How To Write an Effective Lesson Plan
Use Goals, Objectives, and Procedures to Increase Student Success
Jan 20, 2009
Writing an effective lesson plan requires more than just listing the page number of the day’s homework assignment. Teachers need to evaluate student strengths and weaknesses and use that information to strategically provide appropriate instruction.
Determine a Goal for the Students
Before planning a lesson, teachers need to determine the long term learning goals for the class. These goals should be based on the school’s grade level curriculum. Teachers decide which goals to work on first based on the needs of the students.
Write Descriptive and Measurable Lesson Objectives
The goals and objectives of a lesson plan are related, but serve very different purposes. The goal is the overlying framework for the lesson’s objectives or short term benchmarks. The objectives are the specific tasks that the students will be able to do at the end of the lesson.
A descriptive objective answers the questions, “Who? Will do what? How?” Global or vague phrases such as “will read better” should be avoided. When writing an objective the teacher explicitly states how the task will be measured. For example, a teacher might write, “The students will ask and answer four teacher-like questions using the assigned text.” Writing specific, descriptive, and measurable objectives allows teachers to easily and accurately assess the effectiveness of the lesson.
Decide How the Lesson will be Introduced to Students
Students learn best when they are engaged in a lesson from beginning to end. Teachers plan for this by writing a lesson plan with a strong introduction. The introduction of the lesson sets the stage for learning by motivating the students to actively pay attention to and get involved in the lesson.
Teachers can also use the introduction to connect the new topic the students will be learning about to information they already know. By tapping into students’ prior knowledge teachers make it easier for the students’ brains to organize and make sense of new information. An interesting story, a fun experiment, or an interactive activity are motivating and engaging ways to introduce a lesson to students.
List the Steps or Procedure of the Lesson Plan
After determining how to engage the students in the lesson during the introduction the teacher writes the body of the lesson. During this section each step of the procedure is written out. Novice teachers may also find it helpful to outline what they will say during the lesson and as well as possible responses from the students.
Review the Lesson
At the end of each lesson and mini-lesson the teacher needs to review the new information with students. This summary allows students to fully process the material and ask for clarification if needed. The lesson review can be as informal as a verbal summary by the teacher or as formal as a written journal assignment by the students.
Assess the Lesson Plan’s Effectiveness
The teacher assesses how effective the lesson was by determining the students’ understanding of the material. Student performance is measured against the lesson’s objectives and used to plan the next lesson. If students are unable to successfully complete the lesson’s objective further instruction is needed.
Taking the time to thoughtfully plan appropriate lessons increases the likelihood of student success. Teachers use specific and descriptive objectives as a guide to write the procedure for the lesson and determine its effectiveness.
For more teaching tips read: Parent-Teacher Conferences, Primary School Open House Ideas, and How To Create a Primary Classroom Blog.
