Prompts for Planning a Lesson
Prompts for Planning a Lesson
Prompts for Planning a Lesson
Better lessons will:
be well planned
have a clear start, middle and end
engage all learners in active learning throughout the lesson
have pace
challenge and stretch all learners – all learners working hard
Topic and Aims – should link clearly to scheme of work where topic is a significant chunk of curriculum eg 5 weeks and the Aims represent what can be achieved in a single session
Aims should indicate the purpose of a session
Outcomes – these state very clearly what learners will be able to do to show that successful learning is taking place. All outcomes should be SMART – assessable and measurable by both learner and the teacher.
Outcomes and Blooms taxonomy – because outcomes describe what learners can do (and this must be observable) its important to choose the right verbs eg verbs such as know or understand are not useful because they cant be observed whereas verbs such as list, explain, discuss, produce, compare etc are observable and assessable. Blooms taxonomy is a helpful source of such descriptors
Structure of a lesson – all lessons should have:
– a brisk and clear start
Link to last session – refer to scheme of work
May have starter activity to fully engage all learners
Introduce the current session and share aims and outcomes with learners (display and refer to these throughout the session )
– a well structured middle
Planned episodes of differentiated learning supported by learner activity and participation
Regular checking of individual learning – recap before moving on and link with outcomes
Differentiated assessment that ensures that all learners are achieving
Pace, stretch and challenge
– clear and effective end
Summary and recap
Reflection and evaluation by learners – have outcomes been achieved? – have learners enjoyed the session?
Link to next session – refer to scheme of work
Homework/directed learning for the next session
Using a class profile: All teachers should have a profile of their learners eg results from initial screening and diagnostic tests, information on specific individual needs (including any assessed support needs), target Key Skills or Basic Skills levels, learning style preferences etc to help prepare differentiated lessons.
Differentiation: This means that teaching, learning and assessment are customised to meet the needs of individual learners in a group. Differentiation can be