How and What to Teach

Getting organized with Your Lesson Plan

Dec 21, 2006

The business of what to teach is just as important as how to teach. With so many lessons to prepare and teach, these terms quickly become overlooked.

What to teach is more than just the goals or expectations of your lesson. It also includes the skills or subskills. Example: the kids are now at point X and I want them to know Point Y at the end of the lesson.

It is important to know in advance the nature of what you are going to teach and define it for yourself, preferably by writing it down, general to specific – eg. Teaching a short story – reading for specific information.

Your textbook or materials you closely work with at the beginning will provide the foundation. But once you know your students and their capabilities and what makes them ‘tick’, you might just feel that you need to practice more a particular skill before you begin to implement the activities.

The how part of teaching is the actual orientation of the lesson plan. Do the activities match the actual goals? Will the students work in groups? Pairs? Will the lesson be mainly frontal? Will you teach something new or spend time on reviewing? What preview work will you need to teach if you want your students to master the skills? Consider your lesson openings and endings as well as your transitions. Also consider how well you’ve prepared them for the activities you’ve planned. Your students may not be ready

The copyright of the article How and What to Teach in New Teacher Support is owned by Dorit Sasson. Permission to republish How and What to Teach must be granted by the author in writing.

Comments

Dec 21, 2006 1:21 PM

Jo Murphy :

You know Dorit,
I still have the occasional anxious twinge when walking into a lesson.
Will this work?, is it appropriate? etc.
I guess if I didn't I wouldn't be pushing the boundaries.
Thanks another thought provoking article.

I gave you a link at the bottom of my latest article by the way
<a href="http://artseducation.suite101.com/article.cfm/programme_achieve">Programme Achieve</a>

Jo

Dec 21, 2006 9:45 PM

Dorit Sasson :

I too feel the same way but I must say that I'm much more relaxed than when I first started out teaching.

It's also part of our growth as teachers. If we did the same lesson in and out, then kids would be bored, and there would be no room for growth.

But I am a lot more wary and skilled. With new classes that have new books fo instance, I give myself a lot of time before trying new activities. I intersperse the lesson with something new from my hat. I guess that is the eclectic side of me but it is suits me for now.

Will check out your article.

Dorit

Dec 21, 2006 11:21 PM

Jo Murphy :

Sounds like fun.
What grades do you teach is there a wide range?
Jo

Dec 22, 2006 1:36 AM

Dorit Sasson :

I teach from 7th to 12th grades ranging from special ed , remedial reading to Bagrut (matriculation) levels. What about you?

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4 Comments