Saturday, January 3, 2015

Finding One-Hour Lesson Plans on the Internet


Teachers often have problems finding good one-hour lesson plans on the Internet. The first is that the plans available are not complete, consisting only of one activity. The second is that plans are often part of a series, each dependent upon what was covered in another plan.

Teacher candidates need to know that when a professor or instructor ask for a lesson plan, he/she most likely would be referring to a one-period plan that is independent from other plans. An independent plan offers teachers a plan that consists of activities that are not a continuation of another plan.

While an independent lesson plan offers new curriculum, it doesn't necessarily have to include prerequisites for implementing the plan. Any Common Core lesson needs to have a portion of the plan directed to an activity that stimulates students' prior knowledge about the topic. After that portion of the plan is covered, most students will be on the same page with respect to knowing enough about a topic to introduce a new concept about it.

The teachers' union offers a webpage of very good links that are non-commercial and filled with activities, lesson plans and thematic units. It's at http://www.uft.org/teaching/lesson-plans. Teachers can use any of these resources to develop a plan, so long it is focused on a few Common Core standards, has a focused goal and states concise performance objectives.

Finally, the format of a plan can vary according to what is required of the teacher candidate. As a professor, I permit teacher candidates to use a lesson plan template they are comfortable with.

Question: What formatting do you prefer in a lesson plan template?