allow for opportunities for enrichment, extension and applied study that arise as learning progresses in the classroom.